Autopilot ‘On Watch’ Yields Disaster

If your boat is equipped with an autopilot, you know what a valuable resource this ‘electronic crewmember’ can be — especially when you’re shorthanding. But too much reliance on an autopilot can lead to complacency within a crew — and that can lead to disaster. A case in point was reported last week by a British backpacker named Emma Tryon, who nearly lost her life while traveling from Colombia to Panama on the charter catamaran Nacar 1. In the middle of the night it slammed into a reef off the San Blas Islands. You guessed it, the only crewman on watch — the captain — had fallen asleep with the autopilot on.

Here are excerpts from Emma’s report: "The Darien gap between Colombia and Panama is renowned for drug traffickers and kidnappings. So, surely, a licensed, rather pricey boat trip with an international company is a better option, right?

"I awoke at 3 a.m. to a thick thud and water hurtling through the overhead hatch. I was sure it was only high waves and wiped the unwanted seawater from my face. The ship was shuddering quite violently as I sat up. It looked as though the door in our claustrophobic box cabin had fallen to the floor. Startled and confused, I took a closer look. My stomach sank as I realized that that was actually the floor breaking away and rising. Then came the most fear-inducing words, ‘Life jackets, grab your life jackets.’

"… The boat was sinking rapidly and we knew we had moments to gather people, life jackets, anything that floats and drinking water. A sobering moment for [my husband] Pete was when he threw his laptop from his bag in exchange for a half-full water bottle. Value, as you know it, changes beyond recognition.

"The lights flickered and went out, I could hear the captain shouting that they had lost the liferaft. The waves were dragging and thrashing everyone around, it felt as though everything had gone into slow motion as I looked around at people’s faces, now lit only by spare torch light."

Soon after the crew told their young passengers that the big cat would probably sink within a few minutes, they discovered that they had actually grounded on a reef-strewn rocky ledge. So everyone gathered on the highest part of the hulls.

"The three-hour wait for sunrise felt like a timeless eternity… I was desperate for it to get light, believing it would be better as we could see and better assess our situation. Alas, this was my lowest point. As it became light, you could better see the colossal height of the waves that were crashing down onto rock only meters away from where we were. Seeing the force of these 15-foot waves draw back powerfully and crash down of the edges the offshore table reef made me feel dizzy for a moment. I had to choose not to fixate on how it would simply smash you to pieces if you got caught up in it."

But this story did have a relatively happy ending, as an open fishing boat eventually arrived with three rescuers from the local Kuna Indian settlement. "The reef was so dangerous; they had to circumnavigate it for some time before working out how to get across. They owed us nothing, yet, the Kuna fishermen swam into the raging waves on the reef edge, using harpoons to steady themselves as they neared our wreck." Four of the backpackers swam to safety with the Kunas, and later Emma and the others were able to make their way through the reef to a military vessel waiting outside it.

Young Emma shared these thoughts about her experience: "You never think you will be the one to live through many people’s worst nightmare. But, humanity is found in the darkest of places and bleakest of moments. Not a single passenger was selfish, at one point an apple floated by and we just picked it up and shared it. You can choose to survive; you can choose to be selfless and you can choose to pull together."