GENERAL BOOKBINDING CO. 357AA 013 QUALITY CONTROL MARK NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD MARINE ACCIDENT REPORT Adopted: January 25, 1979 CHARTER FISHING BOAT DIXIE LEE II NEAR NORFOLK, VIRGINIA INTRODUCTION This accident was investigated jointly by the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard. The formal investigation was conducted in Norfolk, Virginia, during June 9 to July 28, 1977. This report is based on the factual information developed by this investigation. The Safety Board has considered all facts pertinent to the Safety Board's statutory responsibility to determine the cause or probable cause of the accident and to make recommendations. The Safety Board's recommendations are made independently of any recommendations proposed by the Coast Guard. To assure public knowledge of all Safety Board recommendations and responses, all such recommendations and responses are published in the Federal Register. SYNOPSIS About 1625 e.d.t. on June 6, 1977, the charter fishing boat DIXIE LEE II capsized during a sudden, severe thunderstorm in the Chesapeake Bay near Norfolk, Virginia. Twelve of the 27 persons on board drowned and 1 person is missing and presumed dead. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the capsizing of the DIXIE LEE II due to high winds and the continued operation of the DIXIE LEE II after severe thunderstorm warnings had been issued by the National Weather Service. Contributing to the accident was the location of the required radiotelephone which was too far from the control station to provide effective safety and weather communications. The loss of the buoyant apparatus after the capsizing increased the loss of life. INVESTIGATION The Accident About 1445 1/ on June 6, 1977, the DIXIE LEE II, a 42-foot charter fishing boat owned by Harrison Boat House, Inc., departed the company's pier on Willoughby Spit in Norfolk, Virginia, with 24 passengers and 3 crewmembers on board. About 1505, the boat arrived near buoy "R" in the Chesapeake Bay about 3 nmi north-northwest of the pier and about 3/4 nmi east of Old Point Comfort, Virginia. (See figure 1.). The operator had taken out charter fishing parties earlier that day at 0630 and 1030. Sea and weather conditions during these trips were reported to have been good with rougher seas noted during the second trip. The skies were sunny and the wind was from the southwest. During the second trip, the operator had piloted the boat from the flying bridge. He asked his deckhand to relay any important transmissions heard on the VHF radiotelephone located on the stairway bulkhead to the berthing compartment. The radiotelephone was tuned to channel 16 and normally had its volume set so it could be readily heard, but whether it could be heard on the flying bridge was not determined. The operator had a Citizen Band (CB) radio on the flying bridge which he used to contact other fishing boats. The deckhand stated he heard a report over the VHF radiotelephone that winds would be 30 to 50 mph later that day, but that he did not relay the report to the operator who had not specifically mentioned the importance of weather information. The operator of the JEFFREY PAGE, another charter fishing boat nearby, said that he heard a weather forecast of thunderstorms with wind gusts to 30 mph on his VHF radiotelephone about 1350. At that time, he believed the wind was already as high as the forecast but was not a danger or serious discomfort to his boat passengers. When he turned his boat to a course of 180° T for a short time, there was considerable spray from wave action and most of his passengers got wet. However, he said that the weather forecast and conditions were not severe enough to make the trip unsafe. Passengers said that it was a warm, sunny day with little wind when they boarded the DIXIE LEE II about 1430 for the vessel's third trip of the day. They said they were not aware of the weather forecasts. One of the deckhands heard storm warnings on his car radio on the way to the boat but said he was not concerned because he had been out in storms before. From the control station on the flying bridge, the operator headed the DIXIE LEE II in a northwest direction, stopped the engine, and told 1/ All times herein are eastern daylight based on a 24-hour clock. his passengers to start fishing. The wind and waves were coming from the southwest and striking the port side of the boat. The skies were sunny with few clouds. The operator remained on the flying bridge while the boat drifted generally east-northeast until it was just north of buoy "p" about 1,000 yards from where the passengers had started fishing. At this point, the operator tooted his horn to signal the passengers to retrieve their fishing lines, started the engine, and returned the boat to buoy "R." The engine was stopped and passengers were told to resume fishing for the second time about 1540. About 1605, when the signal was given to pull up the fishing lines again, some passengers became concerned over the appearance of storm clouds in the southwest beyond the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Three passengers expressed their concern to one of the deckhands and their desire to return to the fishing pier before the storm reached them. The deckhand relayed the passengers' concern to the operator on the flying bridge. The operator said he would not return because of rain but would return if there were thunderstorms. The operator stated that he had not heard any discussion of weather on the CB radio. None of the survivors recalled hearing the weather or other communications on the VHF radiotelephone during the afternoon trip; the other deckhand reported he heard static all afternoon. The operator started the engine, returned to buoy "R," stopped the engine, and about 1610, told the passengers to start fishing for the third time. Shortly thereafter, because of the approaching storm, the operator disconnected his CB radio and gave it to a deckhand to put away, and was preparing to operate the boat from the lower control station which was located in a sheltered position on the main deck. The deckhand put the CB radio in the berthing compartment and remained there. The other deckhand was on the main deck. When the wind increased and it started to rain, the operator tooted the horn and said "Pick them up. We are going in." A cold wind began to blow very hard from the southwest. Wind-driven rain, possibly mixed with hail, struck the faces of passengers looking out on the port side of the DIXIE LEE II and forced them to seek shelter under a canopy and in the cabin. Some passengers were either pushed into or went into the berthing compartment. The operator was coming down the ladder from the flying bridge when what appeared to some passengers and crew as a sheet of water 10 to 15 feet high struck the boat on the port side. The DIXIE LEE II rolled to starboard and capsized. Some passengers were cast into the water as the boat capsized. Others were trapped under the main deck or in the berthing compartment of the capsized boat. Some persons were able to swim out from under the boat. Some survivors reported the boat was turning counterclockwise at this time. Both deckhands and a passenger climbed onto the boat's bottom and were pulling other passengers onto the bottom from the starboard |