Hearings on sinking of HMS Bounty replica begin

Remember when the HMS Bounty sank during Hurricane Sandy? the hearings to determine why and how have begun. Mario Vittone analyzes the hearings at Gcaptain. (HT: @SFriedScientist)

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fuzzyfuzzyfungus

The part that still amazes me is the whole ‘somebody took a movie prop, patterned after a ship design from an era of distinctly alarming naval safety records, into a hurricane’ thing.
- Boundegar
  
  What could possibly go wrong?
- http://twitter.com/ocschwar ocschwar
  
  In comparison, Captain Bligh managed to get his cutter to Timor without losing a single man.
  - http://www.madziabryll.com Cefeida
    
    Well, if Captain Walbridge and his crewmembers got to climb down into the lifeboats in peaceful seas, I’m sure none of them would have been lost.
    
    The comparison is tempting but can’t really be justified…
- http://twitter.com/magicmadzik Madzia
  
  Dude, no. The ship was not just a movie prop, it was an actual ship, built in a real shipyard, it was meant to sail, and did for decades. One could say many things about what went wrong, but not ‘it was just a movie prop’.
aurora50

Oh, B-B. You do not disappoint! this series of articles is fascinating, as are the comments and replies. Please keep this topic up as long as the hearings continue.
- http://twitter.com/magicmadzik Madzia
  
  You can also watch the hearings live here: http://www.wavy.com/generic/news/hms-bounty-hearings
  
  They’ve started days ago and they’re fascinating.
  - aurora50
    
    Thank you!
llamaspit

I knew the Captain of this ship, and while I am not qualified to speak regarding his decision to take the ship to sea on that fatal day, I can say that he was extremely conscious of the gravity of his responsibilities, and was thoroughly professional in all his activities over a long career at sea. It is easy to pick apart his decision after the fact, and to a landlubber as I am, it seems crazy to go to sea ahead of a hurricane, but I am sure he made the decision after weighing all options. In the end, it was clearly a mistake and I am sure that all relevant facts will come out in the inquiry. Sometimes, despite the best efforts of all concerned, things go badly.
- http://www.madziabryll.com Cefeida
  
  I sailed with him for a while, including during a different hurricane. I second this opinion.
Preston Sturges

The owners had booked the ship for an event (Florida?) the following week.

Did they order the ship into the storm to make that event?