Statement Turbine 50 Catamaran Burns In Key West Poker Run

[Serious News]

Large Cigar Boat Catches Fire In Florida Keys
Posted Thursday, November 6th 2014 @ 4pm

A dramatic rescue taking place in the Keys this afternoon after a large boat catches fire.

The Coast Guard responding to the waters of Islamorada where six people were on a 40-foot cigar boat that ignited.

Fortunately they were rescued by a good Samaritan and no one was hurt.

No word on what caused the fire.



#BREAKINGNEWS: High performance power boat burning 5 mi N of Channel 5 Bridge IVO Islamorada @uscoastguard on scene. pic.twitter.com/1Lyk3FZROP
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) November 6, 2014

 

[Serious News]

Six survive burning powerboat in Florida Keys

Good Samaritan rescues six people near Islamorada



FLORIDA KEYS, Fla. -
A good Samaritan rescued six people from a burning powerboat near Islamorada, Thursday afternoon.

The fire happened near the channel 5 bridge. The U.S. Coast Guard reports the 40-foot turbine vessel had about 400 gallons of diesel fuel aboard. The powerboat is valued at $750,000.

The flames and dark smoke could be seen for miles through the Florida Keys. A 45 second cell phone video was released about 5:30 p.m.

http://www.local10.com/news/coast-guard-reports-burning-powerboat-in-florida-keys/29587212

 

[Serious News]

Coast Guard Photo

 

[Serious News]

Video from when the boat was first built.

 

[baronmarine]

Very sad news just happy as heck they are all ok. Great crew, they helped us out at the ramp this morning with a fuel issue before the run. Todd

 

[Bobcat]

6 powerboaters rescued from fire
Boat part of annual Powerboat Poker Run
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A $750,000, 50-foot turbine, jet-engine powerboat capable of producing more than 3,000 horsepower burnt to the waterline Thursday afternoon after bursting into flames gulfside off Lower Matecumbe Key, officials said.

Six people on board -- including the boat's owner and operator, Statement Marine owner Todd Werner of St. Petersburg -- were rescued with no injuries by a passing good Samaritan, said Florida Powerboat Club president Stu Jones and a Coast Guard spokesman.

The boat was en route to the Southernmost City as part of the annual Key West Powerboat Poker Run to coincide with the 34th annual Key West World Championship Races, Jones said.

Statement Marine was one of the Poker Run's sponsor boats, he added.

The boat was still on fire as of 4:15 p.m. The blaze was described as too intense to extinguish, said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Peter Bermont. Heavy black smoke and dark orange flames were being reported seen from multiple witnesses, officials said.

"The Key Largo Fire Rescue arrived on scene just now," Bermont said at 4 p.m. "The FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) is setting up a safety perimeter around the vessel as it is burning very intensely."

The boat runs on diesel. It was unclear how many gallons of fuel were burning, but officials said they expected it to be several hundred gallons.

"It burnt to a crisp," Jones said.

How the fire started was unclear Thursday, but Jones described turbine powerboats as high-end performance boats that require a great deal of skill on behalf of the operator. They also produce a high amount of horsepower given their weight. In short, they take a pounding, especially in choppy water, he said.

"They break a lot," Jones said.

Many turbine boats use remanufactured helicopter jet engines, he added.

"It was probably something with the engines," Jones said. "Turbines are extremely hot engines."

For 22 years, the Florida Power Boat Club has hosted an annual Key West Powerboat Poker Run to coincide with the world championship races.

The poker run started Tuesday and continues through Monday, with welcome parties and weekend activities for arriving boaters. The event, which had just 20 boats its first year, has grown to include an estimated 200 to 300 vessels that make the 170-mile trip from Miami to Key West with stops in Key Largo, Islamorada and Marathon.

With that many boats and their associated crew and passengers, the Powerboat Poker Run also has considerable financial impact on the Florida Keys.

alinhardt@keysnews.com

 

[Serious News]

Video: Six Rescued From Burning Powerboat in Florida Keys

http://www.dvidshub.net/video/372542/six-rescued-burning-powerboat-florida-keys

 

[Ratickle]

I was talking to one of our guys following the boat. He said one of the guys on the Statement did not want to stop fighting the fire and they were getting very nervous it was going to explode. There was also a small center console that backed up to the boat, trimmed their motor up and tried to put the fire out by spraying their roostertail on it, didn't phase it.

 

[Serious News]

Boaters who escaped burning catamaran off Islamorada share ordeal
Posted: Nov 06, 2014 4:23 PM EST
Updated: Nov 07, 2014 12:06 PM EST

ISLAMORADA, Fla. (WSVN) -- Two of the six boaters rescued off Islamorada Friday afternoon after their catamaran caught fire said they are grateful to have escaped from the burning vessel unharmed.

The blaze erupted just west of Lower Matecumbe Key, south of Islamorada, around 2:20 p.m. "That's one way of burning a million dollars completely up in smoke," said Nick Buis, the boat's co-captain.

Buis, a boat manufacturer, said he was on the vessel with five other people about a mile west of the Islamorada coast when the engine on the 50-foot catamaran that he built malfunctioned. "I tried to extinguish it, and it just wouldn't go," he said. "By that time, it was engulfed in flames."

"I thought, at any moment, personally, that the thing was just going to blow up," said Jason Crenshaw, who was heading to Key West with Buis and the other boaters.

Crenshaw said, once the engine caught fire, the flames rose quickly. "All the boaters [told us], 'Get out, get out, get out,' and we all basically had no choice but to leave the boat," he said.

"I literally jumped in the water," said Crenshaw.

The boaters then came aboard a friend's boat that happened to be nearby.

Skyforce HD hovered over the scene as a thick plum of black smoke emanated from the burning boat. Video shot by the U.S. Coast Guard showed there were moments when the flames subsided and just dark smoke poured out, but at other moments, the fire appeared ferocious.

The 400 gallons of diesel in the boat's tank kept the blaze burning for hours. Witnesses said the smoke could be seen as far away as Key Largo.

All six boaters made it back to dry land unhurt. "It could have been, obviously, a lot worse. The boat's replaceable. We build them, so we can build another one," said Buis.

The catamaran later sank. Coast Guard officials said Buis will have to find a salvage company to remove the wreckage from the Gulf of Mexico.

Video and Complete Article: http://www.wsvn.com/story/27319215/6-rescued-after-boat-catches-fire-off-islamorada

 

[phragle]

I heard they tossed a driveshaft which took out a fuel line. Those turbines burn a lot of fuel some Im thinking that a hefty fuel pump dumped a lot of fuel in the bilge in a very short period of time

 

[Ratickle]

I'm sure it wouldn't take long if they had a hole in a high pressure fuel line.

 

[Bobcat]

Officials: Burnt powerboat removed quickly
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A 50-foot turbine powerboat that burnt to the waterline Thursday spilled some fuel into the water, but not enough to warrant a environmental investigation or large-scale clean-up, Coast Guard and state wildlife officers said Tuesday.

The $750,000, jet-engine boat capable of producing more than 3,000 horsepower was holding hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel when it caught fire, sending thick black smoke and dark orange flames towering into the sky on the gulfside of Lower Mantecumbe Key.

The boat was en route to the Southernmost City as part of the annual Key West Powerboat Poker Run to coincide with the 34th annual Key West World Championship Races.

Six people on board were safely rescued by a passing good Samaritan.

Arnold's Towing quickly removed the powerboat from the water on behalf of the owner -- Statement Marine owner Todd Werner of St. Petersburg -- after it sank in about seven feet of water, said Arnold's Towing manager Shane Arnold.

The workers used airbags to bring up what was left of the hull, but there wasn't much left in terms of a hull or fuel, Arnold said.

"All the fuel burnt up," Arnold said. "It was a really, really hot fire."

So hot was the fire that the Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Key Largo Fire Rescue crews backed off the boat and let it burn, said Coast Guard Sector Key West Incident Management Division Chief Lt. Michelle Comeaux.

There was a "significant explosion" at one point that also kept fire suppression crews at bay, Comeaux added.

"Once the fire occurred, the fuel burnt up with the boat," she said, adding that the Coast Guard did not respond to postincident environmental concern, nor did the salvage crew file any additional report of pollution issues.

The boat was removed quickly after it went down, which alleviated much of the environmental concern, said FWC Capt. David Dipre.

What fuel did leak into the water was expected to evaporate. It is nearly impossible to coral such small amounts of fuel, Dipre said.

"The remaining debris was cleaned up in a timely manner," Dipre said. "That also greatly mitigated any damage to sea grasses and those type of concerns."

The Coast Guard has been reminding mariners in recent weeks of its pollution hotline that's open 24 hours a day at 1-800-424-8802. Officials used the incident as a reminder that the "sooner we get word of a pollution incident the faster we can take action to mitigate the threat," Comeaux said.

alinhardt@keysnews.com

 

[Slandrew]

Sad very nice boat!

 

[rschap1]

Glad everyone was OK though