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Re: The Bounty - 20-20 hindsight
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2012 Nov 16, 10:09 -0800
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2012 Nov 16, 10:09 -0800
I missed this reply before posting my earlier one, didn't know that the Bounty was in New London.
If you Google "Connecticut hurricane sandy" you will find lots of pictures of damage to the Connecticut coast including some pretty spectacular ones of the New London/Groton shore being pounded. New London is far enough east that it is not protected by Long Island from any weather from the south. New London is a south-facing harbor, so it would have borne the brunt of both the storm surge and the winds.
I can't find any definitive after-the-storm data, but predictions the day before Sandy arrived was that the storm surge would be eight to nine feet above normal high tide, with breaking 5' waves on top of that. Just two miles into the harbor there are several bridges across it that might have blocked Bounty from moving inland.
With 20-20 hindsight at Bounty's loss (and, more important, the loss of two lives), one can say it would have been better to basically abandon ship and get everyone ashore before the hurricane hit. But one can certainly ask whether a prudent and experienced captain with knowledge of both the ship, the New London harbor, and predictions of how nasty it was going to get, might have reasonably made the choice made.
I'm certainly not saying that the decision to put to sea was the right one, but I just want to make sure that everyone understands how bad conditions were in-harbor.
As others have said -- let's wait for the inquiry to give us a clear view of how this tragedy happened.
If you Google "Connecticut hurricane sandy" you will find lots of pictures of damage to the Connecticut coast including some pretty spectacular ones of the New London/Groton shore being pounded. New London is far enough east that it is not protected by Long Island from any weather from the south. New London is a south-facing harbor, so it would have borne the brunt of both the storm surge and the winds.
I can't find any definitive after-the-storm data, but predictions the day before Sandy arrived was that the storm surge would be eight to nine feet above normal high tide, with breaking 5' waves on top of that. Just two miles into the harbor there are several bridges across it that might have blocked Bounty from moving inland.
With 20-20 hindsight at Bounty's loss (and, more important, the loss of two lives), one can say it would have been better to basically abandon ship and get everyone ashore before the hurricane hit. But one can certainly ask whether a prudent and experienced captain with knowledge of both the ship, the New London harbor, and predictions of how nasty it was going to get, might have reasonably made the choice made.
I'm certainly not saying that the decision to put to sea was the right one, but I just want to make sure that everyone understands how bad conditions were in-harbor.
As others have said -- let's wait for the inquiry to give us a clear view of how this tragedy happened.
From: Geoffrey Kolbe <geoffreykolbe@compuserve.com>
To: NavList@fer3.com
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 11:23 PM
Subject: [NavList] The Bounty - 20-20 hindsight
It is Tuesday 25th October and you are the captain of the Bounty, presently docked in New London, Connecticut.
Hurricane Sandy is coming in.
What is your best course of action for the best safety of the ship, and (of course) her crew?
Geoffrey