Honduras, Bay Islands: Vessel wrecked on Roatan Reef
by Diane Selkirk 15 Feb 2019 15:26 AEDT
Fred Again on Reef © Honduran National Police
On February 8 at 12:30 am the Honduran National Police in Roatan, Honduras report that they received a 911 call alerting them to a sailboat that had become stranded on the reef near the Fantasy Island Hotel. The Police called out the Honduran Naval Force; then the naval troops, fire department and marine park staff were all involved the successful rescue of five crew off the Canadian vessel, Fred Again, a 39" C&C. noonsite.com
Early Facebook reports indicated the skipper, Robert Nuttell was standing off French Harbour for a morning entry, but became disoriented by someone using a red light on the reef. The report also indicated the portion of the reef the sailboat grounded on was not adequately shown on the vessel's charts.
The yacht was on a round America cruise starting from Vancouver with plans for the East Coast and Northwest passage, and had recently arrived from Panama via San Andres and Providencia.
A Go Fund Me campaign by the skipper's family says there has been looting and, "the boat lost its keel, rudder and there are several holes in the hull. Insurance won't cover this area so it is a total loss." The campaign goes on to explain Nuttell is being held responsible for removing the wreck from the reef and may be fined, "or go to jail."
Charting of the area has been known to have issues—and most vessels report that they opt for daylight travel and that they also use Google maps satellite overlays to confirm the reef locations. Honduran law also states a vessel owner is legally responsible for removing a wreck and sunken goods within a period established by authorities.
See this Honduran Police Report for more.
This article has been provided by the courtesy of noonsite.com.