The Crash Test Boat Initiative by Admiral Yacht Insurance and Yachting Monthly

Readers of Yachting Monthly and followers of yachting videos on portals such as You Tube, will have noticed our involvement as principal participant within the “Crash Test Boat Series” – an initiative for 2011 launched by editor, Paul Gelder, with the intention of replicating a series of “controlled” sailing disasters, the results of which are listed below.

The Crash Test Results

• Running Aground – What Works?
  Measures ranging from simple to increasingly desperate in order to refloat the yacht from various grounding scenarios.
• Capsizing! What Happens Below?
  Can it be made safe down below or become a hell-hole in the unlikely event of a capsize or knockdown?
• Dismasted! What Next?
  A dismasting and aftermath caught on camera under controlled conditions.
• How to Make a Jury Rig
  An unlucky crew set about creating a jury rig from what was left on board, resulting in this elegant square rigger.
• Sinking! Immediate Solutions
  Ten ways of saving a sinking yacht are tested.
• Leaking! What Plugs a Hole?
  Whether it’s a seacock or a log transducer that fails what can you use to stop a leak?
• Fire in the Galley! What to Do?
  Fires were started in the galley and engine room and put out using existing equipment, all of which was out-of-date.
• Gas Explosion! Avoid This…
  The yacht was anchored in 8m and a 200m exclusion zone was set up before simulating a shocking gas explosion.

Why would Admiral trust a yacht to this lot?

Robert Holbrook, Managing Director of Admiral, has seen all sorts of yachting disasters – from UK coastal dramas to mid-ocean calamities – and has dealt with many insurance clients who have fallen victim to the unexpected or the unavoidable.

A keen cruising and racing yachtsman, Robert is sponsoring a series of ‘crash tests’ to be carried out by the daring folk at Yachting Monthly. The Crash Test Boat series will help promote safety and good seamanship – ultimately a good result for all concerned!

Said Robert: ‘Why not learn from our mistakes so you can avoid making your own?’