Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as ‘Experienced’ and ‘Trusted’ Mariner
 

A friend of ours in Connecticut who is a containership captain went to
school with the captain of the El Faro at Maine Maritime Academy in
Castine.

http://gcaptain.com/captain-of-ill-fated-el-faro-described-as-experienced-and-trusted-mariner/#.VhejXSssycM
http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/local/2015/10/08/fifth-maine-maritime-academy-graduate-lost-sea/73579548/

Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as 'Experienced' and 'Trusted' Mariner
 

That's a pretty sad deal Wayne. Sometimes there's no one to blame. I believe they were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. He probably was caught off guard when the weather twisted on them in moments.

Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as ‘Experienced’ and ‘Trusted’ Mariner
 

On Fri, 09 Oct 2015 07:32:33 -0400,
wrote:


A friend of ours in Connecticut who is a containership captain went to
school with the captain of the El Faro at Maine Maritime Academy in
Castine.

http://gcaptain.com/captain-of-ill-fated-el-faro-described-as-experienced-and-trusted-mariner/#.VhejXSssycM
http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/local/2015/10/08/fifth-maine-maritime-academy-graduate-lost-sea/73579548/

It is amazing that a guy who was this smart would sail right into the
eye of a hurricane.
This is not the 19th century,. There are plenty of weather resources
available to him to know how much trouble he was in.
There must have been a heluva "on time" bonus in Puerto Rico. If he
adds a day or two to the trip and comes down the coast of Florida,
everyone arrives alive.

It reminds me of the guys who decided the Bounty would do fine in
Sandy.

Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as 'Experienced' and 'Trusted' Mariner
 

On Fri, 9 Oct 2015 07:25:48 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

That's a pretty sad deal Wayne. Sometimes there's no one to blame. I believe they were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. He probably was caught off guard when the weather twisted on them in moments.

Maybe you guys don't look at the weather as much as we do in Florida
but this storm was very well predicted. The models kept pushing it off
to the east but other than that there was plenty of warning for that
captain.
As soon as it was apparent that it was going to go well east of
Florida, he had an out but it would have added a day to his trip.
The El Faro could run at up to 22kts so adding a few hundred extra
miles was not that big a deal. This had to be about money (fuel and
maybe an on time bonus).

Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as 'Experienced' and'Trusted' Mariner
 

I know what you're saying Greg. But my thought is that it's possible that it was bad enough but turned REALLY bad before they knew what was happening. Just my uneducated thought.

Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as 'Experienced' and 'Trusted' Mariner
 

On Fri, 9 Oct 2015 09:44:27 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I know what you're saying Greg. But my thought is that it's possible that it was bad enough but turned REALLY bad before they knew what was happening. Just my uneducated thought.

I suppose bravado goes a long way but I am not sure it would have me
steering into a storm when there was an easy way to avoid it.

Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as 'Experienced' and 'Trusted' Mariner
 

On Fri, 09 Oct 2015 14:29:03 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 9 Oct 2015 09:44:27 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I know what you're saying Greg. But my thought is that it's possible that it was bad enough but turned REALLY bad before they knew what was happening. Just my uneducated thought.

I suppose bravado goes a long way but I am not sure it would have me
steering into a storm when there was an easy way to avoid it.

===

There's more information he

http://gcaptain.com/collision-course-with-a-hurricane-how-doomed-el-faro-met-its-end/#.VhgL0SssycM

This will be discussed by the professionals for a while. At this time
I don't think it's known exactly when they lost power. It may be
possible that they caught a really bad break by losing power before
they could reroute.

In addition to a possible desire to save fuel, there may have been
port considerations. Some harbors have limited dockage space and
tightly scheduled slip assignments. It could be very expensive if you
miss your slot and have to wait for a new one. Don't know if that's
an issue in San Juan or not.

Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as 'Experienced' and'Trusted' Mariner
 

Yes Wayne there will be investigations and incident re-constructions for quite some time.

Regardless, it's still a tragic loss of life. Hopefully it wasn't due to poor judgement, but like Greg pointed out, it could have been. Then it becomes tragic and senseless.

Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as 'Experienced' and 'Trusted' Mariner
 

On Fri, 09 Oct 2015 14:58:21 -0400,
wrote:

On Fri, 09 Oct 2015 14:29:03 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 9 Oct 2015 09:44:27 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I know what you're saying Greg. But my thought is that it's possible that it was bad enough but turned REALLY bad before they knew what was happening. Just my uneducated thought.

I suppose bravado goes a long way but I am not sure it would have me
steering into a storm when there was an easy way to avoid it.

===

There's more information he

http://gcaptain.com/collision-course-with-a-hurricane-how-doomed-el-faro-met-its-end/#.VhgL0SssycM

This will be discussed by the professionals for a while. At this time
I don't think it's known exactly when they lost power. It may be
possible that they caught a really bad break by losing power before
they could reroute.

In addition to a possible desire to save fuel, there may have been
port considerations. Some harbors have limited dockage space and
tightly scheduled slip assignments. It could be very expensive if you
miss your slot and have to wait for a new one. Don't know if that's
an issue in San Juan or not.

Not to go all "Harry" on you but it is still just money.
How much did losing the ship cost:?

Did the company actually make more on the insurance than that old rust
bucket was worth?

Captain of Ill-Fated El Faro Described as 'Experienced' and'Trusted' Mariner
 

On 10/10/15 9:40 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 09 Oct 2015 14:58:21 -0400,
wrote:

On Fri, 09 Oct 2015 14:29:03 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 9 Oct 2015 09:44:27 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I know what you're saying Greg. But my thought is that it's possible that it was bad enough but turned REALLY bad before they knew what was happening. Just my uneducated thought.

I suppose bravado goes a long way but I am not sure it would have me
steering into a storm when there was an easy way to avoid it.

===

There's more information he

http://gcaptain.com/collision-course-with-a-hurricane-how-doomed-el-faro-met-its-end/#.VhgL0SssycM

This will be discussed by the professionals for a while. At this time
I don't think it's known exactly when they lost power. It may be
possible that they caught a really bad break by losing power before
they could reroute.

In addition to a possible desire to save fuel, there may have been
port considerations. Some harbors have limited dockage space and
tightly scheduled slip assignments. It could be very expensive if you
miss your slot and have to wait for a new one. Don't know if that's
an issue in San Juan or not.

Not to go all "Harry" on you but it is still just money.
How much did losing the ship cost:?

Did the company actually make more on the insurance than that old rust
bucket was worth?


Surely you are not alluding to a corporate climate in which saving lives
and not losing a ship are less important than an in$urance claim? Why,
that sort of thinking is *so* un'Merican.