PG Islanders Boat Club OCTOBER 3, 2013 SOME THOUGHTS ON BOATING SAFETY IN AMERICA BY KIKO VILLALON

CAVEAT ALTHOUGH I HAVE TAKEN STATISTICAL FIGURES FROM UNITED STATES COAST GUARD DATA, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE ARE MY OWN AND DO NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH WITH THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS.

OUTLINE OF MY TALK INTRODUCTION A SNAP-SHOT OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SAFETY ON AMERICAN WATERWAYS WHO DID THIS JOB? WHAT’S LEFT TO BE DONE? THE TIGER TEAM WORK

PG Islanders Boat Club A SNAP-SHOT OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SAFETY ON THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS WHO DID THIS JOB? WHAT’S LEFT TO BE DONE? THE TIGER TEAM WORK

PG Islanders Boat Club WHO DID THIS JOB? WHAT’S LEFT TO BE DONE? THE TIGER TEAM WORK

WHO DID THIS JOB?

PG Islanders Boat Club WHAT’S LEFT TO BE DONE? THE TIGER TEAM WORK

WHAT’S LEFT TO BE DONE?

HOW TO INTERPRET STATS. AND ASSESS POTENTIAL WORK TO REDUCE FATALITIES 2005 TOTAL BOATING DEATHS… REPORTED DROWNED…………… DROWNED W/O PFD ……………… “DROWNED” W/ PFD………………… 64 POTENTIAL LIVES SAVED……… IF THIS HAD BEEN THE CASE, THE NUMBER OF BOATING DEATHS IN 2005 COULD HAVE BEEN……..………….. 270

PG Islanders Boat Club THE TIGER TEAM WORK

“CYNTHIA WOODS” A CAPE FEAR 38 OWNED BY TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY ON THE NIGHT OF JUNE 8, 2008 THE CYNTHIA WOODS, WHICH WAS RACING BETWEEN GALVESTON, TEXAS AND VERACRUZ, MEXICO, LOST HER KEEL AT 2300 HR. AND IMMEDIATELY CAPSIZED. A “SAFETY OFFICER” PUSHED TWO OFF-WATCH STUDENT CREW OUT OF THE CABIN BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO SAVE HIMSELF.

THE RACE-CREW OF THE CYNTHIA WOODS MOMENTS BEFORE DEPARTURE ROGER STONE

THE MARINE SAFETY UNIT OF US COAST GUARD STATION GALVESTON WAS CHARGED WITH THE FORMAL INVESTIGATION. THIS UNIT ASKED THE USCG OFFICE OF BOATING SAFETY (MY BOSSES) FOR HELP, AND I WAS ORDERED TO JOIN THE INVESTIGATION IN GALVESTON UNDER LIEUTENANT COMMANDER JAMES ELLIOTT I PROCEEDED AS FOLLOWS: INSPECTED THE SUBJECT VESSEL AND HER SISTER SHIP COLLECTED A LARGE NUMBER OF SAMPLES OF THE BOAT FOR LABORATORY ANALYSIS PROCEEDED TO MAKE ALL DESIGN CALCULATIONS APPROPIATE TO THE INCIDENT INTERVIEWED ALL PARTIES RELATED IN ANY WAY TO THE INCIDENT TURNED A DEAF EAR TO ALL CRITICS ON THE SAILING BLOGS AND FORUMS WROTE THE REPORT OF MY FINDINGS AND MY CONCLUSIONS REFUSED TO MEET WITH THE UNIVERSITY’S OFFICIALS, WHO WANTED TO “NEGOTIATE”

MY FINDINGS THE VESSEL SUFFERED A HARD GROUNDING ONE YEAR BEFORE THE CAPSIZING ACCIDENT

DAMAGE INCLUDED KEEL SEPARATION ON THE LEADING EDGE

AND ALSO DAMAGE TO THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE KEEL

MY ASSESSMENT OF THE GROUNDING DAMAGE

AFTER THE FATAL CAPSIZING WE FOUND THE KEEL, USING AN ROV, 114 FEET DOWN, ON THE BOTTOM OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

HULL DELAMINATION DAMAGE DUE TO GROUNDING ON THE LEADING AREA OF THE KEEL IN TENSION

AND TO THE TRAILING EDGE AREA OF THE KEEL IN COMPRESSION

CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRACKING OF NO. 5 FLOOR

MRS. BROWN PLEA MY JOB DEALS WITH DEATH ALL THE TIME. I TRY TO INSULATE MYSELF AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE FROM THE HUMAN ASPECT OF EACH CASE. SOMETIMES THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE. MRS. BROWN WAS ONE OF THOSE. IT HAPPENED ON A LAKE ABOUT ONE HOUR EAST OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA. MR BROWN HAD BEEN IN IRAQ AND WAS COMING HOME FOR A TWO-WEEK VISIT WHEN

A COLLISION AT 115 MPH

THE NASHVILLE CATZ WAS A NORTECH 42 FT RACING CATAMARAN WITH BIG POWER

THE BOW AREA

THE ELIMINATOR WAS A CALIFORNIA-BUILT 40-FT. CATAMARAN CAPABLE OF 167 MPH

THE TWO VESSELS WERE ON A POKER RUN ON LAKE TEXOMA, OKLAHOMA RUNNING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS AND ABOUT TO CROSS EACH OTHER. EACH VESSEL WAS GOING 115 MPH. IN THE FLASH OF AN INSTANT, SOMETHING WENT WRONG WITH THE ELIMINATOR. IT SPUN 180 DEGREES DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE NASHVILLE CATZ, WHICH PROCEEDED TO PLOW OVER THE ELIMINATOR, BLOWING BOTH BOATS APART AND KILLING EVERYBODY BUT THE DRIVER OF THE NASHVILLE CATZ, WHO REMEMBERED NOTHING. THE OKLAHOMA MARINE UNIT SALVAGED THE BOATS, SET THE PIECES IN AN OPEN FIELD, AND CALLED THE COAST GUARD TO FIND THE CAUSATIVE REASON FOR THE COLLISION. A CASE FOR THE TIGER TEAM ! THIS IS WHAT I FOUND:

ALL NEATLY PILED UP

PART OF THE STRINGER SYSTEM

MY HEAD WAS THROBBING

FORGOT TO TELL YOU THE ELIMNATOR WAS EQUIPPED WITH TWO HELICOPTER JET TURBINE ENGINES

THE TIP OF THE ARNESON DRIVE AND THE PROPELLER IMPACTED THE FUEL TANK OF THE NASHVILLE CATZ

OOPS-- ALL OF A SUDDEN I DISCOVERED THIS PART (4 PICTURES OF SAME)

AND EVERYTHING CAME INTO PLACE: THE OWNER OF THE ELIMINATOR HAD MODIFIED THE ARNESON TRIM TABS BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THEY WERE TOO BIG. UNFORTUNATELY ONE FAILED.....

THE STORY ENDS WITH A VERY SAD EPISODE: TWO WEEKS AFTER MY INVESTIGATION A GENTLEMAN CALLED, ASKING ME TO DO HIM A FAVOR. HE WAS CRYING, AND WANTED TO KNOW HOW AND WHY HIS DAUGHTER AND SON-IN-LAW DIED? IT TOOK ME TWO HOURS TO TELL HIM.