Three and a half years after the tragic capsizing of the Peter Hughes liveaboard, Wave Dancer, IMMARBE (the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize) has issued its official report and conclusions (a .pdf file) on the catastrophe where 17 passengers and 3 crew members lost their lives.
To recap, the Richmond Dive Club chartered both the Wave Dancer and the Belize Aggressor III for a one week dive excursion to the reefs off Belize beginning on October 6, 2001. Despite the fact that Hurricane Iris was bearing down on Central America, the group proceeded to get in two days of diving before seeking refuge up a river about 1 mile inland. Both the Wave Dancer and Belize Aggressor were tied to the same dock and the entire group (on both boats) chose to stay onboard rather than seeking refuge ashore. At the peak of the hurricane at 8:30pm on October 8, the Wave Dancer came loose and went broadside to the storm surge. Within seconds, the boat grounded and capsized. Almost everyone (passengers and crew) staying in the salon was lost.
Some notable findings (the report is 89 pages long, the conclusions begin on page 47):
- Despite a hurricane warning being issued for the entire coast of Belize at 5pm on the 7th of October, the Wave Dancer did not leave Lighthouse Reef until 6:30 the next morning (no info on the Aggressor, but I assume they were together). This decision precluded the option of disembarking the passengers at Belize City, which is a 5 hour ride from Lighthouse Reef.
- The captain did not supply the passengers with flashlights and lifejackets, as required by the ship's hurricane plan. Although life jackets were available on the main deck, they could not be reached in time.
- Despite the vote of the guests to stay on the boats (both charters), the captain was ultimately responsible for the consequences of this decision. However, the board was not willing to second guess this.
- The boat utilized mixed mooring lines (both nylon and polypropylene) which likely contributed to the lines breaking. Since nylon lines stretch significantly more than polypropylene lines, all of the strain would fall to the poly lines, rather than being distributed among all lines equally.
- No aft spring lines to keep the boat from shfting rearward into the Belize Aggressor.
- Although the engines were kept running, there was noone manning the wheelhouse at the time the boat went adrift.
- Captain Phil Martin (who survived) and several crewmembers and guests from the Belize Aggressor exhibited extraordinary determination in the immediate rescue efforts after the capsizing.
- No outside assistance became available until nearly ten hours after the accident.
I'll let the conclusions speak for themselves. The only thing I would add to this is: buy the trip insurance and DON'T GO. Having grown up in hurricane country, I can tell you that the best way to stay safe is to GET THE HELL OUT OF DODGE. You cannot even imagine the sheer power of this. I'm afraid that the Weather Channel has somehow desensitized people and glorified the experience of sitting through a hurricane with their reporters shooting live from hurricane targets as the storm rolls in.
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