Fiesta cruiser shipwrecked, tourist dies

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GringoZona

Guest
As I've seen it drag back and forth while enjoying a sunset from afar at various establishments along the Malecon, I've noticed the rust along the bottom has gotten more prominent over the last year. Maybe they're just not painting over it as often anymore, but I remember a friend making the comment that there was no way in hell she'd get on that thing. (Not that she had any nautical expertise, it just looked like a dolphin's nose could poke a hole in the side, and who knew how bad it looked below.) I would joke that it never went much past the BooBar anyway, so we could just swim back to the shore after it sank for a quick drink.

Here's a pic from October of 2010. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PaPrLCjG-vE/TLYgJA64NaI/AAAAAAAAGiU/Yl7gkl1Shq0/s1600/IMG_0123.jpg
 
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mis2810

Guest
Russ - I can't tell from the picture where that is. Did they tow it back to the port or did it wash up somewhere?
 
Roberto

Roberto

Guest
It apparently happened in a very low tide with lots of wind. The ship is sitting on the bottom off the beach near Las Gaviotas, in front of the empty beach parcel. According to an eye witness, the boat was listing badly in the sea, apparently stuck on the bottom and the passengers had difficulty getting off. The beach and sea was full of passengers, police and bomberos. It was shallow enough that the passengers could walk to the beach. Lots of crap floating around this morning. I should have some pics later.

The ship appears to have washed up on the beach when the tide came in.
 
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mexicoruss

mexicoruss

Lovin it in RP!
mis2810 said:
Russ - I can't tell from the picture where that is. Did they tow it back to the port or did it wash up somewhere?
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I dont know first hand but I heard it lost steering and was drifting in the waves with pretty high winds so where it is parked is probably a good thing for the passengers. I had friends on the boat I will tell their story when I hear it.
 
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GringoZona

Guest
http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=ISONORAP1&day=25&year=2011&month=10

If you look at the gusts and sustained wind on the 3rd graph down on this link for yesterday's Penasco hourly weather conditions, it appears as though the wind (at least way over at the Casa Weez station, which is on the other end of Penasco in Playa La Jolla, towards Mayan Palace) didn't get past 20mph until 7pm or so, when Rosie's post mentioned authorities were alerted. It climbed to 30mph at the station and pretty much stayed up there between 8:30 to 9:30. Who knows how much faster the winds were blowing by the port, much less further out to sea. That had to have been a harrowing experience on either level of that ship, especially for some retirees looking for a tranquil sunset cruise. Not knowing exactly how far inland the station is, has anyone ever compared the difference between these readings and those just out to sea? Those of you who go out on the sea often, would it be foolish to ask if a good rule of thumb adding 10mph or so to inland readings, or is it almost impossible to gauge on any given day unless in the water or on the shore?


Also, in the translation of the original article it said the port was closed and thus prevented one of the boats initially in getting out of the Marina to help. How bad do the winds have to be before it becomes a bad idea to go out and/or the port gets shut down? I realize the tragic incident in San Felipe earlier in the year had its own set of complexities, but I remember govt. officials in Mexico talking tough about cracking down on these chartered boats. Beyond making sure there are enough life jackets for each passenger, has much else been done to make sure they are in safety (and working order) compliance?
 
Seadweller

Seadweller

chum
I was just down there looking at it from the otherside of port... it's funny that it's almost in the same area of the last shipwreck that was a part of sandy beach for so long before the hotels and condos came along...

It sure would be nice if the port authorities could tow this wreck out to the south just off of Whale Hill and let it become a natural reef for divers and dedicate it to the memory of the woman who lost her life due to this tragedy...
 
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GringoZona

Guest
Roberto said:
It apparently happened in a very low tide with lots of wind. The ship is sitting on the bottom off the beach near Las Gaviotas, in front of the empty beach parcel. According to an eye witness, the boat was listing badly in the sea, apparently stuck on the bottom and the passengers had difficulty getting off. The beach and sea was full of passengers, police and bomberos. It was shallow enough that the passengers could walk to the beach. Lots of crap floating around this morning. I should have some pics later.

The ship appears to have washed up on the beach when the tide came in.
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Yup, makes sense now:
2011-10-25 05:51 PM MST Sunset
2011-10-25 06:43 PM MST -4.00 feet Low Tide
2011-10-26 01:08 AM MST 18.47 feet High Tide
 
Seadweller

Seadweller

chum
Today is the new moon and high tide was at 1:10pm I hope it didn't pick up the Fiesta and set it adrift... at 1:50am the tide gets so high it goes off the top of the charts, maybe the Fiesta will float off and become a ghoast ship before Halloween...
 
Roberto

Roberto

Guest
Seadweller said:
Today is the new moon and high tide was at 1:10pm I hope it didn't pick up the Fiesta and set it adrift... at 1:50am the tide gets so high it goes off the top of the charts, maybe the Fiesta will float off and become a ghoast ship before Halloween...
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Hey, there's our pirate ship to terrorize the Sea of Cortez. Aarrrgh Matey !! Where did I leave that sword?
 
tortuga

tortuga

Guest
I was on the boat last night with a large group from the singles club here in Penasco. As we leaving the harbor at very low tide we became stuck on a sandbar in the exit channel before leaving the harbor. It took almost an hour to get off and then when we came out on the open sea it was obvious the Captain could not steer the boat. We drifted around and then went broadside to the waves. Chairs and tables went flying on the upper deck and many people fell, but no one seemed injured. The crew gave everyone life jackets and made sure they were on correctly. Everyone moved down to the lower deck and a Navy boat came along side and unloaded about half the passengers. When it returned for more people the wind and waves had picked up and it was too dangerous to offload people. We were pushed in sideways towards Sandy Beach and when we hit the sand the boat listed towards the beach. We were about a 100 yards from the water line on the beach in about 3 feet of water. We all then jumped off the rear of the boat one by one and walked in the surf to the beach. The waves were 2-3 feet high and would lift you off the bottom for a few seconds, but it was a pretty easy walk to the beach. We did have a lot of people in there 70s and 80s on the boat and although numerous people were very frightened, at no time did I feel my life was in danger as we were always in shallow water close to shore. Navy personnel and paramedics met everyone on the beach to make sure they were OK. Except for my friend who had a heart attack and passed away as far as I know the only other injuries were a few bruises. The Navy took everyone in buses back to our vehicles on the other side of the harbor. The crew did a reasonably good job especially considering they are probably not well trained for this type of situation. I hope this helps everyone to know what happened.
 
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PitiquitoRosy

Guest
tortuga said:
I was on the boat last night with a large group from the singles club here in Penasco. As we leaving the harbor at very low tide we became stuck on a sandbar in the exit channel before leaving the harbor. It took almost an hour to get off and then when we came out on the open sea it was obvious the Captain could not steer the boat. We drifted around and then went broadside to the waves. Chairs and tables went flying on the upper deck and many people fell, but no one seemed injured. The crew gave everyone life jackets and made sure they were on correctly. Everyone moved down to the lower deck and a Navy boat came along side and unloaded about half the passengers. When it returned for more people the wind and waves had picked up and it was too dangerous to offload people. We were pushed in sideways towards Sandy Beach and when we hit the sand the boat listed towards the beach. We were about a 100 yards from the water line on the beach in about 3 feet of water. We all then jumped off the rear of the boat one by one and walked in the surf to the beach. The waves were 2-3 feet high and would lift you off the bottom for a few seconds, but it was a pretty easy walk to the beach. We did have a lot of people in there 70s and 80s on the boat and although numerous people were very frightened, at no time did I feel my life was in danger as we were always in shallow water close to shore. Navy personnel and paramedics met everyone on the beach to make sure they were OK. Except for my friend who had a heart attack and passed away as far as I know the only other injuries were a few bruises. The Navy took everyone in buses back to our vehicles on the other side of the harbor. The crew did a reasonably good job especially considering they are probably not well trained for this type of situation. I hope this helps everyone to know what happened.
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Hi Dick, I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. At the same time, I'm glad that you're alright and the same goes for the rest of the passengers. Thank you for taking the time to tell us what really happened.
 
moore_rb

moore_rb

Stay Thirsty My Friends
Dick- sorry to hear about your friend...RIP

Looking at the pictures- if the rudder hadn't broken it looks like it only would have been a matter of time before the bottom rusted through.

Agree with Mark- tow that sucker out to 65 feet of water and send it down for good...
 
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