| Corsica. Two holes patched on the Land's End; first mate plotted final course |
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| Sunday, 28 August 2005 | |
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Marian Martin This afternoon divers welded patches over two of the holes in the hull of the Land's End, which went up on a reef near Corsica and subsequently sank earlier this month. Pumps are all ready in place and an attempt to lift the vessel is expected in the near future. BYM News has been told that the First Mate, who was on the bridge at the time of the incident, has accepted full responsibility and has stated that the course, which took the 49 metre yacht onto the St Joseph reef, in the Gulf of Sagone, on August 9, was plotted by himself and not by Captain Chris Jones, who was in his office (behind the bridge) at the time of the grounding. The First Mate, who served in the Belgian Merchant Navy for 15 years and holds a Master Mariner Class 1 certificate, is said to have been navigating the vessel all summer. With such an experienced person at the helm, how the Land's End came to be on a course that took her onto rocks is a mystery. It is a mystery that seems unlikely to be solved, since the navigational instruments are said to have been destroyed by the bad weather that caused the Land's End to slide off the original reef and onto a second submerged reef. BYM News has also learned that the Land's End is insured by the same company that insured the 44 metre yacht Shiralee, which sank of Puerto Rico in February 2000, when Captain Jones was in command. Captain Jones is leaving yachting at the end of this season and he and his wife are to take up residence in Bermuda, where Jacinta Jones has family connections. This move was planned four months ago. The Land's End story as it has unfolded: Holed megayacht threatens Corsican beach August 10 Tug standing by stricken megayacht August 10 Captain in second megayacht sinking August 10 Land's End holed in four places August 11 Land's End salvage contract signed August 12 Land's End sinks completely August 12 Captain Jones charged August 12 French naval divers to assess sunken megayacht August 13 Land's End tanks to be pumped out August 15 Land's End Captain was Designated Person Ashore says Gaspard Yachts August 16 First officer on bridge says Land's End Captain; pumping tests successful; MAIB preliminary August 16 Fuel being pumped from the Land's End August 17 Land's End pumping completed August 17 Quotes sought for raising or dismantling the Land's End August 18 View pictures of the Land's End on the reef and on the bottom. |
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 August 2005 ) |
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