Don't jump of a ship into the Caribbean

[conVINCEd 21468]

Grandad and several hundred of his shipmates jumped off a ship into the South Pacific 80ish years ago.  He is no longer with us, but while @ChiTownDoc may be right that shark might be the way to go, Grandad said that watching your friends get taken out by sharks was not an enjoyable experience.

[BabaYaga 15190]

That moron should have read "Not Without Hope" - the book about the powerlifter/trainer and 3 NFL players that capsized their boat off the coast of FL.  Even in "warmer" waters, you get a few miles into deeper water and it's F'ing freezing if you have no gear/suit to protect you.  Harrowing account of these guys hanging on to the side of a capsized boat, one by one going hypothermic and dying.  Ironically the powerlifter had the most fat and survived a few days at sea until he was found.  He was at sea for 43 hours and had a core temp of 88 degrees and had lost something like 40 pounds.  He'd gotten sea sick and had a rain slicker on, so at least he had something.

Ironically I read that on the first cruise I took more than a decade ago.  

[BabaYaga 15190]

9 hours ago, Wally Fairway said:

Peale and his partner, Jennilyn Blosser, went on the cruise to celebrate her birthday, and it was his first time on a cruise, Blosser said. She went to bed Sunday night, and when she woke up on Monday around 11:30 a.m., she was unable to find her partner, she told CNN.

Right......."look honey, there.  Keep leaning over.  Almost there.....just a little more...."

[Pato del Muerto 52232]

5 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Grandad and several hundred of his shipmates jumped off a ship into the South Pacific 80ish years ago.  He is no longer with us, but while @ChiTownDoc may be right that shark might be the way to go, Grandad said that watching your friends get taken out by sharks was not an enjoyable experience.

Anyway, he delivered the bomb. 

[wild_turkey 3147]

Must feel pretty awful to be the friends who dared him. Young guys dare each other to do stupid shit all the time, and maybe it was so outlandish they didn’t expect him to actually do it, but now he’s dead and that’s a heavy weight to carry.

[Gale Snoats 242]

12 hours ago, Chooky said:

Nightmare. Imagine watching the lights on that ship disappear as you get dragged by a current. And the sounds getting more faint until you're all alone, treading, in pitch black darkness. It looked really dark. Treading water in the dark sucks. Even small waves lap into your face because you can't anticipate anything. What a horrible death, no matter how the end arrived. 

In high school a buddy of mine was cleaning fish on the back of a commercial deep sea fishing boat when a big wave snuck up on him and threw him out of the boat.  The crew was always playing jokes / hiding from each other to avoid work on the way back in and no one thought anything of his absence.  They got back to the dock and realized he wasn't on the boat.  They alerted the coastguard and other boats in the area (they run similar routes) and another boat came across him on the way back in and grabbed him just before sundown.  He said he'd never forget the boat disappearing over the horizon as he just floated in the open ocean.  He said he had a talk with himself and thought he could either panic and be fucked or relax and wait/hope that someone came along and saw him.  He took off his Tevas, velcro'd them together and put them behind his neck to help floating.  He stayed as calm / still as possible and just floated. He lost track of time and said he could have been there for 30 minutes or 3 hours before the boat came by and grabbed him.

[RPM 26167]

4 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

Young guys dare each other to do stupid shit all the time,

You have no idea. This happened after I got off Boutwell.

Death, Drugs, and Sabotage: The “Orca” Interdiction

On June 20th, 1982, after a recent departure from a port call in Anchorage during a routine Alaskan Fisheries Patrol, Boutwell was steaming in the Gulf of Alaska when a 39-foot sailboat was sighted approximately 700 miles south of the Aleutian Island chain. Due to the sailboat’s size and distance from land, Captain Krumm became suspicious and decided to send a boarding team over to conduct a vessel safety inspection. During the inspection, the boarding party discovered numerous foil and plastic wrapped packages that the Orca’s crew claimed were filled with dried fruit. Once the  boarding officer, Jack Rutz, informed the skipper, John Humphrey, that he intended to test the contents for drugs, Humphrey said “how about for $100,000 we don’t proceed any further and you just look the other way.” Declining the skipper’s offer, one of the packages was tested and found positive for marijuana. The crew was taken into custody and the Orca and her cargo were seized. In total, the 580 packages, each weighing an estimated five pounds, contained more than 3,100 pounds of high-grade southeast Asia marijuana, with an estimated street value of $3 million. A shotgun, rifle, and .45 caliber handgun, as well as a small amount of cash were also found onboard. After transferring the Orca crew to Boutwell, the ship was placed in tow and Boutwell set her course for Dutch Harbor. The Orca interdiction marked the first marijuana interdiction by an Alaskan-waters cutter in the Coast Guard’s history.

After the interdiction, crewmembers regularly joked about stealing the Orca’s leafy green cargo. Unfortunately for Captain Krumm, the joke quickly became a sad reality that plagued the Boutwell on its transit to offload the contraband. On the night of June 22nd, a watchman on a round of the ship discovered 50 gallons of fuel sloshing around in Boutwell’s steering room. The casualty was suspicious and it didn’t take long before other signs of trouble were found including a severed fuel line and damaged electrical connecters to the emergency gas turbine generator, Boutwell’s emergency power supplier. In the  engine room, lubricating oil had been drained from one of Boutwell’s primary generators in an attempt to permanently damage the engine. Crewmen also discovered a fire hose shoved into a fuel tank opening in an attempt to contaminate and disable Boutwell’s propulsion engines. Fireman D**** B**** was found nearby and immediately questioned for his involvement. It didn’t take long for B** to implicate himself  and  another,  Seaman  Apprentice M***** G*****          in a sabotage attempt which could have disabled Boutwell hundreds of miles from land with no means of power generation or propulsion.  B*  and his accomplice had planned to disable Boutwell before floating back to the Orca, cutting the tow, and hijacking the vessel. G***** would later admit to conspiring with B**** to commandeer the sailboat, stealing two survival suits as well as paint and brushes so that the Orca could be repainted after it was stolen. After the discovery of the ill planned sabotage attempt, Boutwell changed course for Kodiak, fearing that other smugglers associated with the Orca might be in the area.

On June 29th, seven days after the failed sabotage attempt, a second attempt was made on the Orca’s marijuana.  Seaman  H******   donned a wetsuit and lifejacket that night and attempted to  get his hands on some of the Orca’s cargo by floating down the towline. During the attempt, he fell into the water and became entangled in approximately 100 feet of line. One of the watchmen on duty that night thought he heard a shout for help which initiated a search of the area. Boutwell came dead in the water for five minutes, illuminating the entire area around the ship in search of the possible man overboard. As  Boutwell  remained  stopped,  accountability  was  taken  but was reported sleeping  below  decks by Seaman his accomplice in the scheme to retrieve the marijuana. The search was briefly called off since everyone was reportedly accounted for. Soon after, a head count was conducted and H the ship’s intercom system, requesting H was discovered missing. An announcement was made over 1MC to report to the bridge. When no response was received, an intensive search was initiated by Boutwell, a C-130 transport plane, and a helicopter. H***** ’s lifeless body was discovered seven hours later, having succumbed to exposure in the frigid Alaskan waters.

C*****   would later admit to the scheme as well as for assisting H***    into the water from    the ship’s fantail.   In order to prevent the attempt  from being reported, C**    threatened the tow  watch, Seaman D*** J****, and told him “to keep his mouth shut and see nothing.”  J**** later failed on three occasions to report seeing H****** go overboard when questioned by officers during the search, fearing  repercussions  from C****. B****,   G*****,   C*****,  and J***** were all later convicted at Courts-Martial for their various involvements in the separate schemes.

Edited May 31, 2023 by RPM

[closetohumping 17354]

A part of me doesn't feel bad.  I know, I suck. 

[chainsaw 9810]

2 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

A part of me doesn't feel bad.  I know, I suck. 

Yeah without knowing much about the boy my mind fills in the blanks with the Murdaugh family.

[South Austin 51976]

8 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

A part of me doesn't feel bad.  I know, I suck. 

I sort of feel bad.  I never did anything in that ballpark of stupidity in my younger days when I got particularly blitzed.  But I've had a couple of the "but for the grace of God" moments.  I feel worse for his parents.

[Bevo 13468]

1 hour ago, Quagmire said:

People saying that’s a shark are dumb

That is because it was the Kraken.

58 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Grandad and several hundred of his shipmates jumped off a ship into the South Pacific 80ish years ago.  He is no longer with us, but while @ChiTownDoc may be right that shark might be the way to go, Grandad said that watching your friends get taken out by sharks was not an enjoyable experience.

Indianapolis?

[conVINCEd 21468]

2 minutes ago, Bevo said:

That is because it was the Kraken.

Indianapolis?

Helena

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Helena_(CL-50)

[Bevo 13468]

13 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Helena

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Helena_(CL-50)

So your grandad said that sharks were a major cause of death? I had heard that wasn't really the case.

[Bevo 13468]

1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

That moron should have read "Not Without Hope" - the book about the powerlifter/trainer and 3 NFL players that capsized their boat off the coast of FL.  Even in "warmer" waters, you get a few miles into deeper water and it's F'ing freezing if you have no gear/suit to protect you.  Harrowing account of these guys hanging on to the side of a capsized boat, one by one going hypothermic and dying.  Ironically the powerlifter had the most fat and survived a few days at sea until he was found.  He was at sea for 43 hours and had a core temp of 88 degrees and had lost something like 40 pounds.  He'd gotten sea sick and had a rain slicker on, so at least he had something.

Ironically I read that on the first cruise I took more than a decade ago.  

Is it a good book? I am going sailing in a few weeks in the Caribbean. It might be a fun read while at sea.

[conVINCEd 21468]

1 minute ago, Bevo said:

So your grandad said that sharks were a major cause of death? I had heard that wasn't really the case.

They lost a few to sharks.  Not a whole bunch.  One would be enough to fuel nightmares.

[Cheeseweasel 26437]

 Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain. For we've received orders for to sail back to Boston. And so never more shall we see you again.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13388]

While I'm sure that 99.9% of kids who go on these high school graduation trips return home relatively safe, I couldn't imaging going on an international trip when I was graduating high school. One, my schoolmates were mostly from lower income families.  Two, I was a moron and could have easily done something stupid. I don't think I would have jumped off a ship but with inexperience with alcohol, who knows.

[BabaYaga 15190]

20 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Is it a good book? I am going sailing in a few weeks in the Caribbean. It might be a fun read while at sea.

Great book.  Amazing story of mistakes gone wrong and perseverance.  

[kevwun 15572]

My grandpa said on the transport ship he took to the Philippines, one of the guys decided he couldn't take wearing dirty clothes anymore so he put them in a sack and tied a rope on it and threw it behind the ship.  When he brought it back in, the sack was one.  Sharks will bite anything.

[Scheiss Meister 8390]

3 hours ago, Hermanator said:

Don't start a thread if you aren't ready to bring the required number of "F's"

Maybe he has no more "F"s to give.

[yoladu 4063]

alcohol and bodies of water don't play well together.

 

there but for the grace of God go I

[texastough 1128]

11 hours ago, Post Oak said:

HSO. People who go in the ocean are fools.

This is quite a take right here lol

[Dennis Taylor 18644]

2 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

Grandad and several hundred of his shipmates jumped off a ship into the South Pacific 80ish years ago.  He is no longer with us, but while @ChiTownDoc may be right that shark might be the way to go, Grandad said that watching your friends get taken out by sharks was not an enjoyable experience.

[ztejas 43190]

2 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

Must feel pretty awful to be the friends who dared him. Young guys dare each other to do stupid shit all the time, and maybe it was so outlandish they didn’t expect him to actually do it, but now he’s dead and that’s a heavy weight to carry.

Maybe they just didn't like him. 

 

[WBT 20376]

Out, out, brief candle!

[RDCanecutter 26198]

12 hours ago, FartingMonk said:

I take a ferry to work.  We get a jumper about every 3-4 months.  In the winter it gets dark early and the water is cold.   They usually don't recover the body

So you're there, and people "decide to jump," definitely not pushed. Hmm.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9273]

Great book.  Amazing story of mistakes gone wrong and perseverance.  

I think I read an article about this incident on ESPN or SI. Wasn't the cause of the capsizing the owner of the boat refusing to cut loose the anchor that was stuck on some rocks because he'd recently lost another anchor and didn't want to eat the few hundred bucks? He tried a ridiculous maneuver that no experienced sailor would consider and the result was a horrific tragedy.

[Biff Tannen 45439]

6 hours ago, WBT said:

How many people do you lose on a normal cruise?  30? 40?

This is so good. Well fucking done. 

[Biff Tannen 45439]

3 hours ago, yoladu said:

alcohol and bodies of water don't play well together.

 

there but for the grace of God go I

I certainly gave it my best in lake Travis from about 17-22. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13388]

 

[Sandman 3401]

5 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

He was at sea for 43 hours

I saw Magnum, P.I. tread water in the ocean for 48 hours, so I don't see the big deal.

[Bevo 13468]

36 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I certainly gave it my best in lake Travis from about 17-22. 

I thought alcohol was mandatory when near water.

[YGIFS 19447]

The mustache acts as a buoy.  

I'm sad for the parents.  But otherwise, just another stark reminder that young males 15-25 are complete fucking idiots.  This is reminding me of how much dumb shit we did in/around water as kids because a lot of my friends and I were great swimmers and had a high tolerance for alcohol.  Apparently both connected to very short-wiring in the risk assessment portion of our brains.  I'm honestly looking back lately on life choices and so fucking glad I didn't own a boat or a gun during those years.  Jumping off moving boats?  Yep, guilty as charged.  Fuck, I can't believe we dropped acid and swam out into Lake Michigan from the Indiana Dunes.  And I mean far out.  Only reason our dumbasses realized that was happening is the thermal zone changed (it was August and water was warm), we could feel the change in our lower half as the water was borderline dangerously cold.  Something kicked in and drunk as we were, we all headed back to shore instinctively.  If we had been in the ocean with more serious currents, we'd have all died.  Would have made for a rather sad John Hughes film.  

I know our stupid choices as young men were as much a part of our youth as your families, education, and faith.  But just...if you have a kid this age in your house...just do society a favor and lock him in his room and get him the occassional hooker. 

[Kel Varnsen 8425]

 

[BabaYaga 15190]

1 hour ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

4 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

Great book.  Amazing story of mistakes gone wrong and perseverance.  

I think I read an article about this incident on ESPN or SI. Wasn't the cause of the capsizing the owner of the boat refusing to cut loose the anchor that was stuck on some rocks because he'd recently lost another anchor and didn't want to eat the few hundred bucks? He tried a ridiculous maneuver that no experienced sailor would consider and the result was a horrific tragedy.

Correct.  Guy was cheap and didn't want to spring for another $200+ anchor and line.  Kicker was he also was too cheap to spring for a device that transmits a signal in the event the boat capsizes and/or is inverted.  They might be mandatory now, not sure - but they were not then?

[Pimphand 5552]

I 

21 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Correct.  Guy was cheap and didn't want to spring for another $200+ anchor and line.  Kicker was he also was too cheap to spring for a device that transmits a signal in the event the boat capsizes and/or is inverted.  They might be mandatory now, not sure - but they were not then?

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO Documents/5p/CG-5PC/CG-CVC/CVC3/notice/flyers/11E-EPIRBs.pdf

[Pimphand 5552]

And yes EPIRBs are required on all coast guard inspected vessels but not required for private boats.  Still if you have a private boat and are on the open ocean you probably should spring for having one with you at all times.

That was always a remark when I would do dive briefings explaining where the life vests were stowed I would also then point at the EPIRB and explain it's function and tell the divers that they would find me exceptionally close to the EPIRB in the case of an actual emergency....

Edited May 31, 2023 by Pimphand

[BabaYaga 15190]

Just now, Pimphand said:

I 

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO Documents/5p/CG-5PC/CG-CVC/CVC3/notice/flyers/11E-EPIRBs.pdf

There it is.  Pictures in the book of the search pattern.  It was wild how much water they covered with air and water assets.  

[naija 2847]

you know this is never happening to one of us.

[atomheartbevo 89304]

14 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

Must feel pretty awful to be the friends who dared him. Young guys dare each other to do stupid shit all the time, and maybe it was so outlandish they didn’t expect him to actually do it, but now he’s dead and that’s a heavy weight to carry.

We don't know that it was friends who dared him - it could have just been somebody who saw a drunk dude and took the opportunity to goad him into jumping, and then all of the sudden you've committed a murder that not even Angela Fucking Lansbury could have solved.

[Gatorubet 30023]

On 5/31/2023 at 4:10 AM, Dnaguy said:

It's sad that we joke about this kid's death and that we'd sink to that level as a group.

I may be jumping to conclusions, but this can't be the first time this kid made a rash decision buoyed by the idea of 'clicks' or followers.

[Pimphand 5552]

 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8795]

We don't know that it was friends who dared him - it could have just been somebody who saw a drunk dude and took the opportunity to goad him into jumping, and then all of the sudden you've committed a murder that not even Angela Fucking Lansbury could have solved.

Has anyone brought up the chances it could’ve been a triple dog dare?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13388]

On 5/31/2023 at 8:07 AM, BabaYaga said:

That moron should have read "Not Without Hope" - the book about the powerlifter/trainer and 3 NFL players that capsized their boat off the coast of FL.  Even in "warmer" waters, you get a few miles into deeper water and it's F'ing freezing if you have no gear/suit to protect you.  Harrowing account of these guys hanging on to the side of a capsized boat, one by one going hypothermic and dying.  Ironically the powerlifter had the most fat and survived a few days at sea until he was found.  He was at sea for 43 hours and had a core temp of 88 degrees and had lost something like 40 pounds.  He'd gotten sea sick and had a rain slicker on, so at least he had something.

Ironically I read that on the first cruise I took more than a decade ago.  

I grew up on the coast and with boats. I have a healthy fear of going offshore especially in smaller boats. Someone can absolutely do so safely but there are stories every year in Texas of tragic outcomes . A friend of my parents disappeared off Port A along with a couple of others. A few days later the boat washed up on St Joe's or Matagorda. 

I realize you can drown in a bay or lake but I like seeing land while on a boat.

[BabaYaga 15190]

1 minute ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I grew up on the coast and with boats. I have a healthy fear of going offshore especially in smaller boats. Someone can absolutely do so safely but there are stories every year in Texas of tragic outcomes . A friend of my parents disappeared off Port A along with a couple of others. A few days later the boat washed up on St Joe's or Matagorda. 

I realize you can drown in a bay or lake but I like seeing land while on a boat.

Yeah, big water is no bueno to me.  Even deep sea fishing makes me nervous.

[hayden_horn 11358]

On 5/31/2023 at 7:53 AM, troph said:

Jesus this causes serious anxiety. I’ve nearly died once in the ocean on a pacific beach in a Baja undercurrent and FML that was not fun - mostly not fun remembering it tbqh as in the moment biology took over. It was 100% a near death experience.  Once you really think you are a goner in that kind of sudden way your brain shuts down and goes into dying mode which is peaceful and it blocks a lot of outside stimuli including physical sensations from vision to physical feelings. Anxiety was no where to be found just “oh well, this is it.” I imagine drowning in the open ocean or being attacked by a shark (not saying it’s a shark I didn’t watch) would be the same the body and brain just shut it down early and say “well, that was dumb” in a matter of fact mode and “it was a nice ride.”

in fact I remember my last thoughts were “my ex is gonna kill me my life insurance lapsed” and “what are my employees going to do?” And then on both accounts, “well it’s too late for me to do anything about it, I guess this is it.” The second I was about to breathe in salt water my girlfriend at the time / now wife screamed swim !! I was woken out of what was basically a trance and body surfed to shore. It was a low wave cycle and I made it back but I had to dig into the shore for another round of crashing waves. I was able to stay on the beach as the surf tried to pull me in. Next low round of waves I crawled up the beach to safety.  Spent the rest of the day non stop shaking and alternating between uncontrollable sobbing and uncontrollable laughing. 

i almost drowned once. nothing so dramatic but when my boys were younger, think maybe fourish?, we were in port a and me and the brother in law decide to show the boys the sandbar out there. With each of us having one of my sons on his back, we set off. 

gd we made it but only just. we had both reached the point of no return when our muscles just decided we were stupid and they weren't going to put up with our bullshit. 

i mean you go from strong confident swimmer to oh God am i gonna drown my kids and myself out here in stupidly shallow water? and it happens so fast. 

damn near. 

[BabaYaga 15190]

5 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

i almost drowned once. nothing so dramatic but when my boys were younger, think maybe fourish?, we were in port a and me and the brother in law decide to show the boys the sandbar out there. With each of us having one of my sons on his back, we set off. 

gd we made it but only just. we had both reached the point of no return when our muscles just decided we were stupid and they weren't going to put up with our bullshit. 

i mean you go from strong confident swimmer to oh God am i gonna drown my kids and myself out here in stupidly shallow water? and it happens so fast. 

damn near. 

Damn, what's the saying:  Fatigue makes cowards of us all

[Bevo 13468]

14 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

i almost drowned once. nothing so dramatic but when my boys were younger, think maybe fourish?, we were in port a and me and the brother in law decide to show the boys the sandbar out there. With each of us having one of my sons on his back, we set off. 

gd we made it but only just. we had both reached the point of no return when our muscles just decided we were stupid and they weren't going to put up with our bullshit. 

i mean you go from strong confident swimmer to oh God am i gonna drown my kids and myself out here in stupidly shallow water? and it happens so fast. 

damn near. 

Similar, I swam from shore to a catamaran with my son on my back. At first, it was no big deal but after the breakers, the sea was a lot rougher than it looked from shore. I was trying to keep my son's head above water which was no bueno for me and it was way too rough and he was too young to have him float on his back. Life vests would have been nice. It scared the shit out of me.

[Kennythetiger 9325]

4 hours ago, Pimphand said:

 

The guy that was holding the grouper could have been minus a hand pretty quickly. 

[956 Worldwide 34241]

So apparently around 400 people have disappeared from cruise ships in the last 20 years or so. And in a lot of cases there’s just no redress to seek at all. 
 

Re: the 18 year old on a booze cruise in the Caribbean, it still blows my mind that these trips get financed. When I was in high school every year a group of kids did a very unofficial “senior trip” to Cancun. My dad laughed me out of the house when I asked him to help me cover it. Kids at that age just make awful decisions and you can’t stop it and part of life is making them. But I don’t get encouraging it.