Italy - Sailing yacht sank off Italian coast, 15 rescued, 7 missing, 19 August 2024

[Baby baby Jane]

Yacht friend saying the keel, partially retracted, made the yacht less stable. The keel in full extension puts counterbalance weight lower requiring more force above water to push it over at extreme angle.
Extended keel has more surface area in water & increased weight of water means more force needed to topple the boat.

However, says experienced captain, making decisions based on experience would not necessarily be at fault for having partially retracted in shallower water, in a “safe harbor” at anchor. It’s possible that this is indicated for this ship in any guidance materials. Shallow coastal water is exactly why it retracts.
His view also that ship builder came out loud and strong that it was not fault of the ship design. Saying will be interesting to understand how recent renovations and tech upgrades may have modified / altered performance from original 2007 build. Also when retracting keel is indicated or not indicated in builders guidance. Possible that retracting was indicated by depth or by GPS tech.

Last comment he says end Aug /Early Sept weather/winds often extreme and unexpected in Med. Says these weeks most often when boats at anchor end up on the beach or colliding in isolated areas.

 

[RedHaus]

Yacht friend saying...

RSBM
Thank you for sharing. Up thread we covered a lot of these complexities regarding the keel and angles, primarily from the technical analysis posted by a former Bayesian Captain that @ItalyReader shared. Fascinating.

FWIW, it was reported early on the Bayesian was anchored a 0.5 mile off shore. While likely not shallow water there, the former Bayesian Captain said the keel position is usually up when not sailing, regardless of the depth of water. Of course many here wonder why it wasn't dropped if there were severe weather alerts, which the yacht's builder claims were hard to ignore.

Also you probably know this already, but the Bayesian now rests in about 160 feet deep water and was pushed by the extreme wind event about 1,000 feet from where it was anchored. That concurs with what your friend said about weather events this time of year causing problems.

Speaking of which, here is the weather record of the Bayesian downspout 19/8 ~3:50am I posted earlier this evening. Dramatic!