Update 2. Friday 22nd January 2010
Bertram
has sent a new letter to its friends saying the following that the
caption accompanying underwater photographs posted on one website
(Yachtforum) claims that the images were taken from a video of the boat
shot on November 11, just a few days after the sinking. These photos
depicting dramatic damage to the sunken boat have been used to cast
doubt on the possibility the sinking was caused by a collision and to
support a number of negative theories about the quality of Bertram. The
fact is the sunken boat was not even located until two weeks later on
November 24 by a crew contracted by the owners. It was found 1.5 miles
from the point of its sinking. Between the date of the incident and when
the images were captured after November 24 there was a significant
tropical storm in the area with very strong winds and violent currents
with the strength to toss such a wreck about and move it some distance
from where it sank. Bertram also added damage to the yacht depicted in
the underwater photographs taken after 24th November is totally
inconsistent with the detailed description of the sinking boat provided
by the captain during an interview after the incident of 6th November.
The plaintiff also stated its first public statements on 14th January
confirming that the Sportfish Yacht was pre-purchase surveyed, that they
where the first retail owners, that MarineMax arranged for the yacht
delivery from New York to West Palm Beach, that the Captain denies
hitting an object, that before the sinking speed was at 25 knots with
three to four foot following seas, that upon entering a wave the bow of
the vessel folded back in catastrophic failure making an abrupt halt,
that the boat sank in twelve minutes with the crew making four mayday
calls before they abandoned ship, and that unlike the video or photos
the Captain reports the transom was intact before the sinking. The
plaintiff marine surveyors and naval architects indicate that the post
casualty photographs show manufacturing defects which caused or
contributed to the loss of the vessel. The plaintiffs also offered to
avoid litigation and offered Bertram to give a comparable replacement
vessel. Bertram did not give any replacement and offered to sell a
demonstrator 630 with 800 engine hours for 1.8 million US$.
Update 1. Friday 18th December 2009
On
Yachtforums they posted exclusive images of the wreckage taken from the
owners legal defence video. It is very interesting, and seeing this the
630 looks to have considerable damage. Still this video was taken with
the Sportfish Yacht about a month in the water, and apart the damage
which is considerable, my point of view is that with this alone is very
difficult to say if the boat was hit or had a hull failure. Bertram
President Michael M. Myers also posted some new pictures of the buoy,
more recent to the accident date, and stated QUOTE Examination of the
buoy showed matching paint, some damage from impact, and an apparent
propeller cut END QUOTE. To be correct we posted the new picture from
the boat builder. The Bertram President also said the following about
some court rumours QUOTE We also would like to point out that the
on-line suggestion that the owner’s attorney had to get a court order to
keep us from salvaging the boat is entirely false END QUOTE. Another
rumour circulating is about the buoy and here we have the technical data
of same as posted on The Hull Truth forums: FIGURE 1, SCDNR, 200# with
REFLECTOR height: 161.0” diameter: 24.0” visibility: 125.0” weight: 200
lbs. Features:• Durable ABS plastic outer shell• Closed cell
Polyurethane Foam filled• Internal and external radar reflector• color:
yellow.
------
This
above is the Bill Perry Reef buoy in South Carolina, and subject to
verification might have put down a 2006 built Bertram 630 the past
November 6. The crew of two managed to survive without any harm, but the
persistent rumour on the US boating forums discussing this, is that
this 630 which was a stock demo from MarineMax who just found its first
owner had structural damage in the bow sections which sank the twenty
metre Sportfish Yacht in just ten minutes, stopping its delivery trip to
Florida for shipping. Still Bertram President Michael W. Myers also
declared that this buoy seems to have been hit by something, and the
starboard side propellers and rudders on the wreckage which lies eighty
feet at sea bottom show a damage. The above photo was taken some time
after the sinking by the owners investigation team, and if this is the
buoy being hit that something looks to be something very small and not a
forty ton twenty metre Sportfish Yacht. At this point in time
PowerYacht can't say any further but lets stay tuned on more
developments, and honestly for such a great legendary brand name as
Bertram which built its fortunes on sea capabilities and strong
construction, I hope this is not a repeat with worse tragic consequences
then the 2008 delaminated model. If this was the case more bad news
would be that the US builder Italian managed company also promised a big
recheck to all its boats when that delamination happened to that 2008
model. Something which apparently had not been done on all Bertram's.
TO BE UPDATED WHEN RELIABLE INFO COMES IN
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