Ouch! rocks at 4ft, draft over 7ft, not a good look at 6 knots

by Sail-World Cruising Round-up on 9 Aug 2013 Ouch! It's a two-year-old Hylas 70, designed by famed yacht designer German Frers, and who knows what she was doing sailing at six knots over a rock four feet below the surface when she draws over seven feet. But the archangels did nothing to help this fibreglass boat - called Archangel - this week when she was sailing in Maine, USA, in Penobscot Bay.

Archangel hit a rock called East Goose Rock in the early afternoon on Wednesday, went aground, dismasted and rolled onto its side. On Thursday, few involved with its rescue and salvage were talking about the recovery, given its status as a marine casualty.

The good news is that no one of the eight strong crew was seriously injured in the collision with the rock, according to U.S. Coast Guard Station Northern New England Chief Matthew Couling and the boat was stabilized by a crew from nearby Wayfarer Marine, who were among the first on the scene. Crews from the local Coast Guard Station Rockland also assisted.

There's hope for her yet, though, as by Thursday evening, as reported by local news outlet www.penbaypilot.com!Penbaypilot, a crew was standing by the boat, waiting for the return of high tide to float her off the rocks and haul her to shore.

So what happened? Witnesses out on the water estimated the yacht, which hails from Newport Rhode Island, either thought she was missing the rock or didn't know it was there. It was just after high tide when the Archangel hit the rocks between 1 and 2 p.m., while under full sail, according to the witnesses. The force of the crash caused the mast to fall. Sailors on the water estimated the boat was traveling at six or seven knots. The boat was apparently on a course for North Haven.