Three Sport Cruisers Destroyed at Key Biscayne Marina

A fire that broke out at Key Biscayne Marina in Miami on Thursday morning May 21 at 10:30 AM, totaled three sports cruisers and damaged six other boats.  A Miami Fire Rescue Boat was first coming to control the fire which then got help from a total of fifty fire fighters.  The Fire Rescue Boat fighting the fire from the sea made the extinguishing operation faster and more effective.  Fortunately no one was injured in the time of the fire as no one was onboard on any of the boats. 

The totaled three boats where a Vandutch 54 which was the boat which started the fire, a Cobalt 46, and a Sea Ray 410 Sundancer.

Two Injured in Sportfish Yacht Fire

On Sunday May 17, just after 15:00 hours a sportfish yacht of around seventeen meters in length went ablaze on the Fort Luaderdale Intercoastal Waterway, South of Oakland Park Blvd.  Seven adults, two children, and a dog where rescued from the sportfish yacht, with one adult female and seven year old being treated for minor injuries.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.   

Still in doubt what the sportifsh yacht is, but from the few glimpses I got the boat in the fire looks to be a first generation Viking 55 Convertible produced from 1996 till 2002, and sold in over 150 units.  The success of the 55 Convertible not only made it one of the best ever sold sportfish yachts in its size, but also put Viking as the leader for semi-production sportfish yacht above fifteen meters in size.

Riviera Sinks off Rainbow Beach Queensland

A sixteen meter Riviera flybridge motor yacht titled m/y Shelly 2 sank off Rainbow Beach, in Queensland Australia on the morning of Monday 23 March.  According to some unconfirmed reports the origin of sinking started with a fire from a burning and overheating exhaust.  The four shocked persons onboard Shelly 2 where rescued by a commercial line fisher.  A man exploring the area with the canoe also rescued two dogs of the family. An update on the 26 March appearing on social media outlet Facebook by salvage company Rainbow Repairs showed Shelly II beached in a total loss situation without super structure and an open hull deck, with the engines still mounted.  

Shelly 2 is a 2013 Riviera 53 Enclosed Flybridge, a model the Australian builder produced from 2011 to 2016 in 36 units.  The 53 Enclosed Flybridge featured a three double cabins interior layout, and was powered by standard triple Volvo 435hp, with optional twin Volvo 900hp with IPS pod drives, and or Cats 1015hp with ZF aft looking pod drives also being available.  The model was replaced and evolved into the Riviera 57 Enclosed Flybridge in 2016.

Viking Sportfish Sinks in Fernardina Bay

An eighteen meter Viking sportfish yacht titled Foolish Pleasure sank after it hit the jetties in Fernandina Bay, Fort Clinch, Florida on 05:00 hours of Sunday fifteen March.  With the impact Foolish Pleasure opened a gap of about two meters in the hull, and stuck on the jetty and later on with the rising tide, tilted to its starboard side and sank.  The crew and guests of Foolish Pleasure where assisted by Nassau County Sheriff.  The Viking sportfish yacht was recovered the following day with a crane and a floating barge handling the operation.  This was a navigational error as the Fernandina Bay jetties are marked on the charts, even though they are invisible with high tide and might allow you to just make it through.  Foolish Pleasure was reportedly sold just some weeks before this sinking, with an asking price of three million US$.

Foolish Pleasure is a 2014 Viking 62 Enclosed Bridge powered by twin Cats 1670hp for top speeds up to forty knots.  The Viking 62 Enclosed Bridge offers a four cabins layout, with a midship to starboard master stateroom.  Presented in 2013 the 62 came out as a replacement to the 2008 to 12 Viking 60 Convertible, and was replaced by the second generation 64 in 2021.

Classic Italian Super Yacht Catches Fire in San Remo

A thirty meter classic super yacht titled M/Y Pamela IV caught fire while in dry dock at Dimola Shipyard, in the old Port of San Remo at around 1800 hours on Thursday 27 February evening.  No one was injured in the fire of Pamela IV, with scenes of the morning after showed the classic super yacht still smoking.  The Italian fire fighting team from San Remo, with extra assistance coming from the nearby Imperia squad took a whole night to control and put off the fire, this made more difficult by the windy conditions of the evening. 

Build in 1962, by Cantieri Navali Liguri in steel, this thirty meter classic Italian super yacht was designed by A. Pulitzer with interior by Officine Mariotti, and was powered by twin GM 720hp engines which allowed her to reach top speeds up to fifteen knots, and cruise at thirteen, this allowing her for a range up to 2200 nautical miles.  Accommodation was for up to eight people in four cabins, while crew space was for five persons.

Montecarlo Venice Record Attempt Ends in Tragedy

A record attempt between Monte Carlo and Venice ended in tragedy the evening of seventeenth September at about 2100, just some minutes away from concluding the feat.  The fast powerboat of around twenty meter in length finished against the San Nicoletto breakwater, in the locality of Lunata in the Venice Lagoon.  The San Nicoletto breakwater is a protection barrier for the Mose, a mobile gate aimed in protecting Venice when the high tide of the Northern Adriatic occurs.  News are reporting that the twenty meter fast powerboat crashed on the breakwater at a speed of eighty knots, and with the impact ended on the other side of the breakwater.  Departing from Montecarlo on Monday at 1100 hours, the record attempt at this stage was nearly completed with only minutes away from success.  The timing of the feat at this stage, and excluding the pit stop was at 18 hours thirty minutes. Three pilots; offshore legend Fabio Buzzi, Luca Nicolini, and the Dutch Eric Hoorn lost there lives.  In grievous condition also other popular offshore name Mario Invernizzi, who is reported as at today in stable conditions.

Fabio Buzzi was piloting most possibly one of his FB Sixty fast boats which had top speed capability up to seventy knots in full load condition.  We still do not have details of the craft Fabio Buzzi was using for this Montecarlo Venice new record breaking attempt, which he made his many times, over the years.  Buzzi most recent record of the challenge came in twelfth July 2016 with a twin 1600hp MTU powered FB 60, who did the course in 22 hours 5 minutes and 42 seconds with an average speed of 52.3 knots.         

Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane season has arrived and it seems to have started with a blast.  Dorian was the first major hurricane of 2019, and started to form in August 24 first as Tropical storm, and then moving to Lesser Antilles in August 28 and developing as a hurricane.  On August 31 Dorian became category four, and the day after it reached category five, reaching sustained winds of 185 mph, and a low pressure of 910 millibars.  After reaching category five Dorian slowed down not little remaining nearly stationery on Abaco Islands and the Grand Bahamas island from September 1 to 3, causing extensive damage to the islands, with the high sustained winds, storm surge, and heavy rain fall.  At least thirty people are reported to be death by the havoc of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, with thousands of homes destroyed.  Reports are also saying that every single marina in the Grand Bahamas has been destroyed.  Dorian is now directed to Florida though the hurricane has decreased to a Category two.

Super Yacht Oceans Five Sinking Eight Miles from Sardinia

Super Yacht Oceans Five has capsized off Villasimius near Cagliari in Sardinia eight nautical miles away from Capo Carbonara.  Apparently the super yachts hit something and started to have water coming in from one of its propeller lines, along with problems to one of its engine and rudder.  The crew of five where saved by passing nearby super yacht M/Y Silver Dream a 43 meter 2003 build Warren Yachts and then transported by the Italian Coast Guard to Villasimius marina.  The super yacht was still drifting submerged in capsized form as pictured above and the ownership declared it started operation on recovery procedure, made very difficult on the day due to the Westerly Force Six Beaufort wind and rough seas.
M/Y Oceans Five was the second hull of Dreamline DL30 which launched this Spring 2019.  The DL30 was launched in 2018 with exterior from Enrico Gobbi of Team for Design, and a fast displacement hull by the Arrabito studio.  The DL30 is powered with Cats or Man engines of 1920hp or with 1200hp engines in the Navetta long range platform. 

Eight People Saved from Sinking Motor Yacht Near Bridgehaven

Eight people where saved after a twenty meters motor yacht titled Silver Lining started sinking near Hood Canal, Bridgehaven, Squarnish Harbor area at about 15:30 hours of Tuesday 23 July 2019.  The motor yacht is reported to have hit a submerged object, with the crew and guests making a Coast Guard distress call and then getting off the yacht with its tender.  The yacht which remained partially sank had about one thousand liters of diesel fuel and forty liters of oil, reported a small oil spill.  TowboatUS and Global Diving and Salvage were hired to salvage the yacht, with an operation of towing to shallow water starting first at 19:30 hours of the same evening, with a refloating planned for the following day.

Silver Lining is a 1997 Pacific Mariner 65 Motor Yacht, the first hull and model of the Washington state yacht builder which was produced up to 2008 in 62 units.  Pacific Mariner will subsequently release it's second 85 model in 2004 produced till 2014 in 25 units.  Pacific Mariner was founded in 1996 by Jack Edson and John Seabeck selling it in 1999 to Westport, with the super yacht builder moving production to its own facilities in 2009, and stopping the brand in 2014.

Princess Crashes into Kitriani Islet in Sifnos

On Thursday July 4, a freak accident happened in the Islet of Kitriani, south of the island of Sifnos in the Greek Aegean archipelago islands.  The Princess V78 who was with seven passengers onboard, including a crew of three, crashed at sustained speeds head on into Kitriani, resulting in incredible bow damage, and hull under water sections being breached, resulting in her taking water.  One of the passengers sustained some head injuries, and along with four other passengers was taken for further check ups to a nearby hospital by a neighboring yacht. 

The Princess V78 was produced from 2009 till 2014 and was later in its production run around 2012 added with the choice for an optional sport bridge.  The Princess V78 was powered by standard twin Cats 1723hp, and optional MTU 1822hp or Cats of 1825hp.  The V78 offered two internal layouts with three or four double guest cabins, with a crew cabin sleeping two aft.

Monday 29 October 2018 Carlo Riva Port, Rapallo

What a sad devastating day Monday 29 October turned out to be for yacht lovers all over the World.  Sometimes an image can say a thousand words, and the before and after photo says it all.  Rapallo city Carlo Riva Marina turned into a boat and yacht grave yard of all type and sizes.  Marina Carlo Riva PowerYachtBlog is with you and I am sure that you will rise stronger and more beautiful from the devastation!