Classic Silverton Partly Sinks in Traverse City Michigan

A ten meter Silverton flybridge cruiser partly sank in West Grand Traverse Bay near Clinch Park. Michigan on the morning of Wednesday 24 July.  Grand Traverse County Dispatch said the Silverton cruiser was unattended, and notified the owner to refloat and salvage the boat.  The case of the sinking is not reported though Facebook social media posts reported as seeing the boat anchored a day prior.

The Silverton in this sinking is a first generation 34 Convertible as produced from the seventies till about the mid eighties.  Silverton will have four generation of the 34 Convertible, with the first mark.2 replacement being based on this same platform but featuring a more spacious main deck.

Cuddy Cabin Cruiser Sinks at South Bass Island State Park

An unattended seven meter cuddy cabin sport cruiser sank while moored in Lake Erie at South Bass Island State Park, Ohio on the afternoon of Monday fifteen July.  The cuddy cruiser sank with heavy rain, and the waves which struck the boat from outside the dock.  A storm which hit the North East part of USA and South East of Canada created heavy damage for a couple of days, including heavy rail fall which resulted in power cuts.  The cuddy cabin cruiser was recovered on the following day by TowboatU.S.

The boat in this sinking is a Mariah Z241 as produced in the late nineties.  Mariah was founded in 1989, closing down and purchased by Sea Fox in 2001.

Sport Cruiser Sinks Near Porto Buso

A ten meter sport cruiser titled Fra with five adults and two children which departed Marina Planais of San Giorgio di Nogaro partly sank in between the island of Sant' Andrea and Porto Buso, to the East of the Marano Lagoon on the Northern part of the Adriatic sea, on the morning of Sunday seven July. According to unconfirmed reports the sport cruiser sank after it hit a reef with its port side stern drive, this allowing a water breach causing its partial sinking. The passengers aboard the sport cruiser were assisted by the Guardia Costiera of Monfalcone who recovered them and then took them to Lignano.  On the morning of eleven July, the sport cruiser was refloated.

The sport cruiser in this sinking is a A. Mostes 32.9 a sport cruiser as produced in Italy from the late nineties till the noughties.  A. Mostes is one of the famed Lake Como boat builders, founded in 1913 by Alessandro Mostes.

Strong Winds in Traverse City Partly Sinks Formula Powerboat

Sudden strong winds in Traverse City, Michigan on the afternoon of Sunday thirtieth June partly sank a Formula power boat of eleven meters in length, while a Sea Ray sport cruiser of eight meters also ended beached.  According to locals the North wind came in following a sudden strong storm in the late morning afternoon of Sunday, with the Formula finishing beached and then swamped by the big waves into its stern which build up during the sudden storm.  The Sea Ray sport cruiser is reported to have broken its swing mooring when at Clinch Bay.

The Formula in this part sinking looks to be an F-419 SR-1 as produced in the nineties, while the Sea Ray looks to be the top selling Sea Ray 268 Sundancer as produced in the eighties.

Classic Bertram Sinks While Moored in Maui

A classic ten meter Bertram sank while moored in its slip in Maui, Hawaii Islands on the late morning of twelve June.  According to information on social media the classic Bertram was with it engines running when its owner noticed it had standing water in its forward cabin.  Seeing this the owner shut down the engines and tried to identify the water leak only for the Bertram to sink even more and having its hull and part of the super structure sank in water.

The Bertram in this sinking is a 33 Sportfisherman model as designed by Dave Napier and produced from 1979 to 92.  The Bertram 33 debuted first with the more lower deck spacious Flybridge Cruiser in 1977, and was produced in over 350 units up to 1992 and including the updated II version which arrived in 1988.

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.

Classic Boat Crashes Into Rockingham Jetty

A classic eleven meter flybridge cruiser crashed, and then partly sank into Rockingham Yacht Club Jetty, in Rockingham, Western Australia on the late night of 31 January.  The cause of the accident are not reported but chats on social media are saying the captain collided with the jetty for a couple times, before eventually hitting bottom, and then partly sinking grounding the cruiser in the spot.  The classic flybridge cruiser was still in the same spot, partly sank and tied up to Rockingham Jetty as at ninth February.

The classic boat in this sinking looks to be a Mariner 38 Mk.I as build in the seventies.  Mariner Boats in Australia was founded by Bill Barry-Cotter in 1969 who he will sell in 1978, to then found Riviera in 1980 and then sell again in 2002, to then establish his third boat building brand Maritimo, which today he manages with his sons.

Three Men Rescued from Capsized Sea Ray Near Albany

Three men where rescued when there seven meter sport cruiser capsized and then partly sank in rough seas off the Albany Coast, South West Australia on 09:40 morning time of Wednesday 31 January.  Police received the EPIRB call and with assistance coming by the Albany Sea Rescue who retrieved the men and then transported them to Emu Point boat ramp before 13:00 hours with St. John WA and police doing the assistance.  The man were reportedly fishing over night when they entered into a difficult situation in rough four meter waves seas, with the Sea Ray sport cruiser capsizing and then partly sinking.  One of the man a forty year old was taken to Albany Health Campus for observation, but all three men came off with minor injuries.  The capsized Sea Ray eventually washed out in Peaceful Bay about forty nautical miles from the location the three men where rescued, with the boat found holding suspicious packaging and the Police opening a new investigation on the case. 

The Sea Ray in this sinking is a 240 Sundancer model as produced from 2011 to 14.  An entry level sport cruiser with a cabin comfort for four persons the 240 Sundancer represents a successful segment for Sea Ray since the eighties.  The 240 Sundancer came as a replacement to the 230 Sundancer, with the model replaced by the 265 Sundancer in 2014.

Record Snowfall in Juneau Alaska Sinks Eight Boats

Record snowfall in between thirteen to 25 January in Juneau, Alaska has sunk about eight boats, and damage partly sank some more.  The first heavy snow storm arrived on the thirteen January and that did over half a meter of snowfall in one night.  Since then and for twelve days the storms did not stop, with January 2024 reaching over a meter and half of snow fall, sixteen centimetres less to the record set in January 2009, when 191 centimetres of snowfall was recorded for a whole month.  Of the eight boats that sunk two are pleasure boats, with the rest being mostly commercial fisher-craft.  Some pleasure boats suffered a partial sinking, also because most of these are kept in covered slips as the above picture shows. 

Juneau is located to the South-East of Alaska, in the Gulf of Alaska, bordering to the North with the Bering Sea and to the Pacific Ocean in the South.  Juneau has a population of just over thirty thousand with temperatures that reach twenty degrees Celsius plus in Summer and going to below zero in the Winter months.

B is for Build Classic Riva Sinks

B is for Build vlog classic twelve meter Riva titled m/y B is for Boat sank on Thursday eighteen January in Riverplace Marina, Portland, Vancouver.  The cause of the sinking as reported on B is for Build YouTube vlog was a raw water inlet pipe in the engine room which froze due to cold weather, and a water filter cannister which cracked open with the ice.  B is for Build made two videos about the sinking, the  first going into the news about the sinking, and the second showing the re-float of the classic Riva.  B is for Boat was floated back in it's berth, with the plan being to take her to a boat yard, and Chris promising a rebuild of his classic Riva sport cruiser. 

B is for Boat is a 1990 Riva 43 Tropicana.  Designed by Giorgio Barilani, the Riva 43 Tropicana was produced from 1989 to 97 in 53 units, a sport cruiser design hull based on the 42 Malibu and 42 Caribe, with all these coming from a length extended 38 Bravo hull released in 1979.  B is for Boat was repowered in Spring 2021 with twin petrol gas LSX 750hp from previous Cummins 420hp diesels.

Classic Trojan Sinks in Pittsburgh

A classic nine meter Trojan partly sank on the morning of second January at North Shore, Pittsburgh, Pensylvania.  The Trojan cruiser partly sank only because it rested on the river bed which is just over a meter deep.  Following the sinking Pittsburgh authorities protected the sunk cruiser with boons to avoid pollution from spreading.  The Trojan cruiser was reported to arrive and moor in that particular spot only some days before it eventually sank.  This particular Trojan classic was reported sold in September 2023.  

The Trojan in this sinking is an F-30 Sea Raider the full fiberglass version which arrived after 1974, as initially this series was build with a fiberglass hull and wooden super structure, launching in 1970.  The flybridge in the 30 Sea Raider was an option, to the hard-top express version.

South West Florida Hit by Strong Low Pressure

A strong low pressure hit the South West Florida on Sunday seventeen December, with various streets being flooded in the area, a storm surge of one meter, over five centimetres of rain water, and winds up to Force seven Beaufort of intensity.  Punta Gorda which has still not recovered from Hurricane Ian from September 2022, was one of the most hit areas, along with Forty Myers, and Palm Beach.  

Many weather forecast models are saying this and previous recent storms, along with a particularly unusually strong Pacific Hurricane Season are the affect of El Nino which finally has arrived.  The 2024 El Nino is forecasted to be a strong one, because of record heat in recent Summers, and also because it delayed by a year. 

A classic Hatteras 53 Motor Yacht suffered the affect of the storm surge, with crew trying to resolve this.

This is a Chaparral 28/29 Signature which ended beached after breaking free from its mooring.  

A first version Ocean Yachts 38 Super Sport also suffered the affect of the storm, and partly sank.

Tropical Storm-Force Winds Hits South Florida

Tropical storm-force winds hit South Florida and the Treasure Island on Thursday, sixteen November.  The winds started gusting at over fifty knots at around 04:00 hours of the morning with the storm calming down jest before 18:00 local time.  The storm caused a lot of damage in the area, toppled a lot of trees, destroyed tents, broke loose a few boats, and three hundred power cuts happening during the day.  In Jensen beach a catamaran ended slamming in a dock, while a ketch finished beached and aground and partly toppled into a seawall after it broke loose.  The picture above shows also a sport-boat-cruiser of about eleven meters in length which partly sank, and was hanging with the dock near Gateway Boulevard in Boynton beach.

The sport-power-boat-cruiser in the above sinking is a Formula 419 SR-1.  Designed by  Formula designer John Adams, the 419 SR-1 was introduced in 1991 as a flagship of the range, with triple engines for speeds up to seventy knots, and the trademark 24 degrees deadrise aft.  In 1997 the 419 evolved into the FasTech updated with a three-step hull, and produced till 2001.  Formula never really replaced the 419, with the 382 FasTech taking it's place as flagship, 

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.

Sea Ray Ends Beached in Coney Island

A ten meter Sea Ray sports cruiser titled Broken Arrow with one person onboard ended beached by the West 37th Street Jetty, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York just before 19:00 hours of Friday twentieth October.  The Sea Ray sport cruiser is reported to have left a marina on Rockaway in rough seas and had some problems with a risk of sinking, with the skipper onboard beaching it to avoid her going down.  The sport cruiser was reported being secured on the same night by the owner.  The day after the ownership was reported trying to unbeach the boat, with no success. 

We have reports that until 1 November Broken Arrow was still beached in the same spot.

Broken Arrow is a Sea Ray 340 Express Cruiser.  Produced from 1984 to 89 the 340 EC offers an open plan accommodation sleeping two plus two, and line shafts propulsion with tunnels.  Similar to the Sundancer in looks, the Sea Ray Express Cruiser offered line shafts propulsion, and a smaller interior alternative version.  The 340 EC had a 340 Sport Fisherman flybridge variant produced till 1987, and was replaced by the 310/330 Express Cruiser in 1990.

Storm Babet

Storm Babet has made havoc in Britain, northern Germany and southern Scandinavia, with powerful winds, heavy rain and storm surges that caused floods, power outages, evacuations and disrupted flights, railway service and ferry lines.  Storm Babet made landfall on Thursday nineteen October, first arriving in the northern part of the United Kingdom, and continued making havoc in North Germany and Southern Scandinavia up till Saturday 21st October.  Gale-force winds whipped up storm surges on the southern shores of the Baltic Sea, breaking through flood defences in coastal areas in Denmark and northern Germany. In Flensburg, a German city just south of the border with Denmark, water levels rose more than two meters to the highest level recorded in a century.  

Forming on the fifteen October Storm Babet also called Storm Viktor in Germany, is an extratropical cyclone which affected Northern and Western Europe, reaching speeds up to one hundred knots, and has caused nine fatalities.  

So far we know that Storm Babet caused damage in the following German yacht marinas; Olympic port of Schilksee in Kiel, Damp, north of Eckernförde, and Wassersleben Marina in Harrislee near Flansbee causing damage to over 200 boats.  The storm in these harbours was caused on Friday twentieth October.

Sea Ray Sport Cruiser Saved from Sinking in Mallets Bay

A thirteen meter Sea Ray sport cruiser with one person onboard was in danger of sinking after hitting a solid object at about 17:00 hours of Monday second October to the South West of Valcour Island, Mallets Bay, Lake Champlain, Burlington, Vermont.  Receiving a call the Cholchester Fire department rescued to owner-boater with its rescue boat, the coast guard followed later, and started the operation to save the Sea Ray sport cruiser, which was sinking in over a meter of water and its bow already buried in the sea bed.  The coast guard initiated the saving with a gas-powered pump and later received the assistance from Red Cap Marine and Salvage who added another pump, floated and patched the Sea Ray and then towed her to Champlain Marina area to dry dock her.  No one was injured in the collision, with the solid object opening a gap of about two feet in the sport cruiser's hull bottom to port side.

The Sea Ray in this near sinking is a 1993 to 95 440 Sundancer.  The Sea Ray 440 Sundancer offered a lower deck sleeping four plus two, and was powered by twin 300 to 425hp Cat engines on line shafts for speeds up to thirty knots with the large engine option.  Introduced as 420 Sundancer in 1990, she was updated as 440 with port holes replacing the window and propeller tunnels added in the hull.  The 440 Sundancer was replaced in 1995 with the Sea Ray 450 Sundancer.

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.

Sea Ray Boat Capsize Sinks in Panama City

A nine meter Sea Ray flybridge cruiser with one person onboard started to take on water and later capsized and sank near Hathaway Bridge, Panama City on the afternoon of Sunday 24 September.  Panama City coast guard intervened just in time, with the boat capsizing seconds in the saving of the one person onboard the Sea Ray cruiser.  Ending with the bow tip out of the water the Sea Ray cruiser was for a night a navigational hazard, resting in shoal water with an oil boom around her on the near abouts to Panama City Marina.  A salvage operation was organized the day after by SeaTow, with the boat retrieved and taken to a boat yard.    

The Sea Ray in this sinking is a 310 Sport Bridge, produced from 1992 to 93 as a mid-core sport fishing cruiser on the 310 Amberjack platform, with the addition of an open flybridge.  The 310 Sport Bridge has an interior sleeping two down below, and is powered by 300hp in both petrol or diesel with line shaft in semi-tunnels propulsion for speeds up to thirty knots.

Hurricane Idalia

Hurricane Idalia started to form on the 26th August from a low pressure in Central America and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.  Idalia touched briefly category four on thirtieth August, when it reached the Big Bend region of Florida, and later become a category three as it crossed to South East Georgia.  Hurricane Idalia later pushed into the Carolinas as it became a Tropical Storm.  Idalia reached 110 knots of wind speed as it made landfall in Florida although it biggest damage came from the storm surge, with water level rising by over two meters.  Since August 31 Idalia has dissipated in the Atlantic, near the Bermuda's.   Idalia was the third hurricane, second major one, and the tenth storm of 2023.

Idalia caused damage to tens of boats and yachts mostly from the storm surge.  Videos on social media showed drifting boats in the Florida canals, while some home owners ended with boats in the court yard in the aftermath of Idalia's storm surge.