Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.
Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/436751
81 Winter 2014 – 2015 Proceedings www.uscg.mil/proceedings A Plan to Leave Port On Oct. 25, 2012, as Hurricane Sandy headed northbound toward the Atlantic Coast, the tall ship Bounty's master held a meeting with the crew to inform them of his plan to leave New London, Connecticut, for St. Petersburg, Florida. The master told his 15-member crew that he had been moni- toring the storm and brief y mentioned his plan to deal with it. He wanted to sail out to the east, monitor the hurricane, and then choose what course to take. The master told his crew that he had experience with hurricanes and heavy weather. He believed the ship would be safer out at sea than in port. The master gave the crew an opportunity to stay behind, if they did not feel comfortable making the trip. He did not, however, inform them of any forecasts, projections, or a description of the storm's projected size, strength, or scope. 1 The master gave his crew less than one hour to make their decisions. If crew members chose to leave, they would have to pay for their own transportation home. (This was stan- dard policy whenever a crew member left the vessel.) No one chose to stay behind, 2 and so the ship departed port at approximately 6 p.m. The vessel proceeded out to sea, and once it cleared the southern tip of Long Island, it proceeded on a general course of south by southeast, as the master had Into the Storm Tall ship Bounty founders at sea. by Ms. Sarah K. Webster Managing Editor In this ongoing feature, we take a close look at recent marine casualties. We outline the U.S. Coast Guard marine casualty investigations that followed, which explore how these incidents occurred, including any environmental, vessel design, or human-error factors that contributed to each event. Article information, statistics, conclusions, and quotes come from the f inal, promulgated Coast Guard investigation report. Lessons Learned from USCG Casualty Investigations On Wednesday, October 24, 2012, at 11 a.m., t he National Hurricane Center released a "Hurricane Sandy Advisory," indicating a storm located approximately 65 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, had turned into a hurricane.