Many good suggestions! Taking a closer look at this may provide us with some good guidance as to how we might deal with a situation like this.
Here's what we know:
-- The boat is a Revo 11 (apparent by the shape of the stern and position of the rear hatch relative to the stern).
-- Front hatch is closed but unlatched (bungees not visible across top). It obviously has been opened.
-- The man is waving a white bucket.
-- There is no seat or life vest visible.
-- The ocean (at the time of rescue) is reported as choppy.
Here's what we can infer:
-- The bucket is likely a Hobie gear bucket that came from the center hatch.
-- The man has been bailing -- would have had to open the front hatch to do this with his bucket.
-- The seat and possibly his life vest are in the bow of the boat in an unsuccessful effort to prop the bow up enough to bail (not a bad thought!). The bow rides like it has some flotation in it (Hobie does not locate their flotation there. See pic below).
Here's a question: Does anybody think self rescue is possible at this point? If so, how would you do it?
Here are some interesting pics about capsizing with a center hatch open"
Center hatch open.
Hatch is above water line upside down and when righting. Very little water enters.
Boat takes a lengthy deliberate effort to fill with center hatch open. Becomes unstable and impossible to stay on depending on water conditions with as little as 30 gallons. Here boat is about 60 to 70% full and this guy is about to capsize -- again, even in calm water.
This boat is going nowhere. Trapped air in hull provides majority of buoyancy.
Back to the story....
Contrary to what was reported (advisable to take 3rd hand and media accounts with a grain of salt), here's what I suspect:
-- He was fishing, not paying attention, gets capsized by a rogue swell while off balance. Front hatch probably closed but not secured.
-- He gets back on (he's young and in decent shape -- wouldn't take many tries to figure this out at worst), scooting forward, tries to bail through front hatch. Boat is unstable at this point, he gets tossed again. Each succeeding attempt he fares worse until his boat fills up and becomes uninhabitable in short order.
-- He continues his efforts from the water but the bow is awash in the choppy sea, even with added buoyancy. He can't keep up with it -- is doomed.
What did he do right?
-- stayed with his boat vs. swimming for shore
-- finding the "bucket" and apparently bailing
-- had the presence of mind after 2 hours to notice an approaching boat and signal.
Did he have a phone? What 20 something year old goes anywhere without their phone? Likely got lost overboard or got wet.
Did he have a life vest? Good chance. It could have been in the bow or on him (captain said he would stay afloat but face down eventually). If his wet shirt was removed to dry off, the vest would have had to come off first. No mention otherwise.
Did he know the area? Likely, and has probably done all this before successfully. Could have lived there in past and visiting relatives.
Conclusion -- I don't think he necessarily did such a bad job for a 20 something year old. He just got in over his head, didn't understand the instability of a partially filled boat. Did anybody else here?
Final question to ponder. When and how would you use a bilge pump in this situation? You need two hands and an open hatch to use most pumps. When the boat became unstable, the pump would have been useless -- unless you were clever enough to mount the pump outside the hull interior and have a through-hull dedicated mount (bottom of a cup holder is a good place) that would allow the operation of the pump one handed from the water and with all hatches closed. Carrying a pump is not enough without a proven plan of action!
Hopefully this young man's experience becomes more than a reminder in what equipment to carry, but how to survive in a similar situation if a rescue vessel doesn't come along! These things always happen unexpectedly and at the wrong time and we don't always have the ideal equipment or skill to use it. Something to think about and commit to some realistic practice.
