NavList:

Hi Frank,

A few corrections and additions I have heard from my circles.  1) The tide was only 0.3 knots flood, but I still would rather have sailed on a very slight ebb tide given the dangers.  Also, a marine engineer noted the type of engine, and that they have known lube oil issues, and the oil is what operates the clutch.  I will not speculate if that was a direct cause, but certainly something to investigate.  I had not heard anything about the rudder, but if there was a known or assumed issue there, it may have further eroded their situational awareness about the apparent engine situation.

I agree that showboating is part of the whole "tall ship" thing, but as with everything, the risk must be balanced with the dangers involved.  

While I await the report, I do not think NTSB will be given open access to people or the vessel which they usually enjoy with commercial ships, so the full story may never be published.

I respect those who want to wait until the report comes out to comment, but being a professional mariner, I need to analyze and discuss incidents in a compressed time frame to work towards better seamanship and work practices.  I have passed under numerous bridges since the DALI incident, and we still don’t have the final report after the passage of a year.

Jeremy