yacht racing collision

Shocking video of The Ocean Race crash

Published on June 15th, 2023 by Editor -->

In a shocking incident during the start of Leg 7 of The Ocean Race , a major collision between 11th Hour Racing Team and GUYOT environnement – Team Europe saw both boats return to the dock with serious damage.

Race details – Route – Tracker – Scoreboard – Content from the boats – YouTube

IMOCA Overall Leaderboard (after 6 of 7 legs) 1. 11th Hour Racing Team — 33 points 2. Team Holcim-PRB — 31 points 3. Team Malizia — 27 points 4. Biotherm — 19 points 5. GUYOT environnement – Team Europe — 2 points

VO65 Overall Leaderboard (after 2 of 3 legs): 1. WindWhisper Racing Team — 12 points 2. Team JAJO — 9 points 3. Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova — 7 points 4. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team — 5 points 5. Viva México — 4 points 6. Ambersail 2 — 3 points

IMOCA: Name, Design, Skipper, Launch date • Guyot Environnement – Team Europe (VPLP Verdier); Benjamin Dutreux (FRA)/Robert Stanjek (GER); September 1, 2015 • 11th Hour Racing Team (Guillaume Verdier); Charlie Enright (USA); August 24, 2021 • Holcim-PRB (Guillaume Verdier); Kevin Escoffier (FRA); May 8, 2022 • Team Malizia (VPLP); Boris Herrmann (GER); July 19, 2022 • Biotherm (Guillaume Verdier); Paul Meilhat (FRA); August 31 2022

The Ocean Race 2022-23 Race Schedule: Alicante, Spain – Leg 1 (1900 nm) start: January 15, 2023 Cabo Verde – ETA: January 22; Leg 2 (4600 nm) start: January 25 Cape Town, South Africa – ETA: February 9; Leg 3 (12750 nm) start: February 26 Itajaí, Brazil – ETA: April 1; Leg 4 (5500 nm) start: April 23 Newport, RI, USA – ETA: May 10; Leg 5 (3500 nm) start: May 21 Aarhus, Denmark – ETA: May 30; Leg 6 (800 nm) start: June 8 Kiel, Germany (Fly-By) – June 9 The Hague, The Netherlands – ETA: June 11; Leg 7 (2200 nm) start: June 15 Genova, Italy – The Grand Finale – ETA: June 25, 2023; Final In-Port Race: July 1, 2023

The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Round the World Race) was initially to be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race.

However, only the IMOCAs will be racing round the world while the VO65s will race in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint which competes in Legs 1, 6, and 7 of The Ocean Race course.

Additionally, The Ocean Race also features the In-Port Series with races at seven of the course’s stopover cities around the world which allow local fans to get up close and personal to the teams as they battle it out around a short inshore course.

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any points ties that occur during the race around the world.

Held every three or four years since 1973, the 14th edition of The Ocean Race was originally planned for 2021-22 but was postponed one year due to the pandemic, with the first leg starting on January 15, 2023.

Tags: 11th Hour Racing Team , The Ocean Race , TOR23-Leg 7

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11th Hour Racing Team suffer serious damage after Leg 7 Ocean Race crash with GUYOT environnement - Team Europe

There was a shocking moment at the start of Leg 7 of The Ocean Race 2022-23 as GUYOT environnement - Team Europe crashed into 11th Hour Racing Team.

Dramatic collision at IMOCA start in The Hague

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Svea Found at Fault in J-Class Collision with Topaz

A decision has been reached on the cause of the shocking collision between J Class sailing yachts  Svea  and  Topaz  during the Superyacht Challenge Antigua earlier this month.

The 43.6 metre Svea was captured riding over the stern of the 42.6 metre Topaz , resulting in the injury of three crew members.

A hearing report released by the J Class Association on the incident found  Svea responsible for the collision for failing to keep clear as the port tack boat. It also concluded that it was deemed impossible for Topaz to avoid the collision.

The incident occurred shortly before the first race on March 12, with  Topaz  approaching the starting line around one minute and 40 seconds ahead of the start of the race.

Svea , on port, was on course to collide with  Topaz  and attempted to bear away at the last moment. Despite  Topaz  luffing to avoid the crash,  Svea  collided with the port side of  Topaz , causing serious damage in the process.

Topaz’s  boom, back stays and mainsheet were broken while the port runner was torn off. The mast was put under “extreme load” according to the report, and will undergo further inspection.

Two crew members on board  Topaz  were thrown from the boat, including one who suffered four broken ribs when he was pushed overboard by the bow of  Svea . A crew member on board  Svea  was also pulled from the boat by the runner tail of  Topaz .

Following the collision, both yachts immediately retired from the race and the Superyacht Challenge Antigua. Dramatic footage of the collision was captured on board fellow J Class yacht  Velsheda .

Both  Topaz  and  Svea  are race veterans and have competed against each other in a number of international sailing regattas, including the St Barths Bucket and the Superyacht Cup Palma.

Built by Vitters,  Svea  was launched in 2017 making her the newest member of the J Class fleet.  Topaz  is also a modern J Class, and is based on an unbuilt 1935 Frank Paine design.  Topaz  was delivered by Holland Jachtbouw in 2015.

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Vestas skipper gives first account of fatal collision, and Volvo Race launch report on racing in high traffic areas

• Helen Fretter
• March 2, 2018

Mark Towill, skipper of Volvo Ocean Race entry Vestas 11th Hour Racing, gives his account of the fatal collision on their approach to Hong Kong, and race organisers launch an independent report into racing in high traffic areas at night

Following the collision between Vestas 11th Hour Racing and a fishing vessel in the final stages of the Volvo Ocean Race Leg 4 into Hong Kong on 19 January, which led to the death of a fishing vessel crew member, the Vestas 11 th Hour Racing team has issued an update.

In a statement put out today, Vestas 11 th Hour Racing reported: “The team has now been informed that investigations by the Hong Kong and mainland China authorities will be closed shortly with no further action to be taken.”

This morning Vestas 11 th Hour Racing has released an account from Mark Towill, who was skipper for Leg 4, when the incident took place. It reads:

Vestas 11th Hour Racing co-founder, Mark Towill, spent time at home with family and friends after departing the Volvo Ocean Race Hong Kong stopover where the team’s VO65 was involved in a tragic accident with a fishing vessel.

Towill has now regrouped with the team and their VO65 yacht in Auckland, New Zealand, ahead of the next leg of the race. The team has now been informed that investigations by the Hong Kong and mainland China authorities will be closed shortly with no further action to be taken. As a result, Towill gives us his account on what happened in the early hours of January 20 in the approach to Hong Kong.

What happened as you approached the finish line of Leg 4? 

We were about 30 nautical miles from the finish, and I was at the navigation station monitoring the radar and AIS (Automatic Identification System), and communicating with the crew on-deck through the intercom. I was watching three vessels on AIS: a cable layer, which we had just passed, a vessel farther ahead moving across our bow and away, and a third vessel identified as a fishing vessel. There were a number of additional boats on AIS, many of them fishing vessels, but these three were the only ones identified in our vicinity.

What were the conditions like? What could you see?

It was a dark and cloudy night, with a breeze of around 20 knots and a moderate sea state. As we approached the fishing vessel that we had identified on AIS, the on-deck crew confirmed visual contact – the fishing vessel was well lit – and we headed up to starboard to keep clear. I was watching AIS and communicating the range and bearing to the crew. The crew confirmed we were crossing the fishing vessel when, before the anticipated cross, there was an unexpected collision.

Mark Towill was skippering Vestas 11th Hour Racing for Leg 4 of the Volvo Ocean Race

What happened immediately after the collision?

So much happened so fast. The impact from the collision spun us into a tack to port that we weren’t prepared for. Everyone who was off watch came on deck. Everyone on our boat was safe and accounted for. We checked the bow, saw the hole in the port side and went below to assess the damage. Water was flowing into our boat through the hole, and there was concern over the structural integrity of the bow.

How did you control the ingress of water?

We heeled the boat to starboard to keep the port bow out of the water. The sail stack was already to starboard and the starboard water ballast tank was full. We also kept the keel canted to starboard. We placed our emergency pump in the bow to pump water overboard. We were able to minimize the ingress, but the boat was difficult to maneuver because it was heeled over so much.

What actions did you take immediately after getting your boat under control?

It took roughly 20 minutes to get our boat under control, and then we headed back towards the location of the collision. Upon arrival, several people on a fishing vessel nearby were shining lights to a point on the water. Our first thought was that they could be looking for someone, so we immediately started a search and rescue. After some time searching, we eventually spotted a person in the water.

Who were you in communication with? Did anyone offer assistance?

We tried to contact the other vessel involved in the collision, and alerted race control straight away. When we initiated the search and rescue, our navigator immediately issued a Mayday distress call over VHF channel 16 on behalf of the fishing vessel. There were many vessels in the area, including a cruise ship with a hospital bay, but they were all standing by.

Communication was difficult. The sheer volume of traffic on the radio meant it was hard to communicate to the people we needed to. Not many people on the VHF were speaking English, but we found a way to relay messages through a cable laying vessel, and they were able to send their guard boat to aid in the search and rescue.

Race tracker from the time of the search and rescue operation

How was the casualty retrieved?

Difficult conditions and limited maneuverability hampered our initial efforts to retrieve the casualty. The guard boat from the cable layer provided assistance and every effort was made from all parties involved in the search and rescue. We were finally able to successfully recover the casualty after several attempts. When we got him aboard, our medics started CPR. We alerted Hong Kong Marine Rescue Coordination Centre that we had the casualty aboard and they confirmed air support was on its way. He was transferred to a helicopter and taken to a Hong Kong hospital where medical staff where unable to revive him.

Did any of your competitors offer assistance?

Dongfeng Race Team offered assistance. At the time, we were coordinating the search and rescue with multiple vessels, including the cable layer that had a crewman who spoke Chinese and English and was relaying our communication. We advised Dongfeng that they were not needed as there were a number of vessels in the area that were closer.

Team AkzoNobel arrived while the air transfer was in effect. Race control requested that they stand by and they did, and we later released them once the helicopter transfer was complete.

What happened after the search and rescue procedure was completed?

Once we knew there was nothing more we could do at the scene of the accident, we ensured our boat was still secure, and informed Volvo Ocean Race that we would retire from the leg and motor to shore. We arrived at the technical area nearby the race village and met with race officials and local authorities to give our account of what happened.

Damage visible to Vestas 11th Hour Racing as it was shipped from Hong Kong to Auckland for repairs

It has also been announced that Volvo Ocean Race organisers have commissioned an independent report into ocean racing at night in areas of high vessel traffic density, ‘to establish what steps race organisers may take to mitigate risk going forward.’

The report will be conducted by an Independent Report Team (IRT), chaired by Rear Admiral Chris Oxenbould AO RAN (Rtd), former deputy chief of the Australian Navy and an experienced ocean racing yachtsman. He will be assisted by highly respected ocean racer and navigational expert Stan Honey, and Chuck Hawley, former chairman of the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee.

The report team will examine all the issues associated with racing a Volvo Ocean 65, or similar racing boat, at night in areas of high vessel traffic density, drawing on the experiences in recent editions of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Any findings from the report that could benefit the wider sailing community will be released. It is intended that the report will be made available to Volvo Ocean Race by June 2018.

Phil Lawrence, Race Director, stated: “Understandably, there has been a lot of reaction to this incident in the sailing community, but the fact is, it takes time to make a responsible assessment of what could be done differently to minimise risk and increase safety.

“Our sailors, as qualified professionals, understand their responsibilities under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, Racing Rules of Sailing and the Rules of the Volvo Ocean Race.

“As race organisers, we will continue to evaluate safety as we race over the coming months and take the appropriate steps to minimise risk.” concluded Lawrence.

Repairs to the VO65 have been progressing well, and the team plan to rejoin the race for Leg 7

Vestas 11 th Hour Racing has confirmed that following substantial repairs to their VO65, they will rejoin the Volvo Ocean Race fleet for Leg 7, from Auckland to Itajaii, Brazil.

Vestas 11 th Hour Racing statement:

Just after 0100 hours on the morning of January 20 (local Hong Kong time), Vestas 11th Hour Racing was involved in a collision with a fishing vessel. Shortly after the accident, nine Chinese fishermen were rescued, however, one other very sadly perished. The Vestas 11th Hour Racing crew were not injured, but the VO65 race yacht suffered significant damage to its port bow.

The loss of a life still weighs heavily on the minds of Mark Towill and Charlie Enright, the co-founders of the team, and every other team member. “On behalf of the team, our thoughts and prayers go out to the deceased’s family,” said 29-year-old Towill. Out of respect for the process, the deceased and his family, the team has remained silent throughout the investigation.

Towill was skipper on Leg 4 because Enright had to sit out due to a family crisis. During Leg 3, from South Africa to Australia, Enright’s 2-year-old son had been admitted to the hospital with a case of bacterial pneumonia. Immediately before the end of Leg 4, Enright traveled to Hong Kong to greet the crew at the finish line, but instead had to play an active role in the crisis management process from the shore.

“I have been asked if it would have been different if I was onboard. Definitely not,” said Enright. “The crew has been well trained in crisis situations and performed as they should. They knew what to do and I think they did a phenomenal job given the circumstances. There comes a point when family is more important than the job you’ve been hired to do and I was at that point. I did what was best for my family.”

“The team was engaged in search and rescue for more than two hours with a compromised race boat,” Enright said. “I’m very proud of our crew. We were in a very difficult situation with the damage to the bow, but everyone acted professionally and without hesitation,” added Towill.

Despite the badly damaged bow, Towill and the crew of the stricken Vestas 11th Hour Racing boat carried out a search and rescue effort, which culminated in a casualty being retrieved and transferred to a helicopter, with the assistance of Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre.

A new bow section was made by Persico in Italy, and shipped to Auckland Photo: Virgilio Fidanza/Persico Marine

The Vestas 11th Hour Racing VO65 was shipped to New Zealand from Hong Kong on January 28. A new port bow section was laid up over a VO65 hull mould at Persico Marine in Italy and then sent to New Zealand, where it was spliced to the hull of the team’s VO65 in the past two weeks.

Enright and Towill both complimented team manager Bill Erkelens, who has played a central role keeping the team together since the accident. Erkelens put together Enright and Towill’s program in the 2014-’15 Volvo Ocean Race and he was the first person they hired for the current team.

The team hopes to relaunch their VO65 in the coming days and will then spend some time practicing and possibly complete an overnight sail.

We take a closer look at the events of the collision, and other incidents which took place during the Melbourne to Hong Kong leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, in the April 2018 issue of Yachting World , out on 8 March, 2018.

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How Common are Collisions in Superyacht Racing?

Kate got her start in the yachting industry working as crew. She spent five years cruising the Bahamas, Caribbean, New England, and Central America, then segued that experience into a career in marine journalism, including stints as editor of  Dockwalk  and  ShowBoats International .

It was the Superyacht Challenge Antigua 2020, and for the first time in this regatta, four J-Class boats would compete. The fleet was getting ready for the first of their six races. With a minute and 40 seconds to go, S/Y Topaz approached the start line. But to port, S/Y Svea was on a collision course. At the last minute, Svea turned to bear away and Topaz luffed to avoid the inevitable, but it wasn’t enough and Svea collided with the port side of Topaz at the runner winch. Both boats were badly damaged and three crewmembers in total were injured; fortunately none too seriously.

It is anyone’s worst case regatta scenario. So, was this an example of why superyachts shouldn’t race under Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), which allow boats to come within millimeters of each other? Peter Holmberg, helmsman on Topaz at the time, says no, it isn’t.

“The J-Class races under the normal RRS, and it is absolutely the way they should be raced when sailing amongst themselves. All the boats are expertly sailed by highly qualified sailors who are well-aware of their responsibilities. This allows these owners to have the proper, full on, close racing that they desire,” he says.

• Captain Shares What He Learned from Man Overboard Rescue

The conclusions were straightforward and undebated: Svea failed to keep clear as the port tack boat and broke rules 10 and 14. Topaz was found not to be able to avoid the collision. Holmberg classified it as a rare incident, “clearly due to a miscommunication in [ Svea ’s] afterguard (helmsman, tactician, navigator), not from an overly aggressive maneuver or un-seamanlike boat handling,” he says.

The incident is indeed rare in superyacht regattas. Yet over the last 10 to 15 years, the popularity of racing large yachts, whose primary purpose is cruising, has exploded. The reason for the good safety record in recent years is the formation of the SuperYacht Racing Association (SYRA).

“SYRA was founded ten years ago when the late Ed Dubois and others in the industry recognized that this rapidly growing part of the sport was fraught with issues… safe racing being the most prevalent,” says Peter Craig, SYRA executive director. The organization drew up Appendix SY, Superyacht Racing Rules, which modifies the RRS to cope with the maneuvering limitations of superyachts. Two of its most important components are rules that mandate yachts not come closer than 40 meters to each other, and that there be radio communication between yachts on a designated safety channel.

“…It is imperative to be thinking well ahead regarding one’s next maneuver and always being cognizant of any yacht in the vicinity and what their next move might be.”

“To say there were too many close calls prior to the Appendix SY and the 40-meter rule would be an understatement!” says Craig. “Over the past 15 years, owners and crews have become more competitive and keen on winning, and the result is more aggressive behavior on the race course. As Robbie Doyle pointed out regarding the 40-meter rule, ‘Now a close call is 10 meters when before it was 10 feet, or less.’”

While the J-Class collision occurred during a conventional fleet start without the Appendix SY being invoked, Craig says there are still lessons that can be learned. “The J-Class yachts, like many in the superyacht fleet, are big, heavy, slow-maneuvering yachts. As such, it is imperative to be thinking well ahead regarding one’s next maneuver and always being cognizant of any yacht in the vicinity and what their next move might be,” he says.

“It also amplifies the importance in superyacht racing of using the designated safety channel to inform any nearby superyacht of your intentions and/or to query them on their intent,” Craig continues. “This communication and advance knowledge are critical for slow-maneuvering yachts and has been instrumental in eliminating collisions and minimizing the number of close calls on the race course. Additionally, this collision between yachts with top-tier professional crews validates the requirement in superyacht racing for a Racing Rules Afterguard Member and Communications Officer.”

• The Dangers of Cruising in Sea Ice

Jonathan Kline, skipper and program manager of Perseus and P2 for the same owner for 15 years, put together SYRA’s Racing Safety Manual, which Craig calls “must reading for any captain who is new to racing.”

Kline points out the interesting dynamic that exists between a yacht’s skipper and the professional race team, which comes into play during an incident like the Svea / Topaz collision. “You have to have a really special relationship between the helmsman and the skipper, so that it’s clear that if it comes to a snap decision having to be made, who is going to make it,” he says. “It’s very difficult if you’re not driving the boat to tell a pro helmsman what to do.” As the Racing Safety Manual states, “The permanent captain need not be afraid to hand over the con, but he must not be hesitant to take it back.”

Another of the manual’s most important takeaways is the danger that exists “when a boat that hasn’t been tested in 100 percent race conditions is suddenly put on the track with an enthusiastic owner who originally says, ‘Let’s just go out and sail around the cans and have a good time,’ but then once they get a pro helmsman, tactician, and bow team on board, everybody gets geed up, and the boat gets pushed faster or harder than it’s ever been pushed before,” says Kline. This can lead to another kind of worst-case scenario. He stresses that a yacht needs to engage in a maintenance program worthy of the loads racing places on it, and it should be sailed at “80, 90, 100 percent a few times before the regatta, not just on the day of.”

This article originally ran in the January 2022 issue of Dockwalk.

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Collision Avoidance System for Sailboats

• By David Schmidt
• Updated: January 19, 2021

The first lesson that I learned about ­ Pacific Northwest sailing ­after moving here from New ­England in 2009 was that Puget Sound doesn’t get much breeze in the summer. The second was that it’s crucial to keep a constant vigil for logs and large branches. Worse still are deadheads. Having ­attended more than my share of Grateful Dead concerts, I thought I had a good pulse on the latter, but my third lesson was that—in Pacific Northwest vernacular—deadheads refer to logs or entire trees (and root balls) that have taken on so much water that they float vertically, often revealing only a few precious inches of freeboard. Unlike the tie-dyed variety, these deadheads can wreak havoc on hulls. ­Eleven years in, I’ve had ­numerous close calls, and I try not to think about the near misses that went unnoticed.

Fortunately, cutting-edge technology now exists that mitigates the danger of ­hitting myriad obstacles that are ­increasingly found at sea.

While mariners have ­fretted about collisions since ­humankind first took to the ­water, ­recent years have seen a ­massive uptick both in global shipping of containers, which can sometimes wash overboard, and all sorts of ­other debris. At the same time, a growing number of sailors are exploring the high latitudes, where they encounter icebergs and bergy bits. Then, there’s the jaw-dropping speeds that are being achieved by modern racing and foiling yachts, including IMOCA 60s and the massive 100-plus-foot ­Ultim trimarans, which regularly exceed 30 knots and 45 knots, respectively. Even “average” cruising boats sail faster ­today than years ago thanks to their ­progressively ­longer waterlines, ­modern sail plans, and improved weather-­routing ­capabilities. This ­bolstered performance—from record-­setters to family cruisers—is a good thing, but it reduces reaction time if a crewmember spots something in the water.

Tackling the problem head-on, BSB Marine has developed its Oscar collision-avoidance system , which uses daylight and thermal-imaging cameras, ­artificial intelligence, deep learning, and machine vision to make sailors aware of navigational hazards and give them enough time to make course corrections. Cooler still, some Oscar systems can autonomously control the boat’s autopilot to change course (see below).

In terms of hardware, all Oscar systems consist of a ­vision unit that has three masthead-mounted ­cameras, a belowdecks-mounted ­central processing unit, and a ­dedicated app to monitor and control the gear.

The vision unit weighs less than 2 pounds and houses two FLIR-built Boson thermal-­imaging camera cores, as well as one color (red, green, blue or RGB) daylight camera. The thermal-imaging cameras deliver a horizontal field of view of 50 to 123 degrees, and a ­vertical field of view of 32 to 71 degrees, depending on the model; higher-end systems use higher-resolution thermal imagers and can operate at ­longer ranges. The RGB camera offers a 120-degree horizontal view and a 96-degree vertical coverage. With these cameras, developers say Oscar can detect and identify objects in its video stream that are just 4-by-4 pixels.

Aboard a sailboat, the vision unit is mounted on an articulating bracket and can adjust for mast rotation. The unit also has an inertial measurement unit that electronically stabilizes the cameras’ real-time imagery, which is shared with the CPU via an Ethernet cable that is run inside the mast.

The CPU is a black-box computer that employs ­machine-vision algorithms and embedded AI to analyze and inspect the incoming video stream in search of dangerous objects. Oscar determines the target’s location and proximity to the vessel based on the camera’s known position and orientation in space, and—when available—it also uses the ­horizon as a reference point.

“Oscar takes pictures and synchronizes them with the [stabilizer] and CPU, and ­determines what’s ­water and what’s not,” explains ­Raphael Biancale, BSB Marine’s co-founder. “Oscar tries to identify objects based on their picture, and it locates objects around the boat over ­several frames to determine their speed and direction. Then it calculates the probability of collision.”

In addition to its hardware, Oscar includes an Android-, iOS- and Windows-friendly app, which can reside on a PC, smartphone, tablet or—thanks to the system’s NMEA-2000 compatibility—chart ­plotter. The app provides a visual ­reference depicting where a target or multiple targets are on a radar-range-like graphical screen, and it delivers AIS-like information, including the target’s speed, bearing and closest-point-of-approach data. Additionally, the app can ­trigger onboard alarms, ­warning of detected targets.

Each Oscar set leaves the factory with an AI ­system trained at using an image ­database of 50,000,000 (and counting) images. These ­images range from common ­objects such as ships, yachts and aids to navigation, to ­myriad ­marine species, to ­specific nonwater targets such as ­sargassum seaweed. The ­database also includes ­images of the ­water in all sea states, weather conditions and lighting (daytime and moonlight) ­scenarios. Oscar uses its onboard AI to compare ­detected targets with this database to determine what each object is and the threat level that it poses. ­Additionally, BSB ­Marine has partnered with ­several high-­profile ocean-­racing teams that record all of their Oscar-captured ­video ­imagery, which they share with the company once they’re back ashore. Once received, BSB Marine carefully labels, ­annotates, and compiles this information and updates all Oscar users’ image databases.

Then, each Oscar system’s ability to identify targets improves as it spends time at sea thanks to its AI and embedded deep-learning capability. ­Oscar, for instance, knows what ferries look like, and it “learns” to recognize them from ­different angles and distances, and in various sea states, ­temperatures and lighting conditions. ­Newfound “knowledge”—much like the data that’s gathered by racing teams—is shared with other Oscar users to help improve the systems’ abilities to recognize objects and minimize false alarms. ­According to Biancale, racing crews might see one false alarm per 24 hours, while cruisers might trigger an alarm every few days.

“Identification is valuable,” Biancale says, noting that sleeping whales behave differently than semisubmerged shipping containers or buoys and other aids to navigation. “You need to predict where the whale will go,” he says.

Once Oscar identifies a ­target in its video stream, its AI starts working. “It looks for any disturbance in the water,” Biancale says. “Oscar detects anything that’s different than the water background, which is known. It tries to detect things that aren’t in the database.” Regardless of ­whether a spotted target is in its ­database, Oscar is designed to ­either alert its crew to its presence so that they can ­manually confirm a course ­correction or, if interfaced with an ­autopilot, evade the object.

BSB Marine is ­marketing four versions of Oscar to ­sailors, starting with its top-of-the-line system that’s ­currently in use aboard high-­performance ocean-racing yachts, including IMOCA 60s and Ultims. Oscar Custom Sailing is a fully ­loaded system that employs dual high-resolution FLIR-built thermal-­imaging cameras with a ­target-detection range of up to 3,040 feet. Given the speeds that IMOCA 60s and Ultims regularly tick off and the fact that 3,040 feet buys only 40 to 60 seconds of warning ­before a collision, this high-end ­system autonomously controls the boat’s autopilot system. Once Oscar detects a target, the system performs its identification and filtration work in one second, and it takes an ­additional 2 seconds to ­adjust the autopilot’s heading to a safer course.

Biancale notes that grand-prix-level autopilots are always planning an escape route, say if the boat gets hit with an ­unexpected wind shift or off-kilter wave, and this same functionality helps the boat avoid a crash gybe if Oscar ­detects a target while the boat is broad reaching or running close to dead downwind.

The Oscar Advanced 640 also employs dual ­high-­resolution FLIR-built thermal-­imaging cameras, but they have a somewhat smaller field of view. They still deliver a target-detection range of up to 3,040 feet.

The Oscar Advanced 320 delivers the same autonomous autopilot controls and daylight camera as BSM Marine’s other Oscar systems, but it uses lower-resolution FLIR cameras. The result is a system that delivers a range of up to 1,970 feet, making it suitable for sailboats in the 50- to 80-foot range. At 10 knots, a boat will take 1 minute, 56 seconds to sail this distance.

The cruiser-friendly Oscar One 320 system is also available, and Biancale says it uses the same daylight RGB camera as the other Oscar systems and the FLIR thermal-­imaging cameras that are found on the Oscar Advanced 320, with a maximum range of 1,970 feet. The difference, however, involves what happens once the system detects a target. Instead of autonomously changing the autopilot’s course, this system will instead sound alarms and require the ­skipper or crew to confirm a target via the app before ordering the autopilot to change course. While this might sound like a smaller margin of error, it’s important to remember the speeds involved: At 7 knots, a sailboat takes 2 minutes, 46 seconds to travel 1,970 feet, which should be ample time for a crew that’s maintaining a proper watch to respond to the app’s alarm and course-­correction request on their phone, computer or plotter.

While Oscar’s advantages are easy to spot for anyone who has dodged Pacific Northwest deadheads or debris en route to Bermuda, its ­disadvantages are harder to spy. There’s cost, of course—systems start at about $15,000—but this becomes quite reasonable when compared with the price of a serious fiberglass repair job or an “opportunity” to test out the life raft (or worse). One could also argue that the masthead cameras and Ethernet cable in the spar add weight aloft, though not much: The ­cameras and bracket weigh less than 2 pounds, and the cable weighs roughly 1.1 pounds per 30 feet. If weight is indeed critical, lighter halyards could be ­purchased to compensate.

That said, it’s important to remember that Oscar is ­designed for offshore use, not for carrying a full press of ­canvas into San Francisco Bay or the Port of New York and New Jersey. “There’s no limit to the number of targets that Oscar can detect, but there’s a ­limit to the number that it can evade,” Biancale says, adding that the system can simultaneously dodge “several” targets.

One consideration, ­however, is that Oscar is an optical-based system, and its cameras are beholden to the laws of physics. For example, Oscar’s daylight RGB camera suffers from a blind spot created by direct sunlight. While this isn’t an issue for the system’s thermal-imaging ­cameras, these cameras don’t work well in thick fog or rain.

That said, if you’re outfitting a bluewater vessel for a transoceanic cruise, Oscar makes a lot of sense, especially when shorthanded watches, ­limited sleep and habitually tired eyes are involved. As for spotting deadheads, BSB Marine’s ­database includes this imagery, freeing sailors to instead use their binoculars to enjoy the panorama around them.

David Schmidt is CW ’s electronics editor.

Collateral Losses

Given the sheer scale of international shipping and commerce, it should come as no surprise that some goods get lost in transit. The problem, of course, is that when ships lose cargo, they aren’t accidentally dropping a single shoebox of, say, Nike sneakers. Rather, they’re losing entire shipping containers of goods. While some lucky beachcombers occasionally find washed-up plunder, these wayward containers have the potential—if encountered at the wrong time and angle—to quickly sink boats. And while the world’s oceans contain a heck of a lot of real estate, experts estimate that between 1,400 and 15,000 shipping containers are lost annually. But, notes BSB Marine on a frequently asked questions page: “Containers are either floating or sinking but do not remain in shallow depth because the two stable positions are either floating, when the container mass-to-volume is less than 1 kilogram per liter, or sinking if it is above 1 kilogram per liter. You can experience it by putting objects in a glass of water; trying to have anything just below the surface is next to impossible.”

While this doesn’t ­absolve these navigational dangers—or their environmental impacts—it does mean that if there’s a container bow on, Oscar can detect it.

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Superyacht Collision, Sinking Incident, Takeaways and Lessons

• By Caleb Revill
• August 23, 2024

Two superyacht incidents occurring within two months of each other in the Mediterranean are prompting experts to assess what went wrong and how to more safely navigate the high seas.

On July 22, the superyacht Venus owned by Laurene Powell Jobs –widow of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs– collided with another vessel off the coast of Italy. The incident was captured on video where crew members can be heard yelling as the ships drew nearer and bumped into each other.

On Monday, superyacht Bayesian owned by British technology businessman Mike Lynch was sunk during a storm off the coast of Sicily. The Independent reported that the Bayesian was carrying 22 people at the time, and Italian officials fear Lynch and five others may have been trapped inside the boat.

More recent reporting by The Independent on Wednesday states that five bodies have been recovered from the shipwreck so far, with one person still missing. The deceased have not yet been identified.

What Happened to the Bayesian ?

It’s still unknown what caused the Bayesian to sink, but a recent New York Times article states witnesses described seeing a possible waterspout during Monday’s storm.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service describes two types of waterspouts : fair weather waterspouts and tornadic waterspouts.

“Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water, or move from land to water,” NOAA’s National Ocean Service states on its website. “They have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning.”

Fair weather waterspouts on the other hand are generally not associated with thunderstorms and form along the dark flat base of a line of developing cumulus clouds.

“While tornadic waterspouts develop downward in a thunderstorm, a fair weather waterspout develops on the surface of the water and works its way upward,” The National Ocean Service states. “By the time the funnel is visible, a fair weather waterspout is near maturity. Fair weather waterspouts form in light wind conditions so they normally move very little.”

Given this information, it’s more likely that Monday’s storms would have yielded a tornadic waterspout.

How to Avoid and Safely Navigate Waterspouts

NOAA’s Ocean Today website states that waterspouts are spotted in the Florida Keys more than any other place on earth. The organization warns sailors to watch the sky for certain types of clouds when trying to avoid these storms.

“In the summer, with light winds, look for a possible waterspout underneath a line of cumulus clouds with dark, flat bases,” Ocean Today states on its website. “Anytime of the year, a thunderstorm or line of thunderstorms, can produce very intense waterspouts.”

NOAA also advises captains to listen for special marine warnings about waterspout sightings that are broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio. In the case a waterspout is sighted, captains are advised to immediately head at a 90 degree angle from the apparent motion of the waterspout.

“Never try to navigate through a waterspout,” Ocean Today states. “Although waterspouts are usually weaker than tornadoes, they can still produce significant damage to you and your boat.”

Superyacht Captain Weighs in on Venus Collision

Superyacht Captain and social media influencer Kelly Gordon provided analysis of the Venus’ collision. She said that while there are many actions that could have been taken to avoid the collision, incidents like this one can happen quickly and allow minimal time to react.

“However, alarms should have been set on each vessel that would notify crew when another vessel is within a certain distance of theirs, wind alarms for when wind speeds exceed certain limits, anchor alarms to indicate drag, use of radar, and a proper bridge watch, to name a few,” Gordon told Yachting in an emailed statement. “One would think that they had time to react, but maybe not. Weighing anchor and maneuvering in these conditions can be extremely difficult.  Forward thinking and precautionary measures can never be understated regardless of the forecasted conditions.”

Gordon said that the individuals heard yelling in the video did not appear to be in uniform and were likely guests. While the video doesn’t make it clear whether or not the captains were communicating via radio, Gordon affirmed that they should have been doing so well in advance to this collision.

“You can hear that Lady Moura did sound their horn,” Gordon said. “What is interesting is that it was only one long blast and should have been 5 short blasts to indicate danger. Regardless, a blast was made and that would have gained the attention of a proper watchman. Again, it’s obvious that there was not a proper bridge watch being maintained on Venus, but why? While there are numerous errors that were made in this instance the most notable is that Venus did not have a proper bridge watch, but again, why not? Was it complete and gross negligence or were there demands placed on the captain and crew that caused them to be under crewed and overworked-this is often the case in this industry. …”

When it comes to reducing damage from this kind of accident, Gordon said that mitigating a collision happens well in advance of the collision.

“Collisions are meant to be prevented and not reacted to after it has occurred,” Gordon said. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of a proper bridge watch and use of all means available to execute that watch. Not only is it important to utilize all means of equipment available, but also your senses. Action needs to be taken well in advance. You aren’t just on watch for your own vessel, but also for others that are around you as well.”

Gordon stresses that she is not judging the actions taken by other captains, who might just lack the resources and staff to do their job safely.

“I am not one to judge another captain’s actions,” Gordon said. “Being a captain is a very stressful and demanding job and I have long expressed to my crew that I would never be one to judge the actions of another.  In defense of the captain and crew one has to ask-were they under crewed?  Did the owners put extraneous demands and pressures on them? Were they allowed to maintain proper work/rest hours?  Was proper training provided? Yes, a master of this size of vessel should be extremely experienced, but you just don’t know what the crew were fully up against.”

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I Loved Tudor’s Sailing Watch Even More While Aboard an Actual Racing Yacht

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The weather report in Barcelona wasn’t looking particularly promising last month as I boarded a vessel on the Mediterranean. Leaving the Spanish coast behind me, storm clouds gathered overhead as the Swiss and French teams geared up to face off in the 37th edition of the America’s Cup. Then again, I was reminded, a bit of wind was a welcome sensation—without it, this regatta couldn’t get underway.

If you’ve never been buzzed by an AC75, the class of racing yacht used during the current America’s Cup , it can be difficult to imagine the sensation. I no longer had to imagine as the Alinghi Red Bull team’s AC75 reached its top speed of 50 knots (58 mph) and seemed to be nearly levitating as it lifted out of the water. And if it’s flying in anything resembling your general direction, this can be quite unnerving.

Even if you’re not a sailor, you’re likely familiar with America’s Cup anyway because of how frequently it intersects with the watch world. Tudor , Omega , and Panerai have all gotten in on the action, the logos of their storied brands featured prominently on mainsheets attached to each vessel’s 26.5-meter mast. For each edition of the Cup in which one of these maisons is sponsoring a team, said company will often debut a special watch, sometimes with a dedicated sailing complication such as a regatta timer. Two of the most compelling of these watches were introduced just last year: Tudor’s Pelagos FXD and FXD Chrono Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition . As I discovered earlier this month, they become even more compelling aboard the actual yacht they’re inspired by.

The racing yacht wasn't the only thing that made me feel like a member of team Alinghi that day. I also got a chance to wear the FXD from Tudor's Pelagos line. The Pelagos collection comprises the brand's most professional diving watch, complete with heavy-duty specs, some military influence, and perhaps a bit more character than the brand’s flagship Black Bay collection. Introduced in 2012, the Pelagos line has seen continuous improvement, culminating in the recent “ FXD .” (The “FXD” is for “fixed,” a design with military provenance that secures a strap to the wrist without possibility of spring bar failure.) The black-dialed FXD immediately stole my heart upon its release late in 2023, when I dove with it in Florida.

I wasn’t the only one wearing this purpose-made FXD. The entire Alinghi Red Bull racing team—from team owner to engineer—was kitted out with them. For me, it’s a cool watch; for the sailing team, it’s essential gear. Timing is everything out on the open water. “We use a watch [the Pelagos FXD] that’s in complete sync with what we do here,” says Jaume Triay, a young engineer on the Alinghi Red Bull team who’s spent the past two years living in Barcelona to prepare for the competition. “It’s a low-weight, high-performance watch, and it’s made out of the same materials [as the AC75]; I think there’s a nice synergy.”

Everything about the Alinghi FXD is made with yacht racing in mind. The watch is made from carbon fiber to mirror the carbon-hulled AC75 yachts, with matte blue-purple dials to match the Alinghi Red Bull livery. The numbers on the bezel are arranged in the reverse orientation from those on a dive watch. Why? On a yacht, one needs to quickly calculate countdowns, which is why the numbers go from 60-0 in a counterclockwise direction, rather than the more common 0-60. I had never spent much time with either of the new FXD watches before, but had the opportunity to wear the time-only version during my time in Barcelona for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup. I’m officially a fan.

The dial is a classic Tudor affair: Done up in matte Alinghi Red Bull blue, it features a snowflake handset and matching white indices, all of which are nicely lumed with plenty of Super-LumiNova. (The indices, hands, and all bezel hashmarks glow ice blue in low light.) A red second hand matches up with red “Pelagos” text—no doubt in a reference to vintage Rolex models and in keeping with other Pelagos watches—and the rehaut, which contains the outer minute track, features the words “ALINGHI RED BULL RACING” in the upper quadrant.

“Timing is important in many aspects [of what the team does],” Triay says. “It’s important in planning, such as how much time we need to train before competing, and how much time we have to design the boat. But then also, you can think about maneuvers: Are we going to do a slow, nicely controlled maneuver, or a sharp turn executed as quickly as possible? What is best, and how do you find replicable timing in order to analyze different strategies?”

Indeed, timing was everything as we sailed out into the open ocean outside Barcelona aboard the yacht in order to watch Alinghi compete against the French team. The Swiss needed to win this particular race, lest it be forced to win three in a row in the double-round robin of the Louis Vuitton Challenger Section Series—or face elimination. I was eager to try aligning my bezel to properly time the race countdown as announced aboard the ship’s television, where the race was being broadcast live.

Stepping out onto the deck in the rain (we picked a poor day for sailing) Alinghi’s AC75 was visible in the distance, tacking hard in the driving wind and water. Its complement of ultra-skilled sailors, however, proved their competence and seamanship, crossing the starting line just as the countdown ended and gaining a significant start on the French team. Roughly 20 minutes of hard sailing later, up and down a course established by remote-controlled buoys to align with the direction of the wind, the Swiss team captured its much-needed victory.

After the win, high-fives were swapped, congratulations were offered, audible sighs of relief were exhaled. As we sailed back into harbor, we passed the AC75 furling its sails, yelling our collective “mazel tov” at the team and chase boat crews. I glanced down at the FXD and thought back to my childhood summer camp experience and the activity I most enjoyed: Sailing small Sunfish dinghies on Plunkett Reservoir. I haven’t sailed in over 20 years, but the thought suddenly crossed my mind: Maybe it’s time to sail again—Pelagos fixed firmly on wrist.

F1 stewards' take on big Sainz/Perez crash - and ours

The big Azerbaijan Grand Prix podium battle crash involving Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez was deemed a "racing incident" by the Formula 1 stewards, with some blame attributed to both sides.

Both Perez's Red Bull team and Sainz's Ferrari team - as well as the two drivers involved - pointed the finger straight at the other side in the aftermath, with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner even going as far as to say he would be "very disappointed" if Sainz escaped sanction.

Yet the stewards' panel, which this weekend includes three-time F1 grand prix winner Johnny Herbert, underlined that it was taking its decision based on "how the incident occurred" and not its "significant" consequence - and felt neither driver could be predominantly blamed.

The two sides

Sainz and Perez collided on the penultimate lap in the race, put on a collision course by Sainz's team-mate Charles Leclerc slowing down with a loss of rear grip up ahead of them.

Leclerc's robust defence of second against Perez allowed Sainz to pick him off on exit of Turn 1, but when then trying to attack Leclerc himself Sainz went wide through Turn 2 - meaning Perez's front tyres drew narrowly ahead of Sainz's rears coming out of the corner, with the Mexican on the inside.

As Sainz gradually moved away from the outside wall, the two cars came together, spearing hard into the left-side wall instead and putting both out on the spot.

LAP 50/51 WOW. Leclerc defends from Perez, which allows Sainz past, and then the Ferrari and Red Bull collide into the barriers on the run down to Turn 3! VSC deployed 🟡 #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/u8GzV3ONPA — Formula 1 (@F1) September 15, 2024

"In my opinion Carlos moved too quickly to follow the tow from Charles," said Perez to Sky Sports.

"It was just wrong time, wrong moment and it resulted in a huge shunt."

His team boss Horner was more firm in his assessment - basing it off the footage being replayed repeatedly during Sky pundit Karun Chandhok's in-paddock analysis, and largely aligning with Chandhok's assessment that track markings showed it was Sainz who triggered the crash.

"You can quite clearly see that Carlos… if you take the wall as a reference and the white line on the right-hand side of the track, you see him look in his mirror and just drift to the left," said Horner.

"So... knowing that he [Perez] was there. And Checo doesn't move. Left or right. So, hugely frustrating, to lose that.

"I would've expected, from what I've just seen, causing that kind of incident, collision - I would be very disappointed if he [Sainz] weren't to take some form of penalty."

Sainz, for his part, hadn't seen a replay by the time he faced the media but emphasised he was simply following his normal racing line.

"I didn't do any strange manoeuvre or anything, and for some reason that I still don't understand we collided," he lamented. "I feel he had plenty of space to the left. I didn't do any strange movement.

"But I guess that's racing. Sometimes you do 48 laps without anything and then you get to three, two laps to go, and things like this happen.

"I did my normal racing line and the line that we all do in every lap of this track - exiting Turn 2 we always drift a bit towards the left and without doing any weird or erratic manoeuvre, Charles in front of me is going to the left also, and just following his slipstream obviously, and I don't know, Checo I think decides not to give in any kind of movement or space. But it's too early to say."

And as for Horner's sharp words, they were met by equally sharp words from Sainz's team boss Fred Vasseur.

"If Horner is expecting a great penalty for Carlos, I'm expecting a great penalty for Checo," he said, pointing out that Perez had "five metres" of room on the left-hand side.

The stewards' assessment

"This is a situation where a small touch had significant consequences," wrote the stewards of the accident.

"Sainz passed Perez after Turn 1 and was completely ahead at the apex of Turn 2. With a compromised exit by Sainz, Perez pulled to the inside.

"Sainz reported that he was aware of Perez to his inside. Perez, being slightly behind, was in a better position to see the relative location of the cars. But as the two cars approached the wall on the right at the exit of Turn 2, they were about one metre apart.

"From this point and throughout the incident, neither driver steered erratically, and indeed both kept their steering very neutral.”

The stewards then corroborated Sainz's assertion that he was "on or close to his normal racing line", while Perez was "more parallel to the right-hand wall" (although they acknowledged this line as "nothing unusual").

They said Sainz "had the right to drive his line" - but also that he "did move slightly towards a car that he had limited vision of". On Perez's side, they said he "could have done more to avoid the car that he had better view of".

So while a degree of fault was attributed to both drivers, neither was "predominantly at fault" and thus neither was penalised.

It would've been difficult for the F1 stewards to justify any other verdict under F1's general precedent - as both drivers' onboards confirm, plain as day (despite Horner's and Perez's claims of sudden movement), that neither driver meaningfully altered their steering angle after the initial exit phase.

The hearing had been scheduled for 17:30 local time, and the verdict came out at 18:13 local. By F1 standards, with a crash like that, that's lightning fast - but such was the nature of the accident.

A "racing incident" doesn't feel like the right kind of terminology for a dumb-looking crash in which two cars effectively drive into each other at speed with lots of racing room either side, but under F1's current framework there is no strong argument to be made for either side to be deemed "predominantly at fault".

If the primary motivation of the stewards' punitive measures is discouraging repeat action, you could probably make a case that actually both drivers should've been penalised - but that would not sit well with fans or with drivers or with the people making the decisions, and though consequences are in theory not considered it is also true that both Sainz and Perez were penalised enough for what is probably most aptly described as just a general carelessness towards each other's races - and their own races, too.

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