Vestas Wind

[Bee]

Even if you don't think much of Sailing anarchy, this may be the time to checked it out.

Take a look at the Vestas Wind grounding video.  Hope I never get to say "been there done that."

[Christopher]

Wouter Verbraak is a well known and highly respected navigator.  There is a good article of his owning up to the responsibility on Scuttlebutt.  There is an even better breakdown and explanation of the event and location on GeoGarage.  S#!t happens to the best of them, even with the best high tech equipment.

[Bee]

Yeah, I was surprised by the incredible honesty.  These are some top notch people.  Apparently there was a big issue with the software they were using. Zooming in showed the reef at 27+ meters or more.  Easy to make a mistake under those conditions.

I just thought the video showing the abrupt stop and the almost immediate reaction by the crew was strong evidence of just how good these guys are.

Absolutely incredible stuff.

[Charles]

In the wee hours of the night, why would you risk going within a mile or two of something like that?  It's a 35000 mile race!

[sailor here]

It looks like people on the deck without a sailing harness. Maybe they had rushed out hearing breaking waves?

[svShearwater]

They thought they were sailing over 40m depths.  They weren't cutting a corner.  They literally didn't realize there was land there at all.  Realities of electronic charts.  Lesson for everyone. 

It's pretty rare for the Volvo racers to wear harnesses, especially in light/moderate conditions.  Not my style, but that is how they role.  There are dozens of hours of video on the Volvo site.  I challenge you to find one where they are wearing harnesses in this race thus far.  Not much heavy weather so far.  Suspect you'll see more harnesses on the leg around Cape Horn.