BEAGLE - Serious Maritime Casualty
Vessel: BEAGLE
GAMA reference: 2013-212
Data da ocorrência acidental: 06-12-2013
Circulated on: 04-04-2015
Published on: 04-05-2015
Summary
On 6 December 2013, the sailing yacht BEAGLE was sailing from Rota to Vilamoura during the night. The navigator mistook the Faro/Olhão inlet for the entrance to Vilamoura. After leaving the inlet again, he entered the coordinates of Vilamoura into the chart plotter, engaged the autopilot and left the steering position unattended for approximately ten minutes. The electronic chart card did not cover the Portuguese coast and no suitable nautical charts were available on board. The yacht subsequently grounded on Barreta Island, sustaining damage to the steering system and the hull.
Safety recommendations
No safety recommendations were issued in the final report.
Lessons learned
Before the voyage, up-to-date charts and publications providing adequate coverage of the entire route should be available; a plotter without local hydrographic data is not a navigational chart; a course calculated between coordinates should be checked for hazards, depths and distance from the coast; the autopilot does not replace a lookout; the steering position should not be left unattended during coastal, night-time or shallow-water navigation; echo sounder readings and visual aids to navigation should be continuously monitored.