30 Seconds. That's What a Lithium Fire Gives You.
On June 10th, 2024, SV Theros left Halifax bound for the Azores. Three days later, their AIS signal went dark 34 miles southwest of Sable Island. Four weeks after that, Parks Canada found the crew on the beach. They had washed ashore in their inflatable dinghy.
The Transportation Safety Board concluded the evidence is consistent with a fire on board. One crew member was found wearing a flotation suit melted down the entire left side while they were wearing it.
They survived the fire. They survived the sinking. What killed them was everything that came after.
This video is about what failed, and the five things that would have changed the outcome — any single one of them.
The five lessons:
Mount your EPIRB outside with a hydrostatic release
File a float plan with a hard overdue time
Carry 10 gallons of water in your aft lazarette
Build a ditch bag with a communication layer
Understand your battery system before you leave the dock
A Garmin inReach. $300. One button. They'd still be alive.
If this video made you think about how prepared you actually are:
Be The Captain is the offshore decision-making manual I wish had existed when I started.
85,000 miles of hard lessons, distilled into one book.
Copies ship direct from me: https://bethecaptain.com/
🔗 Fundraiser for the family of Igor (SV Life of Pie): https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-life-of-pi-recover-from-a-fire-that-sunk-their-boat
🔗 Float plan templates — Coast Guard Auxiliary: https://floatplancentral.cgaux.org/download/USCGFloatPlan.pdf
🔗 Boat US fillable float plan: https://www.boatus.com/documents/boatus/boatus-float-plan.pdf
🔗 Category 1 EPIRB with hydrostatic release: https://tinyurl.com/2369bw8e
🔗 Garmin inReach: https://tinyurl.com/y4jwpj3s
🔗 Ditch Bag Inventory and more: https://bethecaptain.com/pages/locker
This video is dedicated to the crew of SV Theros, and to Igor and his family. We owe it to them to learn what they couldn't come home and teach us.
Sailing Zingaro
Join James Evenson of Sailing Zingaro as he documents his 2026 technical refit of his Crowther Spindrift 38 in Colombia and his 'Sailing Truth' mission.
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