[svHyLyte]

For the aficionados/proponents of electronic navigation that eschew keeping a back-up on "paper charts" and such "out dated" technology, the demise of the yacht Seaquel is a cautionary tale. See (click on) Seaquel's Final Chapter.

A word to the wise? Think about it.

 

[svHyLyte]

Sounds more like a warning about blind skippers.

The skipper himself says it was all his fault, and if he'd been able to SEE, he wouldn't have gotten into that situation.

That wreck had nothing to do with nav systems or electronics, it was a skipper sailing without adequate knowledge of where he was.

Same thing could happen to any solo sailor who just takes short catnaps...and oversleeps once. You can't close your eyes when there's pointy stuff within range of the boat, period.

The owner had a sighted crewman aboard upon whom he was entirely dependent, particularly near shore. His taking "responsibility" for the loss of the yacht is a noble but rather hollow gesture. They were sailing in an area with which they were entirely unfamiliar and had evidently not acquainted themselves. They were dependent upon an electronic device that allowed them to proceed without maintaining any practical situation/positional awareness. Had they studied a chart beforehand and kept it open on their nav table or in their cockpit, when the electronics went down there would have been no real issue. Instead they fiddled around with their malfunctioning electronics while they stood into danger/disaster. Defending and offering apologias for the owner's choices may seem "kinder" but it/they dilute the object lesson others might take from the event. Hindsight's always 20/20. Foresight gets one a lot farther.

FWIW...