The loss of the 37 foot ocean California racing yacht Aegean and all 4 souls aboard appears to have been caused by grounding. Information from an automated GPS tracking and satellite reporting device now suggests she ran into rocks just offshore of the US-Mexico border.

The devastated condition of the wreckage originally seemed to be the result of a collision with a much larger vessel, but the last position reported by the tracker at 1:36 PDT, 32.44532N, 117.29999W, is on the NW shore of the most northwesterly of the Coronado islands group. Although the tracker has not been recovered, the last broadcast position lies at the end of the DR track from the previous fix 10 minutes earlier. It appears Aegean sailed into a sheer cliff in the dark at six knots. The vessel must have broken up in heavy surf and the wreckage carried away by the current.

“It looked like they plotted a course for Ensenada and North Coronado Island was directly in the way.”

This is another cautionary tale of over-reliance on marine electronics–a “GPS-assisted grounding”. The device functioned perfectly, but it appears no one took the trouble to check the chart and make certain there was nothing in the way. And the yacht did not maintain a proper lookout. These were highly experienced offshore sailors, but this is a too-common error. I have made it myself, but without the same tragic consequences.

http://news.yahoo.com/gps-suggests-calif-yacht-hit-rocks-off-mexico-135300416–spt.html

The website below contains a log and chart showing all the plotted fixes prior to the loss of the vessel.

http://bit.ly/K1Bdng