Sea Ray Sport Cruiser Ends Aground in St. Andrews Jetties

A ten meter Sea Ray sport cruiser collided and ended aground on the Shell island side of St. Andrews Jetty, to the South of Panama City on the night of Thursday 28th March.  According to unconfirmed reports the Sea Ray lost power on her way out, and ended aground on the jetty, piercing the hull and partially sinking.  Two boat salvage attempts for the Sea Ray sport cruiser were made by SeaTow the following day and Sunday, with pumps emptying water and a tow with no success.  Ultimately and unfortunately the Sea Ray sport cruiser was still in the spot one week after the accident and then ended sank and wrecked.

The Sea Ray in this grounding is a 350 Sundancer as produced from 2010 to 12. Available with both stern drive or V-drive line shaft engines, the 350 Sundancer was a good seller in a difficult economy.  An evolution of the 330 Sundancer which launched in 2008 and recognizable by the different port holes, the 350 evolved again in 2012 into the 355, with a new stern design and larger hull glazing serving the lower cabin deck.

Marina Fire at Pra, Genoa Burns Nine Boats

A fire in Pra, to the West side of Genoa, Italy just after 03:00 hours on the morning of Tuesday nineteen March burned and destroyed nine boats and damaged a further four of seven to eleven meters in size.  Guardia Costiera and Vigili del Fuoco responded to the fire with one person also being assisted by the 118 emergency medical team, being stuck on one of the boats in the raging fire, and reported as escaping with minor injuries.  Nine boats sank in this fire, while a remaining four are still floating, with the marina pontoon also receiving damage.  The Genoa Port Master advised the boat owners and marina owner to recover the boats and salvage the area, with a pollution boon being placed and cleaning operations starting on the early hours of the morning.  At this stage it is not understood how and where the fire started.

Most of the boats in this fire seems to be small runabout outboard powered center consoles of about seven meters in length, although in one of the photos there is a sport cruiser of about nine meters in length, looking to be a Bayliner 320/335 SB as produced from 2008 to 12.

Pra is located on the further West side of Genoa's large harbor which spans seven and a half nautical miles and ends to the East, at the Marina Fiera di Genova, where the World famous Genova Boat Show is held every fall since 1962.   There is 25 pontoons in Pra, with eight small boat yards, mostly serving small to medium sized boats from five to about fifteen meters.

Three Yachts One Boat Destroyed by Fire in San Felice Circeo

Three yachts; two motor yachts of twenty and nineteen meters, a sport yacht of 23 meters, and a classic sport cruiser of seven meters burned down in San Felice Circeo, to the North of Latina, Italy, with the fire starting at about 20:00 hours of Saturday tenth February.  The fire started on the twenty meter flybridge yacht, which then jumped to the yacht of nineteen meters to its starboard side.  After this and with the wind blowing at over twenty knots from the West the first burning yacht freed itself and ended on the Eastern breakwater berths, taking its fire to a 23 meter sport yacht, and a classic sport cruiser of seven meters in length.  Vigili dell'Fuoco fire fighters, Guardia Costiera, and Carabinieri rushed to the scene, with the fire being controlled at 22:30 hours, and the securing cleaning up of the area taking up till the morning of Sunday eleventh February.  The causes of the fire are under investigation, with the report saying that it could be a short circuit or an ignited one. 

The yachts and boats in this fire are a Posillipo Technema 65 as produced from 2002 to 12 the yacht which started the fire.  The second is a Cantieri Liguri Ghibli 19, the second yacht which started burning located to starboard of the first yacht.  The third yacht is a Arno Leopard 23 Sport as produced from 1997 to 2003.  While the small sport cruiser boat is a wooden build Italcraft Sarima 7 m as produced from 1965 to 77 in 256 units.

Three Boats Destroyed by Fire in Piombino

Three boats where destroyed by fire at the Marina Archipelago Toscano in Piombino, to the South of Livorno, with the blaze starting at 0830 on the morning of first February. The fire is reported to have started in the middle motorboat and then jumped to a flybridge cruiser on its starboard side, and a sailing yacht on its port side. Fire fighters and the local coast guard office rushed to the scene, controlling the blaze first, so it does not jump to other boats, and then turning it off. No one was injured as the boats where all reported unattended, although all three boats are fully burned and a wreck.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The boats in this fire are a Zuccon designed 1993 to 97 produced Ferretti 120 Fly to left of the photo, with the sailing yacht to right being a Feeling.  So far I cannot picture the boat in the middle, which looks to be Italian made and from the eighties.

Larnaca Marina Fire Totals Two Boats Damages Another

A fire which started on a flybridge cruiser of about thirteen meters in length at Larnaca Marina in Cyprus, at 13:26 hours of 21 December has totalled two boats, and damaged another.  Reports say the fire started on a thirteen meter flybridge cruiser, which then with the strong winds jumped to a sport cruiser of similar size to its starboard side, and while on fire also damaged a power catamaran on its port side.  The first two cruisers where towed outside the marina, while the power catamaran received important fire damage on its starboard side.  Larnaca Fire Station responded with two fire fighting vehicles, taking about about an hour to control the blaze, with the two cruisers being towed outside the marina already half burned, after which they sank from the flames and rough sea conditions of the day.  No one was injured in the fire, as the boats where reported unattended, with the cause of the blaze being under investigation.

The three boats in this fire are the Garroni designed Jeanneau Prestige 46 produced from 2003 to 2011, a Pershing 43 as designed by Fulvio de Simoni and produced from 2001 to 04, and a Leopard 39 Powercat as produced from 2012 to 22.  The boat ownerships are reported to be two of Cypriots and one of a Ukrainian national.

Baywood Marina Boat Fire

An unattended ten meters sports cruiser went ablaze at Baywood Marina in Brick, New Jersey at 04:46 hours of Thursday seventh December.  Jersey Shore Fire Response and Pioneer Hose Volunteer Fire Company responded to the blaze, while East Dover Fire Company came to the scene with Fire Boat 28 from the water.  It took over an hour to extinguish the fire with no damage to other boats and property being sustained thanks also to the quick response of the fire fighting crew.  The boat was later removed and towed away from the dock, with the cause of the fire being under investigation.

The sport cruiser in this fire is a Wellcraft 3200 Martinique, produced from 1994 to 2000.  The 3200 Martinique sleeps six in a typical North American express-sport cruiser open layout, and was powered by twin stern drives or V-drive line shafts for speeds up to the mid thirty knots.  The 3200 Martinique came as a replacement to the 3200 St.Tropez and was replaced by the 3300 Martinique in 2000.

Fire Burns Five Boats in La Paz Mexico

A fire which broke out the early morning of second November burned down and sank five yachts from eleven to 32 meters at Marina Palmira, in La Paz, Mexico.  The fire is reported to have started on a seventeen meters Azimut yacht, which then moved to the other four burned out boats, and damaged at least five more.  Tim Prouty gave an account of the accident on the Latitude38 website, when he saw the first seventeen meters flybridge yacht starting to burn on its stern port side at about 03:00 hours early morning time.  With a soft breeze blowing starboard to port the fire eventually jumped to the next boat, then the other, until five boats totally burned down and sank, including of which, and last to get the fire a 32 meter Hatteras super yacht.  Fire fighting crew response came at about 03:30 but an hour later to this the fire had already engulfed the five boats and yacht which burned down and sank.  

The yachts in this fire are an Azimut 58 Full a model produced from 1998 to 2002, the one that looks to have started the blaze, followed by what look to be two Riviera models, and then jumping to another Azimut 43S.  The Hatteras super yacht which burned was a 2019 100 RPH m/y Optimus and hull number five, which was also the last build of this Enrico Gobbi designed series which debuted in 2013.

Hurricane Otis Goes Apocalyptic in Acapulco

Hurricane Otis made an apocalyptic arrival in Acapulco on Wednesday 25 October, devastating the waterfront of the Acapulco Yacht Club in the North-West of the bay.  Otis was a compact and so far the most powerful Tropical storm category five hurricane of the 2023 Pacific Season reaching speeds up to 143 knots on the morning of October 25. Forming on the 22nd November, and reaching its peak on the 04:00 hours of October 25, Otis hit and made landfall in Isla de la Roqueta, to the South of Acapulco, killing 49 people, with 57 still missing, and is estimated to have made seventeen billion US dollars in damages.     

Scene from the North part of the of Acapulco Yacht Club, you can see an Azimut 54, and a Sunseeker Predator 63 Open to the left corner, along with a few Sea Rays.

Here is the South side is a Ferretti 800, followed by a Sunseeker Predator 57, a mid nineties Horizon Elegance 82, and an Azimut 100 Jumbo.

A before and after Hurricane Otis view of Acapulco Bay.  Possibly one of the biggest single areas destructions, and devastations ever seen.

Two Yachts Burn Down in Pasadena Marina Florida

A fire in Pasadena Yacht and Country Club located in Boca Ciega Bay, southwest of Gulfport Boulevard, Florida which started after about 16:00 hours of Wednesday fourth October totalled and sank two boats and damaged two more.  The fire started on a thirteen meter flybridge cruiser, which then jumped to the starboard side on a sixteen meters sportfish yacht.  The flybridge cruiser which ignited the fire was totally burned down to the waterline and sank with the fire, while the sportfish yacht to starboard also received extensive damage and partly sank later on.  Another seventeen meter sportfish yacht to port side of the fire starting flybridge cruiser also had fire burning damage, with some minor damage also hitting a same sized sportfish yacht located to starboard a slip away from the fire starting boat.  Gulfport Police Department dispatched officers, emergency crews, and fire fighters to the scene around 17:00 hours.  The cause of the fire is reported as starting from the battery compartment of the thirteen meter flybridge cruiser.  No one was injured in the fire although damages are reported to be about 1.3 million US dollars.

Pasadena Yacht and Country Club was also involved in a fire on 03:00 hours of eighteen December 2020.  We did not report that fire back then as I found nearly zero information apart a photo of three empty slips damaged by fire.

The boat which started the fire is a Meridian 441 Sedan produced from 2003 to 2008, a model sold over three hundred hulls and was one of the biggest successes of the Brunswick incorporated and owned 2003 to 2016 brand.  The other sportfish yacht which burned down and sank is a Viking 52 Convertible, a model produced from 2002 to 09, with the boat to port side of the starting boat, also being a Viking, but the 55 Convertible from 1998 to 2003.  The further boat to starboard is another Viking but a 56 Convertible which was produced from 2004 to 2010.

Donzi Powerboat Wake Flies and Disintegrates On Landing

A seven meter Baja power boat with two persons onboard disintegrate landed and sank after hitting a big wake near Schaefer's Canal House, about one nautical mile off Chesapeake Bridge, Virginia just before 12:00 hours of Sunday first October.  Thrown into the water by the impact the two persons onboard were rescued by a nearby Samaritan boater, then taken to hospital for observation and released some hours later with non life-threating injuries.  After the sinking the Coast Guard issued a danger to navigation warning and closed the canal, as the powerboat was resting bow upwards in about four meters of water.  On the 03:00 hours of Tuesday morning TowBoatUS, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Northstar Marine Salvage removed the powerboat wreckage in two pieces. 

The Baja powerboat in this collision is the 26 Outlaw model.  Offering a two berth accommodation as most powerboats in this size the 26 Outlaw is powered by a single 350 up to 600hp stern drive petrol gas engine for speeds up to 57 knots.  The 26 Outlaw was released in 2007 and evolved into the 27 Outlaw in 2017, recognizable by the larger side-engine air intakes.

Thirty Boats Burn Down in Nautica Feltrinelli

A fire which started in the early 02:40 hours of Saturday 26th August at Nautica Feltrinelli in via della Libera Gargnano, Brescia burned about thirty boats. The fire started in a semi-basement boat storage facility of the boat yard, with the alarm and automatic fire extinguishing system igniting to the flames, and three squads of fire fighting squads arriving immediately on the scene.  It was also reported that at ongoing fire one of the Feltrinelli's saved a few of the boats by towing them away.  According to the initial investigation the fire was ignited by a short circuit on one of the boats.

Feltrinelli boating history goes back in time to 1639 with Pietro a family of boat builders in Gargnano on the Garda lake.  The current set up was started by Egidio Feltrinelli in 1919, a returned American migrant in Gargnano who starts building fast racing boats, with the yard becoming a boat storage and repair centre in 1963 by Fausto.  Today Nautica Feltrinelli is guided by Dino, and is Frauscher Italy's dealer since 2003.

Lobsterman Saves Two Persons from Boat Fire

A lobsterman fisherman saved two boaters from a fourteen meter traditional inspired cruiser titled m/y Titan which went ablaze, some nautical miles off Sequin Island, in the coast of Georgetown, Maine on the late morning of Saturday nineteen August.  It took about an hour for the coast guard rescue vessel to arrive in the scene, and with the tender also burned, if it was not for the several lobsterman which answered the call we might be looking for two persons in the water.  The traditional lobster cruiser totally burned down in less to an hour, and sank in about sixty meters of water.  One of the two man suffered some minor burning injuries, with both men taken back to the dock.  The Coast Guard said it will inspect the scene and try to find what caused the boat fire. 

M/y Titan the traditional lobster boat inspired cruiser in this fire is a Sabre Salon Express 48.  The Salon Express 48 offeres a two large cabins lower deck layout and is powered by Cummins or Volvo 550hp and or 600hp with pod drives for speeds up to 37 knots with the large engine option.  The Sabre 48 was also added with a Fly Bridge version in 2016.

Sport Cruiser Burns in Capri

A sport cruiser of about eight meters in length with one person onboard went ablaze, while berthed in Capri's Marina Piccola, at 15:45 of Saturday nineteen August.  The person onboard the sport cruiser was reported to be a mechanic, working on an engine when fire started to come out from under the dash in the helm station.  Immediate the response of Capri's Marina Piccola berth assistance personnel, who first unmoored the sport cruiser, and towed her away to open sea where she burned down and sank.  A fire fighting squad also assisted in the boat fire, with a medical team coming to help the injured with burns mechanic who was taken to hospital for observation.

The sport cruiser in this fire is a Chapparal 290 Signature produced from 2004 to 09.  The 290 Signature offered an open layout interior sleeping six and was powered by twin 190 up to 270hp gas, or twin 200hp diesel engines with stern drives.  The 290 Signature evolved from the 280 with a different stern and tad longer bathing platform, becoming a second generation 290 with upper port holes and other minor design changes in 2010.

Hawaii Firestorm

On the eight August the Hawaii Firestorm reached the Lahaina Small boat harbour, devastating most of the 99 boats in the marina with only thirteen boats and there fortunate pier escaping the fire.  The Hawaii Firestorm formed in early August, predominantly reaching Maui, and doing extensive damage to the North West coast and the coastal town of Lahaina, killing 98 persons with 31 people still missing.  The Hawaii Firestorm was contained on the eleventh August, destroying about 2200 buildings in Lahaina alone, and causing over six billion US dollars in three days.  The Hawaii Firestorm was formed by dry gusty conditions created by a strong high pressure to the North of Hawaii and Hurricane Dora to the South.

Lahiana small boat harbour is located to the North-West of the Island of Maui, to the North of Hawaii and second in size of the Hawaii Island archipelago; which features eight major volcanic islands and thirteen minor islets on the North Pacific Ocean spread in 1,200 nautical miles.  Previously called Sandwich Islands. the Hawaii Islands are a state of the United States of America with a distance of just over 1,700 nautical miles from the closest harbour in California.

Sydney Marina Fire Burns Three Boats

A fire at Holmeport Church Point Marina in Sydney, on about 05:00 hours in the morning of Thursday Tenth August burned down three boats. Six trucks, 22 fire fighters, and two boats fighted the fire till about 10:00 local time when it was extinguished.  The case at some point was also getting dramatic with one of the boats engulfed in the flames, drifting in the gulf around the marina.  No one was injured in the fire, with a pollution protected boon being made around the wrecks of the three boats.  The fire also involved minor burning damages to two other boats with the combined damage to the boats and marina being estimated at around three million Australian dollars.  

The three burned boats in this fire are a Cruisers 350 Express, a recently delivered Integrity Euro Trawler 440, and a Tiara 5200 Sovran. Holmeport Church Point Marina in Sydney opened its doors in 2004 when the old floating wharf was replaced by a floating concrete pontoon, with the marina expanding again in 2019 with the new C-wharf, today offering two hundred berths from ten to thirty meters in size.

Two Killed Three Injured in Long Beach Boat Fire

A fire involving a ten metre sport cruiser at 200 Block of Marina Drive in Long Beach, Alamitos Bay in California on Saturday sixth August at around 17:00 hours local time killed two woman, and injured three persons.  The boat was reported as just finishing to refuel when it exploded.  Long Beach fire fighters with help from Orange County fire Authority extinguished the blaze. The case of the fire and explosion is under investigation by Long Beach Fire Department.

The sport cruiser in this fire is a Regal 3760 Commodore produced from 2007 to 2009.  The 3760 Commodore is an evolution of the 3560, recognizable by the radar arch with hard-top and offered an open plan accommodation for four to six persons, and is standard powered by twin 320hp Mercruiser petrol gas engines on shafts.  The 3760 was replaced by the Regal 35 Sports Coupe in 2011.

Bayliner Cabin Cruiser Destroyed by Fire in Cardiff

An eight meter Bayliner cabin cruiser titled m/y Snow White with three persons onboard was destroyed by a fire which developed on 12:22 hours of Saturday fifth August at Pont Y Werin, Cardiff, Wales.  South Wales Fire and Rescue Service from Penarth and Cardiff Central stations responded to the fire.  CCTV of the marina shows the fire develop, with the boat exploding and developing a smoke, at this stage a man is seen jumping out and securing the boat to the pontoon.  Thirty seconds later two woman jump out of the boat and run down the quay, some half-a-minute later to this the flames are seen coming out of the deck with the boat totally destroyed at 14:03 hours.  No one was injured from the fire, with the cases of the blaze not being reported.  

The Bayliner in this fire is a late nineties produced 2855 Ciera Sunbridge.  Produced from 1991 to 2000 the 2855 Ciera Sunbridge came out as a replacement to the 2850, and was replaced by the 285 SB Cruiser in 2000.  A long production model, the 2850 featured modification to its cabin layout and soft styling update to its radar arch and windshield in 1993.

Eight meter Sport Cruiser Burns in Rocchette Tuscany

A eight meter sports cruiser titled m/y Madimar under Italian flag with two persons on board burned down and eventually sank in front of the bay of Rocchette, in Castiglione dell Pescaia, Tuscany, Italy just after 10:00 hours of Sunday ninth July.  No injuries where sustained to the two persons onboard, assisted by two military personnel who where patrolling the whereabouts in that moment. The Guardia Costiera has later interviewed the two persons about the fire sinister, and requesting to recover the sunk wreck being it is a pollutant with fuel and resin.

The boat in this is fire is a Mano Marine 25 Sport build in the noughties.  The Mano Marine 25 Sport offered a two berth accommodation and was usually powered by twin Mercruiser 225hp petrol gas on stern drives.

Ten Boats Burned in Marseille Marina Fire

A fire in Estaque Marina in Marseille on Tuesday 27 June at about 1430 hours burned ten small boats from five to about eight meters in length.  Fifty fire fighters, sixteen fire engines, and two fire fighting boats from Marseille rushed to the scene to control the flames which they managed to extinguish at 18:00 hours.  Of the ten boats, six are totally burned, with the other four having fire damage.  Three boons where deployed around the fire area and damaged boats in order to contain pollution.

Estaque Marina is located to North West of Marseille, about four nautical miles by sea and ten kilometres of road distance from the sea side city.

Classic Bertram Burns and Sinks in Liguria

A fourteen meter Bertram classic sportfish cruiser with five people onboard; four men and a woman went ablaze on 20:30 hours of Saturday ten June.  The Bertram was travelling from Lavagna in Eastern Liguria to Cala Medici yacht marina in Tuscany, when for an unknown reason ten nautical miles into its trip it went ablaze in front of Deiva Marina.  As soon as the boaters noticed the fire a MayDay was called, answered by the La Spezia coast guard operation, with the boaters first finding help from a passing by Rib, with the Sestri Levante coast guard later assisting in trying to stop the fire, and then taking the boaters to safety.  The five boaters where then later transported to Tigullio harbour where an ambulance was awaiting for a routine check to the five boaters, as they were unharmed with the exception for a shock. The classic Bertram was near to all engulfed by the fire, and then sank in the depths of the Ligurian sea.

The Bertram in this fire is a 46 Convertible model, also called the 46.6 because of the 46 feet six inches length.  Produced from 1971 to 87 the 46 Convertible was Dave Napier first creation for Bertram, setting a new high standard for sea keeping qualities.  The Bertram 46 Convertible was offered in two or three cabins layout, and in its sixteen years production had three versions, the latest one introduced in the fall of 1985.  Power was from twin 435hp GM and or optional 570hp from 1981 onwards.  The Bertram 46 Convertible was replaced by the 50 Convertible in 1987 with a second generation 46 coming in 1995 produced till 97.