Reading "No Safe Harbor"

[robint]

I am reading No Safe Harbor, the story of the disaster of the Peter Hughes Belize liveaboard in 2001. Amazon.com: No Safe Harbor: The Tragedy of the Dive Ship Wave Dancer: Joe Burnworth: Books (http://www.amazon.com/No-Safe-Harbor-Tragedy-Dancer/dp/157860219X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204469562&sr=8-1)
I have known about the book and heard great reviews ever since it came out. I have not wanted to read it because I was afraid it would cause me to be afraid of liveaboards.

It is such a good book for many reasons I wanted to bring it up here. Any liveaboard diver should get this book and read it right now. It might scare you away from liveaboards, but I am taking this a huge learning experience for the industry. Too many mistakes were made on this trip by the liveaboard operator and it resulted in many deaths. :shakehead: I do believe that lessons were learned, a bit too late for the 17 people who died, but if they hadn't died this time it would have happened eventually on some other boat. Read the book and you will see what I mean. I am so glad that the book was written (by someone who was there).

Anyhow, I started the book Friday afternoon and I will finish it sometime today, that's how good it is. :D It is an easy read, some scuba "lessons" for the non-diving reader, and lots of things that have made me think about my upcoming trip and what I would do in such a situation. I think, by reading this book, I will be more prepared than I was before reading it.


robin:D

[Desert_Diver]

I will be interested to see if you think blame was apportioned appropriately after you finish the book.

I enjoyed the book. I am a big fan of Nekton liveaboards, although it's been a couple of years since I've dived with them. I am signed up for an Aggressor liveaboard in Palau later this year. But I have to admit, I feel uncomfortable with the idea of diving of a Peter Hughes boat now.

Please post after you finish the book. I'd be interested in your opinion.

Art

[drbill]

My #1 dive buddy, Andrea, was crew on the Wave Dancer until shortly before this incident. She returned to the States and was replaced by another local diver and friend, Aaron Starck. He lost his life on the Wave Dancer, returning to the cabin to try to rescue passengers. Very sad loss. At least he died doing something he loved... but it shouldn't have happened.

[moneysavr]

Yes the book was good-liveaboards are great-
Captains fall in to a vicious cycle of being at the mercy of the Master of the vessel (OWNER)and responsible for the crew and passengers.
In all it was a tragic loss of life and the Captain of the Wave dancer is at fault as IMO the other boats The Captains TOO! for not offering other tie off options-extra lines and so on.What really hits me hard is when the owner fly 's in he walks by basically blows off survivors of his wrecked ship-sad!

[robint]

okay, the weather was crappy here today so I just finished the book. I am angry that so many things went wrong all at the same time. Yes, I am a bit angry at the Aggressor capt for not helping them more with tying off, but I am more angry at the Peter Hughes corp altogether. They really *******edup big time. I feel bad for the guests and the crew who knew that bad things were about to come to a head and couldn't help out in fear of losing their jobs. I am mad that the boat "owner" didn't seem to care at all about these poor people and only cared about covering his bumm, never took responsibility, and was rude to the survivors. He should have walked up to them and hugged them and cried with them. Instead he backed away and started pointing fingers. The captain was incompetent, the crew hated him and wanted off the boat, and the boat had all large pieces of equipment (freezers, dryers, compressors, etc) just sitting on the floor not bolted down (so when the boat tipped they slid and made the boat capsize), and a CAT 4 HURRICANE was headed straight for them. Horrible set of circumstances ---- all at once.

Okay, for those of you who haven't read it, go buy it. It is a real eye-opener of how things can spiral out of control and cause a tragedy. The survivors and the family members of the dead didn't get squat as far as compensation either. Not even a penny from PH corp for their gear that got lost! I think the whole tragedy should be blamed on PH corp ultimately. The guests were snowed into believing the capt when he told them they would be fine and diving the next day if they stayed on the boat. I hope he has nightmares the rest of his life.

I know that Peter Hughes doesn't own the company anymore, they just use his name, but every time I see an ad for their liveaboards I will think about this tragedy. Sad, so so so very sad.

robin

[almitywife]

wow... ive heard of the wave dancer but i still cant imagine such a horror. ive just ordered the book

[Allison Finch]

Just remember that the Aggressor boat made the SAME decisions. They were tied up together. It is just bad joss that the accident happened to the PH boat. It could have happened to any of the boats tied up in that river.

I have dived PH boats many times and will again, at every opportunity.

Also, books are one person's reflection of any incident. Let's not open up, YET AGAIN, another PH smear campain. PH boats are owned by seperate owners. To smear PH is to, unjustly, affect many different people who had no part of that tragedy.

[drbill]

Agree with Allison to the extent that individual boats are under separate ownership.

I would not categorically rule a PH boat out of the running for a liveaboard dive trip. However, I would certainly research the individual boat in question (as I would any other liveaboard I considered using).

[mike_s]

Its easy to blame the captain based on his incompetence and inexperience, but just remember he was hired by the owner.

It's easy to blame the owner also, as he hired the inexperienced captain and maintined a boat that didn not meet safety compliance.

I don't see how Hughes doesn't shoulder some of the fault though as he franchised his operation to a boat that wasn't maintained properly and hired inexperienced captain.


I do agree with Allison though that this book is the view of one person and should be read that way. Of course Hughes would not publish his account as it would definately be used as liability against him in any legal proceedings.

For a more independent reading check out the IMARBE Report from the investigation from the accident.

[robint]

Just remember that the Aggressor boat made the SAME decisions. They were tied up together. It is just bad joss that the accident happened to the PH boat. It could have happened to any of the boats tied up in that river.

I have dived PH boats many times and will again, at every opportunity.

Also, books are one person's reflection of any incident. Let's not open up, YET AGAIN, another PH smear campain. PH boats are owned by seperate owners. To smear PH is to, unjustly, affect many different people who had no part of that tragedy.

Yes, the Aggressor boat made the same decision to ride out the storm there, but they arrived several hours earlier AND had adequate ropes to tie the boat to the dock. The Aggressor didn't flip for that reason AND the fact that the PH boat had all heavy equipment just sitting on the floors, not bolted down - which means when the boat snapped its lines and tilted at a angle from the storm surge, ALL the heavy equipment slid to one side. This made the boat rock violently over and capsize. I blame the PH corp for that.

The book isn't just one person's opinion of an event. He interviewed everyone involved and he was on the Aggressor when it happened. He spoke to people right there during the event and helped with the body recovery. I don't think anything in the book comes accross as accusatory towards anyone. The reports printed in the book about the state of the boat, showing all the things that contributed to its flipping are right there. You can't dispute them.

I am not trying to trash PH boats. I just wanted people to read the boat and LEARN some lessons from it. As I have said, I think many things went wrong and I hope ALL liveaboard operators have read this book and LEARN from it. I hope all divers who plan to go on a liveaboard read this book and learn from it.

robin:D

[peterbj7]

Surely everyone was evacuated from the Agressor so even if it had turned over no lives would have been lost, whereas the Captain on Wavedancer insisted that everyone remain on board.

Or do I have it wrong?

[robint]

Surely everyone was evacuated from the Agressor so even if it had turned over no lives would have been lost, whereas the Captain on Wavedancer insisted that everyone remain on board.

Or do I have it wrong?


Nope, everyone on both boats stayed onboard as there was no place to really evac then to there in Placencia/Big Creek harbor. The Aggressor was properly tied at the dock with an adequate number of ropes and not tied too tightly so that when the storm surge came in, the boat was able to rise without snapping the ropes. The Aggressor also arrived at the dock hours ahead of the Wavedancer so there was time to prepare for the hurricane.
One of the big lessons I HOPE learned by the book is that when a hurricane is coming, all liveaboards should take all passengers to a safe area for evac immediately and don't wait until the last minute. It would have been better for everyone to miss 2 days of diving than stay on the boats and miss one day (this was what the divers were told).

[mike_s]

The Agressor boat also was "further back" on the dock and out of the incoming wind and current/storm surge.

The WaveDancer bow protruded past the dock and into the incoming wind/wave/storm-surge. There are diagrams of the tie up in the IMMARBE report (page 81)

from IMMARBE - International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize (http://www.immarbe.com/marine_casualty_report.html)

IMMARBE Report on Wave Dancer (http://www.immarbe.com/IMMARBELIB/MCR_WAVE_DANCER.pdf)



One of the things that I couldn't believe after all this happened was that Peter Hughes, Inc filed a lawsuit against the Agressor Fleet claiming that the Agressor boat is what caused them to break free from their moorings. I thought that was a pretty low blow....


EDIT. I found the pic online

http://www.wavedancermemorial.com/Accident/immarbe_6_468655.jpg

[Desert_Diver]

The Agressor boat also was "further back" on the dock and out of the incoming wind and current/storm surge.

The WaveDancer bow protruded past the dock and into the incoming wind/wave/storm-surge. There are diagrams of the tie up in the IMMARBE report (page 81)

from IMMARBE - International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize (http://www.immarbe.com/marine_casualty_report.html)

IMMARBE Report on Wave Dancer (http://www.immarbe.com/IMMARBELIB/MCR_WAVE_DANCER.pdf)



One of the things that I couldn't believe after all this happened was that Peter Hughes, Inc filed a lawsuit against the Agressor Fleet claiming that the Agressor boat is what caused them to break free from their moorings. I thought that was a pretty low blow....


EDIT. I found the pic online

http://www.wavedancermemorial.com/Accident/immarbe_6_468655.jpg

One of the criticisms I read about the IMMARBE report (this was on the net, not in the book) was that the government of Belize wanted to expand the dive business being done by out of country divers. They did not want alienate any live aboard companies. So they did something of a white wash job in their investigation/report and essentially blamed it all on the captain of the Wave Dancer. Some of the decisions the captain made (waiting to bring the boat into harbor, how to tie the boat up, advising crew and guests to stay aboard during the storm) he was clearly responsible for. He maintained however that he commnicated regularly with the Peter Hughes corporate organization and they gave overt and tacit blessing to his actions prior to the sinking. His relations with the crew did not appear to be good which may have caused him to discount their advice on how to handle the storm. He was new to the area and new to the job. He might have done better to take the crews consultation a little more seriously.

The one thing that everyone agrees on is that it was a tradgedy and there were lessons to be learned and guilt to be shared.

Art

[robint]

yeah, I thought that was pretty tacky myself. It said in the book that the lawsuit didn't go anywhere and that it was later dropped. It also said that the PH corp claimed that the Aggressor boat bumped the Wavedancer making it break its lines. No proof found of that.

From the book - After arriving at the dock and seeing that his boat wouldn't fit, the capt of the Wavedancer asked the Aggressor capt to swap positions on the docks, too. The Aggressor capt said no way, he got there earlier and got that spot. The Aggressor capt and others there at the dock suggested he run the Wavedancer up into the mangroves to hold it still during the hurricane as it would be better than tying off to the dock sticking halfway out into the channel. He said no. Then the Wavedancer capt asked for more ropes as he only had a few. The Aggressor had more ropes but didn't share them as they were PO'ed at the Wavedancer capt at that point. So, possibly, the lawsuit stems from all this interaction between the two boats as the hurricane was heading for them.

[mike_s]

I can't blame the Agressor captain.... I wouldn't have moved either.


I agree that IMMARBE report didn't want to hurt paying dive operations from operting there. It's a shame.

Check out Wave Dancer Tragedy page on IMMARBE Report (http://www.wavedancermemorial.com/Accident/IMMARBEreport.html) . It's got some interesting references to how the Belize government agencies handled the investigation and handed off responsibility and some media cover reports (text of) that covered it.

[scubamickey]

I read this book a couple of years ago right before going on our first liveaboard. There's a member here on the board who isn't a regular poster--he was on the Wave Dancer. His take on the book is that it does have some errors, but as I recall from our PMs, his overall feelings of PH is the same as those of us who read the book with no first hand info. Maybe he will chime in again.

The way I visually inspect a liveaboard is highly influenced by what I read in this book. I'm fortunate to be married to a man with a lot of ship experience (Coast Guard and private use) who actually knows what he's looking at. He read the book as well and refuses to let me book us on a PH just on principle alone (because of the atrocious way PH treated the customers).

This type of a book is a double edged sword. It provides good information and a warning about complacency to divers, but it can also negatively influence your opinion about the company. Hence they never get a chance to redeem themselves or prove that they corrected their errors.

[Rick Patterson]

Sorry to tell you this Robint, but there are several errors I found in a brief skim of the book. I will admit I have not read the book in its entirety, maybe some day, but that day has not come yet. Besides I was there, and still have a very clear memory of the events that took place. I did write down what I recalled shortly after the incident and have kept that if I ever want to refresh my memory on any particular detail. Mr. Burnworth never interviewed me and I have seen reference to him interviewing ALL survivors. This is simply not a fact. I am glad that Mr. Burnworth wrote the book, because it is another source of information about the risks of scuba diving and traveling in general. Please remember the fact still remains that it is up to individuals to take responsibility for their own safety. I am not going to speak poorly of any operation in particular. That has been done enough and would serve no purpose. Be aware that you should not believe everything that you read, and use your own judgment when traveling and diving. There is nothing under the water that you HAVE to see today, and if your gut tells you something just is not right with the operation or the trip or just that dive make the necessary changes to protect your self and others. I have been on a few other liveaboard trips since the Wave Dancer trip and I am happy to say they went well. They were on Nekton boats in Cay Sal and Caymans. I have not had the courage, or the time to make it back to Belize yet, but it is in my plans. Robint if you have any specific questions, feel free to send me a message and I will respond. But I do not want to clog up the message board with people’s speculation on the facts.

Rick Patterson

[robint]

....I am glad that Mr. Burnworth wrote the book, because it is another source of information about the risks of scuba diving and traveling in general. Please remember the fact still remains that it is up to individuals to take responsibility for their own safety.

Rick Patterson


that is all I was trying to say. Everyone should read the book in order to learn from it. I never bashed Peter Hughes either... I said that they made a huge fubar in this Particular Incident and shoulder the blame (from the book and the official reports I have read.) I also said that I believe they should have learned much, as well as all other dive operators, from this incident and hopefully it won't happen again. This whole tragedy was a BIG learning experience for the dive industry. It is very sad that so many lives had to be lost in order to learn, but that is the way it is in most cases.

robin

[almitywife]

well i received my copy of the book last week and finished reading it and i gotta say, this book has 254 pages and of that, at least 180 pages are rubbish

with due respect to the survivors and the families of the victims, i feel this book was written for the surviving families and non divers and for me, as a diver, i wanted to see more research and details about the aftermath to this event and i was left very disappointed

i think in the hands of a actual writer and not a diver that decides to write the story, the wavedancer and its victims stories could be better told

cheers

[james croft]

I have not read the book but knew a couple of the divers on the boat. One lived and one died.
The survivor is very bitter towards PH and they way the aftermath was handled. One thing is certain, there are some important lessons to be learned from this incident. Err on the side of safety over another days diving. You can always come back another day if you are alive.

Having been through a number of hurricanes and typhoons without much trouble it is easy to think you can ride them out. Sometimes you can't and the unexpected happens.

I was part of the Virginia Law Enforcement Task Force that was sent to Hancock Co. Misssissippi immediately after Katrina on a mission to bring the "law to the lawless" as we jokingly called it.
I patrolled Waveland area and it looked like an atomic bomb went off there. There was nothing standing and there were shrimpboats and tugboats high and dry and broken up a mile from the water. Nothing I had been through with other hurricanes and storms prepared me for what I saw. I knew the area would be totally devastated but it was thousands of times worse than I could imagine. The lesson I learned from this is that I will never attempt to ride out another hurricane. I will get inland and prepare for the worse. I am glad that the Wavedancer capsizing was not more deadly because it had the potential to take more lives.

[Allison Finch]

You know what IS really sad? That two captains, and their pissing match contributed to the ultimate tradgedy. Yes, evidently the WaveDancer was short on storm ropes. But, when he asked Aggressor for a loan (they did have extras), The Agressor captain was mad and refused to loan them. Yes, it is NOT his duty to loan them, but if he had been magnanimous........

[almitywife]

You know what IS really sad? That two captains, and their pissing match contributed to the ultimate tradgedy. Yes, evidently the WaveDancer was short on storm ropes. But, when he asked Aggressor for a loan (they did have extras), The Agressor captain was mad and refused to loan them. Yes, it is NOT his duty to loan them, but if he had been magnanimous........

the aggressor captain rang the owner (or boss or manager, im not near the book to look it up) and was told not to give WD any ropes

cheers

[robint]

You know what IS really sad? That two captains, and their pissing match contributed to the ultimate tradgedy. Yes, evidently the WaveDancer was short on storm ropes. But, when he asked Aggressor for a loan (they did have extras), The Agressor captain was mad and refused to loan them. Yes, it is NOT his duty to loan them, but if he had been magnanimous........


yes, I think there was waaaaay too much chest-thumping and not enough concern about safety by either captain.

[Scott M]

Yes, it is NOT his duty to loan them, but if he had been magnanimous........I'm not so sure about that statement. I do not know international laws so I could be wrong but here on the Lake it is mandated that you MUST help a distressed boat and can be held accountable if you do not. Often times there is just no way to prove you could have helped or even knew anyone was in trouble but in this case it is pretty clear help was asked for and refused. In my opinion the aggressor holds a share of the blame in this also, any little thing could have changed the outcome and there comes a time when you have to forget about attitudes and business and do whats right for the good of the poeple. If nothing else just for utter disregard for human life. Sad situation to say the least.