Boat Fire

[Jeremy]

Went sailing in Boston Harbor today, great wind, lovely crisp fall day.  Wound up hearing a distress call - a boat reporting to the Coast Guard that a nearby stinkpot was aflame.  Just minutes later the boater on the flaming boat abandoned ship, leaping into the water.  He was quickly picked up by the mariner who made the call.  We were nearby, but too far away (and too slow, our motor being caput) to get there in time to offer assistance.

Coast Guard, police, and fire boats eventually arrived, but the flaming vessel drifted out of reach of the water jets of the fire boats.  So, there sat the boat for the next couple hours, burning away to nothing. 

Quite a sight.  I'm just glad the boater was so promptly rescued, particularly given the increasingly cold water temperatures around here.

[Oldrig]

Jeremy,

I once saw a fiberglass runabout burn to the waterline. It was scary--it happened so fast. One minute there was a tongue of flame, then a column of black smoke, then steam, and the boat was a melted mess.

Luckily, as in your case, nobody was hurt. But it sure makes you think about gasoline on a boat, about how easily resins can melt and burn, etc. etc.

Went sailing in Boston Harbor today, great wind, lovely crisp fall day. 
Quite a sight.  I'm just glad the boater was so promptly rescued, particularly given the increasingly cold water temperatures around here.

I didn't actually go out today: it was a bit too windy on Buzzards Bay, and the spray is mighty cold at this time of year. But it was certainly a perfect fall day.

--Joe