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CASE 23<br />
Never, Ever Assume<br />
Narrative<br />
It was a clear summer’s day. A 9.5m sailing<br />
yacht departed its marina with its owner,<br />
his wife and the two family dogs on board<br />
with the intention of enjoying a leisurely<br />
day sail. The boat was in good condition and<br />
well equipped for cruising. The owner was<br />
an experienced yachtsman and had sailed<br />
extensively both in the local area and further<br />
afield. Both the skipper and his wife wore<br />
lifejackets and their dogs wore buoyancy aids.<br />
The yacht was initially motored out of the<br />
marina, the sails were set and the engine<br />
stopped once clear of a busy harbour. The<br />
breeze was light and the yacht was sailing at<br />
around 4kts. The sea was calm and visibility<br />
was excellent.<br />
The skipper maintained a course to keep his<br />
yacht to the south of a busy shipping channel.<br />
Figure 1: The dredger<br />
After enjoying lunch in the cockpit, and in<br />
order to utilise favourable tidal conditions<br />
for the trip back to the marina the skipper<br />
decided to turn around, and he began to steer<br />
a course to take the yacht back to pick up the<br />
recommended yacht route into the harbour.<br />
The yacht was approximately 7 miles offshore.<br />
His wife was relaxing, lying on the starboard<br />
cockpit bench facing aft, leaning against the<br />
cabin bulkhead.<br />
A ship had recently sailed from the port and<br />
the yacht’s skipper watched this ship to his<br />
north proceed out of the harbour following the<br />
main shipping channel. He could see another<br />
ship a few miles further away, also proceeding<br />
out of the port in the main shipping channel.<br />
At approximately 1326 the skipper engaged<br />
the yacht’s autopilot; he could see the ship<br />
outbound from the port was<br />
still in the main channel and<br />
by looking at its aspect was<br />
content that there was no risk<br />
of collision. Leaving his wife<br />
relaxing in the cockpit he went<br />
below to visit the heads.<br />
At about the same time, the<br />
outbound ship made a series of<br />
small alterations of course to<br />
leave the main channel. This was<br />
the ship’s normal route and it<br />
followed the same track several<br />
times a day. This alteration of<br />
course put the ship on a collision<br />
course with the yacht. The yacht’s<br />
radar echo was clearly visible on<br />
the ship’s radar, yet the target had<br />
not been acquired and the OOW<br />
- who was alone on the bridge<br />
of the ship - had not visually<br />
sighted the yacht.<br />
54<br />
MAIB Safety Digest 1/2017
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