Kam
Voyager 
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Sept 10, 2007 10:56:49 GMT -8
Just got word of an explosion at the ferry dock on Newcastle Island!
No details as of yet..
Will post updates as they come in to the station.
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Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Sept 10, 2007 11:11:13 GMT -8
No injuries, sounds like a pleasure craft so far.
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Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Sept 10, 2007 12:18:05 GMT -8
It was a 62 foot sail boat, blew a hole in the hull in the engine room and sank in under 2 minutes!  |
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Post by Coastal Drought on Sept 10, 2007 12:59:39 GMT -8
That's not a good thing to hear. I certainly hope nobody was on that boat.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886 
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Post by Mill Bay on Sept 10, 2007 13:59:58 GMT -8
Only one person was injured, and not seriously...
Published: Monday, September 10, 2007
An explosion caused a large yacht to sink at a dock on Newscastle Island off Nanaimo on Monday.
According to an emergency services spokeswoman the explosion occurred at 11:30 p.m.
and resulted in one minor injury. There was one person on board at the time.
The 52-foot yacht sank shortly after the explosion. The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
Sailboat explodes, sinks at dock near Nanaimo
Last Updated: Monday, September 10, 2007 | 5:03 PM ET
CBC News
A sailboat exploded and sank at a dock near Nanaimo, B.C, early Monday afternoon.
The explosion took place at Newcastle Island. Coast guard officials said the only man aboard the 20-metre boat escaped before the boat exploded.
There was no fire because the boat sank immediately due to the force of the blast, officials said.
A number of people reported hearing a huge explosion.
John Logan, who lives on Protection Island, about a half kilometre from the blast, told CBC News he was startled by the noise. He said he could see debris scattered on the water through his binoculars.
The cause of the blast was under investigation.
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Post by Retrovision on Sept 10, 2007 23:00:16 GMT -8
It was all over CBC Radio's news as well as featured prominently on their 6pm local news as it's not every day such a thing happens in the world, unlike the nature of the bulk of what most sensationalistic news agencies publish and broadcast these days.
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Post by PCL Driver on Sept 11, 2007 13:21:36 GMT -8
From Today's TC Lucky those kids weren't still on it:
Sailboat explodes, sinks off Nanaimo
52 girls and staff from Vancouver school got off 25 minutes earlier
Robert Barron, Times Colonist
Published: Monday, September 10, 2007
NANAIMO - Dick Hobbis got the fright of his life Monday morning when a large sailboat moored off the passenger ferry dock on Newcastle Island, blew up in front of him.
Hobbis was pulling into the dock to unload passengers from his tour boat just before noon when the 62-foot schooner Chebucto blew apart and sank within minutes.
"At first, I thought it was the noon cannon going off . . . but realized it was way too loud and close for that," he said.
"Then I turned and saw a huge explosion and pieces of the boat flying high into the air. The explosion lifted the entire top of the boat off and then it collapsed back down and the ship closed in on itself and sank within minutes."
Hobbis said the Chebucto's owner and operator Dave Norris and another crew member managed to get off before it sank, but it appeared Norris hurt his arm and he was later taken to hospital.
"If I was to hazard a guess as to what caused the explosion, I'd say it was a propane tank because the explosion was very loud and sudden and completely tore the boat apart," he said.
Capt. David Burneau, of Victoria Search and Rescue, confirmed the explosion blew the top off the rear cabin and punched a hole in the hull alongside the engine room causing water to gush into the hull, extinguishing a fire and sinking the vessel.
He said rescue workers were initially told the vessel had children on board from a Vancouver girl's school which had chartered the boat.
However, he said the 52 girls and staff had gotten off 25 minutes prior to the explosion.
"I'm only speculating but there could have been a diesel leak, or gas build up from batteries that led to the explosion," Burneau said.
Bill Mills, CEO of the Nanaimo Port Authority, said an absorbing boom was placed around the Chebucto to contain the oil and fuel leaking from the vessel.
"Some fuel and gas escaped and while it has formed an ugly sheen, it will evaporate," he said.
"It will be up to B.C. Parks to determine what to do with the ship now.
Norris and Margaret McGougan, both of Nanaimo, are listed by Transport Canada as the owners of Chebucto. The wooden sailboat was built in Nova Scotia in 1971 and has a diesel engine.
It is operated by Norris' business Windjammer Charters.
Transport Canada is investigating the incident.
Nanaimo Daily News, with files from the Vancouver Province and CanWest News Service
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Post by coastalcody on Feb 5, 2008 17:30:47 GMT -8
That was my grade 7 farewell outdoor education camp.
Was a good little sailing ship.
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