The outboard engine of a yacht which caught fire and sank off the coast of Cork 15 months ago was operating at the upper limits of its mechanical capacity, an investigation has found.
A report by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board said the continuous operation of the engine at its maximum design capacity was the likely cause of the loss of the yacht, Black Magic, on December 13th, 2021.
The MCIB concluded that the outboard engine suffered a significant mechanical failure such that hot engine components were exposed to fuel and oil lubricants which spontaneously ignited and caused the fire.
The vessel, which was a FC8 racing yacht constructed in France in 1996, had departed earlier from Crosshaven, Co Cork on a voyage to Kinsale Harbour to be laid up for the winter in a boatyard.
The report revealed the outboard engine caught fire after approximately 75 minutes after leaving Crosshaven at around 11.50am with the blaze spreading rapidly through the vessel.
Rescue
The yacht’s owner and sole person on board Black Magic was rescued by a fishing vessel about 10 minutes later after another fishing boat which had seen the burning yacht issued a Mayday alert to the Irish Coast Guard.
The RNLI lifeboat from Crosshaven, which had been deployed to the scene, reported that the yacht sank in Ringabella Bay at 12.48pm.
The MCIB report said a yacht like Black Magic which had a waterline length of 22 feet would typically require an outboard engine with a power capacity of at least 8 horsepower to achieve 4.2 knots – the speed calculated by its owner to reach the boatyard in Kinsale by 3pm that day.
It recorded that the engine used on the yacht was either 3 or 4.2 horsepower.
The report said it could be reasonably deduced that the outboard engine was operating at maximum throttle power at the time in order to reach Kinsale by the appointed time.
It claimed any engine continuously operating at maximum power or beyond its design capacity would develop “significantly high temperatures.”
The report said it was also “more than likely” that there would have been some fuel spillage as the skipper had to refill the fuel tank in sea swells of up to 3 metres.
It claimed spilled fuel from the refuelling operation about 15 minutes before the fire was also very likely a contributory factor to the blaze.
The MCIB said another contributory factor was the lack of wind to assist the yacht’s passage to Kinsale.
Engine
The report revealed that the engine had not been serviced at the time it had been bought by the owner in June 2021 or in the interim before the incident.
It noted that the likelihood of mechanical failure increases with an engine that is overdue a service.
The yacht’s owner and skipper, who had over 30 years’ experience as a sailor, told MCIB investigators that after he had sailed out of Cork Harbour and was settling down for lunch there was “a flame-out of the engine and a bang.”
The skipper described how the fire immediately spread to spare drums of petrol fuel near the outboard engine, while he evacuated the cockpit onto the deck to escape the flames.
He admitted being afraid to go into the cabin amid concern that the fuel tanks would explode and trap him inside.
VHF radio
The report noted that he had tried to send a distress Mayday signal from a handheld VHF radio but assumed the signal was blocked by hills around Ringabella Bay as there was no reply from the Irish Coast Guard.
However, a nearby fishing boat, FV Boy Connor, had witnessed the fire and raised the alarm, while another fishing vessel, FV Muir Einne spotted the burning yacht and came alongside the yacht to rescue its skipper.
The sailor said he was contemplating jumping into the sea to escape the spreading flames and smoke but had resolved to delay entering the water for as long as possible.
Sea conditions at the time were “moderate to rough”, although winds were light.
The MCIB recommended that the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, should update the Code of Practice for the operation of recreational craft to advise sailors to ensure auxiliary engines fitted to racing yachts had adequate power to allow safe passage when operating in adverse weather or sea conditions.
It also called on the minister to publish a marine notice to highlight the risk of refuelling or decanting volatile flammable liquids at sea in the vicinity of hot and exposed surfaces.
The skipper told the MCIB that he believed having the VHF radio on a lanyard around his neck, which he always did even when racing, had saved him.
“Took me a long time to get over this and was having nightmares for a long time,” he stated.
