there was a great post here about Survival on a Crippled Love Boat: post

one of ventura county's residents put a lot of lives in danger on a NOT crippled love boat by pulling this stunt. it's not at all funny. there are a few lessons to be learned from this experience.
go here: news story

"If you cruise, don't drink. If you drink, don't cruise."

I think the story is a bit exaggerated. I seriously doubt you could punch enough holes in the hull of a large vessel like this by dropping a stern anchor to sink the vessel. Still, what a loser.

I think I have been by his business mentioned in the article - definitely a loser.

Where are the Denver police when you need them?!
-Blast

i think a big concern would be the anchor chain wrapping around the propeller and dislodging the propeller(s) / shaft(s). that's a big hole(s). and if before that happened the shaft flung the wrapped chain / anchor around like a nunchuk...

Even if that happened, I presume even cruise ships have watertight bulkheads. We probably need reasonable knowledge of the ship's layout and construction to determine if the anchor rode could foul the props.

that's what i thought.

the fbi apparently thinks otherwise: l. a. times

What a wanker.

Dropping anchor when a ship is making way , even outside a sea-lane, is a fine way to tear stuff up. those systems are designed to keep a ship stopped. They are not designed to handle use as a speed brake.

Do that sort of thing in a busy sea-lane the sudden loss of speed, loss of control and position could end up as a major collision, fire, mayhem (OMG ... Save my baby), sinking/s, and worse of all ... months and months of talking with lawyers and insurance people. Better to drown, I think.

If he has a 50' yacht what the hell is he doing on a cruise ship? Cruises are not cheap and for that sort of money you could hire a couple of deck ornaments as 'crew'. Pay them right and you can drop anchor any time you want.

I read the story this morning and I am still puzzled. Frankly, I suspect the FBI was misquoted or is blowing smoke.

I am always just a little bit skeptical about the average news story. There is rarely enough detail to know what is really going on. Consider as a typical example the ongoing thread about the lost elk hunter and the questions commenters have raised about missing information.


This story about the anchor is rather typical. For example, what is the size of the anchor and where is its location with respect to the critical parts of the vessel (like the props)? This is stuff that will come out during legal proceedings, but it rarely makes it into the news.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

The anchors of cruise ships weigh 15 to 25 tons (not including the chain), and they're pointy at each end. And you don't think one of these things (esp swinging) could do some damage to a ship???

Drop it on this jerk's head.

Sue

The Titanic had Seperated,Water-Tight Bulkheads but, Only if the Ports/hatches are closed!Look what happened there!It's possible this ship has a Double-Bulked hull,though water will still access the Bilge,which would activate the Bilge pumps float-nodes,water would be Ejected,Usually on or Near the Aft deck or Fantail,& thru the weep ports below the Gunnels,at damn near High Velocity,Normally at about 200psi! This Guy should be Keel-Hauled,whilst Drop-Anchor is Deployed!