Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro

by Rachel Slade

Sun Ship discontinued new shipbuilding on January 9, 1981, the victim of appalling mismanagement in the preceding years and a shady sale to an entity Schorsch is convinced had some connection to the CIA.

!!!!!!

Although he demanded respect from his officers, he had a reputation for spending most of his time in his stateroom; it was rumored that he constantly played video games. The best captains spent their time working closely with their officers and crew, running drills, and training those below them. Davidson’s lack of engagement communicated apathy which, in turn, undermined his authority.

Jeremie had been assiduously watching the forecasts on the TV in his room. “I just hope Joaquin’s not worse than what BVS is saying,” he told Davidson, “because Weather Underground is saying it’s a lot. They’re saying it’s more like 85 miles per hour, not 50 like on BVS. They’re saying this is much more powerful than BVS is saying right now.”

I love that not only is he on the wunderblog, he says "they" which almost certainly means he's wading through all the comments. That he was so on top of things (wunderbloggers really did follow Joaquin quite well overall from what I remember and were freaking out very early on) adds a whole other layer of tragedy to the captain's behavior

Before leaving the bridge, Davidson said: “I have the BVS new waypoint route sheet. I’m gonna enter it in on my computer. I’ll bring it back up.” Then he disappeared in his stateroom and failed to return to the bridge for eight hours. The waypoint route sheet never came.

“The word ‘experienced’ often refers to someone who has gotten away with doing the wrong thing more frequently than you have.”

But one model nailed both Joaquin’s track and intensity from the beginning. It was the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, or ECMWF. As the dissenting voice among the more than fifty models that the NHC forecaster had at his fingertips, the ECMWF was easy to dismiss.

Euro represent

From the ill-fated design of El Faro to TOTE’s leadership vacuum to lack of government oversight, professional mariners know that it takes legions of bad decisions and judgment errors to sink a ship.

Humankind may chart a noble course but progress, like every voyage, requires strong situational awareness and a vigilant helmsman.