GUILTY CA - Boat fire near Santa Cruz Island; 34 missing, Sept 2019 *captain charged*

[BeachSky]

This is horrible.

Nightmare

 

[SandyQLS]

JMO Does the captain and most crew sleep in the wheelhouse top level cabin? The middle level cabin is the galley and salon. In the fire, if the crew was sleeping on the top level they had no way to get down to help the passengers - all they could do is jump overboard with the fire beneath them engulfing the middle level.

A generator would stay on all night, maybe it overheated? Where is the generator located, near the engine bottom level rear?

ETA: Looking again at the passenger bunks, #17L says "upper bunk reserved for crew" (upper left area in gray) - but that's the only lower deck crew bunk (it would be #17U and there is no 17M). Are those lines by the bunk numbers to fill-in passenger names for each excursion?

 

[they'll get you]

You can't take any chances with all those flammables onboard, like diesel fuel, propane, gasoline, and, on a dive boat like Conception, you've got all those oxygen tanks too..."

When asked what might have happened, he speculated, "Most likely something ignited. Nobody knows yet what happened first, it could've been a slow burn or an explosion. With an explosion, you go quick - no way would anybody below decks walk away from that. But with a slow burn with smoke, you can just go in your sleep and never know a thing about it."

"They were probably all sleeping. And where they were sleeping, below decks, they wouldn't have stood a chance

Feature: Californian fishermen warn of dangers on water after tragic boat accident - Xinhua | English.news.cn

 

[SandyQLS]

I am impressed with how long the burned out hull stayed afloat before sinking.

Sunrise today for Ventura, CA is 6:31AM

Per a DM photo caption, the distress call was just before 3:30AM and by 8:00AM the boat had burned down to the water line. After daybreak:

So how did some of the deceased passengers look like they "drown"? I am questioning if they all were asleep and trapped on the lower deck, they should be right there in that photo ^^^ under debris, burned, and then sank with the ship, (COD likely smoke inhalation). I'm sorry to be so graphic - I am having serious doubts about the story now...

 

[gregjrichards]

This is a horrific tragedy. May those who died Rest In Peace my thoughts and prayers are with their families, the injured and the crew.

 

[MsFacetious]

Rescuers initially recovered four bodies about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles just off Santa Cruz Island, and 16 others were pulled from the water later in the day. The Coast Guard says five others have been found but not recovered due to unsafe conditions under the boat, which sank about 20 yards (18 meters) from shore.

Authorities will search for the nine people still unaccounted for through the night.

-----------------------------------------------------

"It's upside down in relatively shallow water with receding tides that are moving it around," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. Investigators have not yet determined a cause for the fire.

Coast Guard: 25 bodies found after California boat fire


Since they had also said that the bodies were not able to be identified... I think it's very likely they were burned.

I just cannot decide which is worse. I just hope it was fast and they didn't know what was coming. I hate the water. In a boat on fire is like the stuff of my nightmares.

 

[they'll get you]

I am impressed with how long the burned out hull stayed afloat before sinking.

Sunrise today for Ventura, CA is 6:31AM

Per a DM photo caption, the distress call was just before 3:30AM and by 8:00AM the boat had burned down to the water line. After daybreak:

So how did some of the deceased passengers look like they "drown"? I am questioning if they all were asleep and trapped on the lower deck, they should be right there in that photo ^^^ under debris, burned, and then sank with the ship, (COD likely smoke inhalation). I'm sorry to be so graphic - I am having serious doubts about the story now...

My questions are how/why the crew survived.

 

[IceIce9]

My questions are how/why the crew survived.

Five crew members survived because they were on the top deck.

One crew member apparently died because she was below deck, where the passengers were sleeping.

 

[Cryptic]

(though I’d not be surprised if there were a few pro divers on the vessel’s crew...).

I once explored the possibility of scuba diving, but opted for another hobby. That aside....

I am pretty sure that larger, well run dive boats such as this have a Dive Master position occupied by a a professional diver and in charge of coordinating dives, diving safety, diving equipment, head counts etc. The deckhands then assist him or her with diving. Meanwhile, the captain is in charge of the boat as a whole.

I strongly suspect that the most, if not all, of the passengers were amateur divers rather than pros.

I think you are right. As this boat does not appear to have catered to a "difficult dives / experienced divers only" type clientele, the range of experience of the customers would probably have ranged from novice to very experienced.

A few may have been professional as one report mentioned a missing marine biologist who led dive groups and often used Concepcion as a charter for his groups.

 

[Lilibet]

I once explored the possibility of scuba diving, but opted for another hobby. That aside....

I am pretty sure that larger dive excursion boats such as this have a Dive Master position occupied by a a professional diver and in charge of coordinating dives, diving safety, diving equipment, head counts etc. The deckhands then assist him or her with diving. Meanwhile, the captain is in charge of the boat as a whole.


I think you are right. As this boat does not appear to have catered to a "difficult divers / experienced divers only"type clientele, the range of experience of the customers would probably have ranged from novice to very experienced.

A few may have been professional as one report mentioned a missing marine biologist who led dive groups and often used Concepcion as a charter.

This link has a section about the crew of each boat. Including the captain there are five crewmen.
About - Truth Aquatics

I don’t see a “dive master” listed as crew so I assume that whoever charters the boat for a dive provides their own. I believe Kristy Finstad probably fulfilled that role on this trip. She and her husband Dan Chua ran the dive company. He is currently leading a dive group in Costa Rica, according to reports.
Kristy Finstad - Worldwide Diving Adventures

 

[PommyMommy]

Joey Buttitta on Twitter
34 candles and dozens of flowers at the Sea Landing in the #SantaBarbara harbor. The growing memorial for the victims of the #Conception dive boat fire at Santa Cruz Island. @AlysMartinezTV)

5:52 AM - 3 Sep 2019 from Santa Barbara, CA

Brandi Hitt on Twitter
Tragic boat fire update on @ABC7: we are LIVE with @abc7marccr this morning where the search will resume for 9 boat passengers still missing. 25 bodies have been located near Santa Cruz Island. https://abc7.com/25-bodies-found-after-boat-erupts-in-flames-off-santa-cruz-island/5508025/ … #SantaCruzIsland #Rescues #DiveBoat #VenturaCounty #BREAKING

5:20 AM - 3 Sep 2019

 

[PommyMommy]

At Least 25 Confirmed Dead, 9 Still Missing in Boat Fire Off Santa Cruz Island
[...]

"You couldn't ask for a worse situation," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a Monday news conference.

A pair of diving fins and flowers at a memorial wall were placed near the Truth Aquatics moorings in Santa Barbara on Sept. 2, 2019. (Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

[...]

The five crew members, meanwhile, had taken their dingy to a private fishing boat, The Grape Escape, that was anchored near the north shore of Santa Cruz Island.

That boat's owners, Bob and Shirley Hansen, told The New York Times they were asleep when they heard pounding on the side of their 60-foot (18-meter) vessel about 3:30 a.m. and discovered the frightened crew members.

[...]

Hansen said two of the crew members went back toward the Conception looking for survivors but found no one.

[...]

 

[bluedivergirl]

I'm only on page two, so this may have been clarified already. The tanks divers use are filled with ordinary air. They are not filled with oxygen.

Some divers may have been using mixed gases, such as Nitrox, but you cannot use oxygen.

This is a heartbreaking event.

 

[Inthedetails]

This link has a section about the crew of each boat. Including the captain there are five crewmen.
About - Truth Aquatics

I don’t see a “dive master” listed as crew so I assume that whoever charters the boat for a dive provides their own. I believe Kristy Finstad probably fulfilled that role on this trip. She and her husband Dan Chua ran the dive company. He is currently leading a dive group in Costa Rica, according to reports.
Kristy Finstad - Worldwide Diving Adventures

Could be, but I was thinking Finstad was an amenity for the guests, to add color and entertainment about what the divers see in the ocean - to provide "infotainment" for the divers rather than provide diving instruction, handle the organization, etc. But that's just my guess (since one of my children does something similar, but on land).

jmo

 

[PommyMommy]

Dozens were trapped below deck in California boat fire

[...]

Hansen said it had been a quiet night in the cove in Platts Harbor. She and her husband, Bob, had spent the day on the water, cooked a calico bass she had caught, and gone to bed. The Madera couple were unaware of the Conception, anchored about 200 yards away. They thought they were alone in the cove.

She described the pounding that awoke them as “horrific.”

[...]

She said there was so much smoke pouring from the Conception that she needed an inhaler. She said two of the crew members who made it off the dive boat had injuries to their legs. Some were in underwear. One of the crew members gave his name as Jerry and identified himself as the captain.

“As it was burning, there would be explosions going off every couple of minutes,” Bob Hansen said. “It was probably some of the dive tanks exploding. It made me feel so helpless.”

Shirley Hansen said they brought the most injured crew member to an ambulance ashore, while the man who identified himself as the captain stayed behind with the Coast Guard.

“We don’t feel like good Samaritans,” she said. “We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

One of the Conception’s crew members is among the missing or dead.

[...]

 

[Lilibet]

Could be, but I was thinking Finstad was an amenity for the guests, to add color and entertainment about what the divers see in the ocean - to provide "infotainment" for the divers rather than provide diving instruction, handle the organization, etc. But that's just my guess (since of my children does something similar, but on land).

jmo

I think she’s all those things, but since her company teaches scuba diving, and she’s very organized, I figured she would be in charge of the whole dive. The Truth Aquatics boats are used for other purposes besides dives, although they are designed for dive trips. But they don’t list a dive master on the crew. I guess we’ll find out eventually.

 

[happyday]

Rescuers initially recovered four bodies about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles just off Santa Cruz Island, and 16 others were pulled from the water later in the day. The Coast Guard says five others have been found but not recovered due to unsafe conditions under the boat, which sank about 20 yards (18 meters) from shore.

Authorities will search for the nine people still unaccounted for through the night.

-----------------------------------------------------

"It's upside down in relatively shallow water with receding tides that are moving it around," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. Investigators have not yet determined a cause for the fire.

Coast Guard: 25 bodies found after California boat fire


Since they had also said that the bodies were not able to be identified... I think it's very likely they were burned.

I just cannot decide which is worse. I just hope it was fast and they didn't know what was coming. I hate the water. In a boat on fire is like the stuff of my nightmares.

This is what I said yesterday. It’s FULL of nightmares. Fire, water/drowning, trapped in small enclosed spaces. OMG

 

[Lilibet]

One of the crew members gave his name as Jerry and identified himself as the captain.

That would be Captain Jerry Boylan.


Jerry Boylan grew up by the sea. His father was an officer with the United States Coast Guard stationed on Anacapa Island where he was the officer in charge of the lighthouse. After a three-year duty, Jerry’s family relocated to Point Conception, California where they spent another three years by the sea. Jerry began his diving career at the tender age of 5 by spending hours in the water free diving with his father. In 1978 he learned to sail and immediately began managing Santa Barbara Boat Rentals. In 1982 he received his SCUBA certification so that he could dive when he was out on his sailboat.

Jerry was hired on with Truth Aquatics in 1983 and received his captain’s license in 1985. After assisting Glen with the construction of the Vision, Jerry soon became the full-time captain of that boat. Jerry has since captained all of the Truth Aquatics liveaboard vessels as well as other boats in the sport diving and commercial marine industries. Jerry is presently in command of the Conception and enjoys showing others the beauty of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands.

About - Truth Aquatics

 

[Cryptic]

I don’t see a “dive master” listed as crew so I assume that whoever charters the boat for a dive provides their own.

Good research.

It looks like the boats could be chartered for any number of activities instead of just diving. As only a certain number of charters were diving charters, a permanent Dive Master may not of been economical. Rather, as you stated, each group on a diving charter provides their own.

This apparent organization seems different from a "diving exclusive" charter boat such as this where the boat provides the Dive Master and emphasizes that the position is always manned:
scuba diving | Galveston, Texas | Freeport, Texas | Gulf of Mexicohttps://www.ultradivetexas.com

 

[PommyMommy]

Good Samaritans recall rescuing five crew members from boat fire near Santa Cruz island

[...]

The Hansen's say they gave the five survivors clothing and helped them dry off once they got aboard their boat, "The Grape Escape."

[...]

"I feel so sad," Bob said. "Had they had just been able to abandon boat, I have more than enough room to put the entire crew, the entire guests and everything on board."

The Hansens say the crew members were crying and distraught and it appeared some of them suffered injuries, one with a broken leg and another with a sprained ankle.

[...]