PARI Aground in France

That's why I had suggested you grab a hook in calm PJ harbor that windy night last year when you went to the Thimbles. I can't sleep on the hook unless I have someone standing anchor watch even with an anchor alarm (afraid I could sleep through it).
Wonder who was standing anchor watch on this one or don't these yachts think that's needed.

LOVE GARMIN!!! Always use mine in addition to whatever is on board. It gives me a ton of info, exactly the info I want and has never blanked on me as Furuno, Northstar and just about all others have done. I too always awake to alarms or changes of the boat's motion, but still couldn't do the hook without someone awake and on duty no matter what the size vessel. I know sailboaters and trawlers do it all the time. I just have too many "What if's" running through my mind at all times.

Not saying you're wrong. Just not for me. I've done a lot of anchoring and only had two drags (never when asleep or away from the boat), but that's enough to keep me awake. Two days ago I had a beautiful day and night before...except for the major squall that blew through for 1 1/2 hours starting at 0600. Yesterday was beautiful with light south winds ....except for the north blow in the early morning and the major blow that came in with 25kt. west winds at about 1600. I'll stay docked unless someone is staying awake.

Perhaps they should have had one of these: http://bestmarineimports.com/Anchoralert.html

Until it walks into my stateroom and throws a glass of cold water in my face someone is staying awake.

Seeing any yacht in that condition is very sad and will give any mariner goosebumps. We can all sit in the warmth of our homes / cabins and comment on the whys and how’s, and easily point the finger of blame – heck I’ve done it before.

But what worries me is the bigger picture. It has been inevitable that something like this would happen in our industry and unfortunately it probably won’t be the last.

We have all talked about the work loads imposed on crew when guests are aboard may times before. It is no secret that even though agencies like the MCA are trying hard to regulate the minimum hours of rest for crew per week, but when we have guests aboard and are trying hard to put on a good show we routinely exceed these guidelines. We’ve all done it, and will probably continue to do so.

This is especially prevalent in yachts with 6-10 crew. Consider the deck crew who are up at sunrise to shammy off and uncover. Then a hard day in the sun tending to the guests' needs, before standing paserelle watch while they have dinner or go out clubbing. And finally its up anchor or lines off at midnight to move the yacht 6 hours to the next port in preparation for another day. Considering that the average 30-50m yacht has 3-5 people in the deck department, incl the captain, there just is not enough hours in the day to do all this and get sufficient rest. But we do it anyway, because its “expected”.

Now I’m not saying that this is what happened to Pari; we may never know really what happened aboard. But this kind of scenario will continue to happen, and in time another yacht will have another accident, whether dragging anchor, suffering a collision at night, or worse.

What is the answer? I have no idea ....

As a side note, I am lucky enough to now have 25 crew working for me. Whether at anchor or docked we always run a routine with 1 deckcrew & 1 stewardess working the night shift which means we always have someone “bright eyed & bushy tailed” on deck round the clock. In this way we are fortunate. But to be honest, I still sleep with one eye open when at anchor

Owners often act like they're allowing me to play and get paid for it when they ask me to move their boat. Rarely do they consider the time or trouble involved getting myself home, much less that I'm spending X hours taking care of someone's very expensive vessel and we can't stop concentrating for one second under who-know-what conditions. I doubt that many people give a thought to the fact that a crew may basically be on duty 24/7 for several days at a time. It's important for the captain of any size vessel to make sure his crew gets proper rest and time off duty. If a boat needs 5 crew and the owner authorizes 3 they have to get the work of 3.

There is a short clip on the Tube:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsO7zIgxMZY

Two observations

1) You have to wonder what kind of insurance are they carrying and who gets paid out on a claim?

and

2) This is a prime example of why we will never see nuclear-powered pleasure craft, no matter how safe (or small) they manage to make the reactor unit.

1) I'd guess a 10% deductable so this is an expensive oops.
2)

Would that were true in the real world.

Mind you, I wrote that after doing 9 days straight of 8 to 12 hour runs plus fueling, cleanup, engine room checks and plotting. Preaching is much easier than practicing.

Saw this report and a couple of photos:

Sailing Anarchy
Does this scene look kinda familiar? The megayacht Pari went onto rocks this weekend, off Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, in the very spot where the Mirabella V grounded some years ago but, without a keel to hold her back, this one ended up closer to shore. The reason for the grounding is still not known, but locals assume that it was the same reason, the anchor dragging in a strong north easterly wind.

Official reports say there has been no pollution, but locals say there is a strong smell of diesel. An anti-pollution barrier has now been put in place and there are plans to pump out approximately 30,000 liters of fuel as soon as weather conditions permit. Plans to remove the 40 meter yacht from the rocks are still under discussion, between the vessels insurers, the owner and the Affaires Maritimes, since divers have reported that the aluminum hull has been damaged in several places.

The captain of the Pari has remained on board, but the seven other people on board were evacuated by the Croizet Fire Brigade, which was alerted by CROSS Med, together with the Marine Nationale’s Dauphin helicopter and the harbor tug Triton from Nice. Several large yachts, reported to have included Larry Ellison’s Rising Sun, offered assistance