A sensational video shows an unknown yacht of 45 tons whizzing through a narrow strait in Søgne. – Very poor seamanship and little consequential thinking, comments the Rescue Company.
Updated less than 30 minutes ago
On Wednesday this week, an unknown luxury yacht thundered through the skerries in Søgne. At high speed you can see it whizzing through the narrow strait north of Herøya, close to Ny-Hellesund.
Fædrelandsvennen mentioned the case first. Båtmagasinet has also written about the boat.
– I think with horror and horror of what could have happened if there had been children there. It is really negligent to continue like that, says the experienced fast boat skipper Tommy Gjerland to VG.
He holds courses in maritime training and safety, and is shocked by the incident:
– To keep on like this in the middle of the joint holiday is absolutely violent. It is not okay at all, says Gjerland.
According to Båtmagasinet, the speed limit in the sound is five knots. It is far lower than the speed that the yacht apparently maintains.
Several witnesses have observed “Big Beaver” in Farsund on Thursday and Friday. According to the Marine Traffic tracking system, a boat with the same name and MSSI (identification code for seagoing vessels) is located both in Farsund and in Gdansk in Poland on Friday.
At the same time, it is located in St. Tropez in France on Thursday. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
Registered in Caribbean tax haven
According to Båtmagasinet, the yacht is a Delta 88 Carbon named «Big Beaver». It is 25.72 meters long and should have a top speed of around 38 knots, which corresponds to around 70 kilometers per hour.
In addition, the yacht weighs 45 tons.
It is registered in the Caribbean tax haven Cayman Islands, the magazine writes. It is unknown who owns the boat.
With over 30 years of sailing experience, speedboat skipper Gjerland is well acquainted with current rules. This driving is apparently far beyond what is legal, he says:
– This is a violation of rules galore. The police really should address this. It is typical that this does not have consequences, in contrast to if, for example, a 15-year-old had driven illegally. Then the fines await.
– I think this is proper, proper negligent driving. It is very dangerous to drive a civilian vessel in this way. It is despairing and frightening to watch, says Gjerland.
He believes one should behave better towards others in the skerries.
– I think it’s sad, and it’s remarkable if nothing is done about it. This is life threatening.
VG has been in contact with several witnesses who say they have observed negligent driving of “Big Beaver”.
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Tor Arne Hitland was at the cabin in Blindleia when he saw “Big Beaver” whizzing by. It is located between Lillesand and Kristiansand.
– Exactly the way it drove in Søgne, it also drove here, he says to VG.
– I was on the terrace when the yacht came at a tremendous speed. I thought it could not drive through there, but it did. I was sure it had gone on the reef further away, so I went out in a boat to check. Then it was awake.
He says that there were no boats or people nearby when “Big Beaver” drove by.
– It is a strange way to maneuver, the skerries here are full of surprises. There are lots of people along the cabins, and in small boats and kayaks. Children swim here, says Hitland.
– Very poor seamanship
Rikard Bjørklund is the rescue operations specialist in the Rescue Company. He thinks the video speaks for itself:
– From what we can see in the video, there is very poor seamanship and little consequential thinking, in addition to the fact that they break with local speed restrictions. Fortunately, there were no soft road users in kayaks from the other side, he writes in an e-mail to VG.
Bjørklund points out that the passage is dense with piers and quay areas where boats are moored.
– A boat of 88 feet with a speed between 15 and 20 knots creates a high stern sea that can easily destroy other boats, he writes.
– On a general basis, we do not want to speculate on whether the skipper was known in the area. That video speaks for itself without us having to comment further.
Police: Know the case
The police in Agder confirm that they are aware of the case, but state that they have not received reports of the boat driving in Søgne.
– The police have seen the video in question, and understand that there is a reaction to such driving, but the police were not present when this happened. Had we been, we would of course have reacted to this, writes naval coordinator in Agder police district Magnus von Porat Fiane, in an e-mail to VG.
According to Fiane, it is not relevant with an investigation of the case at the moment.
– The police will not start investigating this case on their own initiative. It will be too resource-intensive as such cases are difficult to follow up afterwards.
He encourages boaters to follow the rules at sea, both in terms of speed, blood alcohol content, use of the vest and use of the lantern in the dark.
– Then we will have a safe summer without serious accidents, he writes and adds,
– Our motive is that people should enjoy themselves at sea in a safe environment so that we avoid serious accidents.
The crew: – Think many would do the same as us
Lister24 has been in contact with the crew of the yacht. To the newspaper, they claim that they had two choices when they had to get through the cuts:
– It was a very strong wind that day. When the wind comes in from the side, the boat can lie sideways and turn. The only way to avoid this is to increase the speed. Of course, we slowed down as soon as we had made our way through the strait, the crew members told the newspaper.
– We could either choose to hit the skerries in that wind, or “speed up”. I think many would do the same as us in that situation, they say.
The crew members did not want to have their names in print according to Lister24.
– If there had been small boats in the area, we would of course not have tried to destroy anything for them, we have small boats ourselves, so we understand that it could have been problematic, they say.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this case stated that communications adviser Kim Nystøl in the Agder police district had spoken to VG. It is not true. It is the naval coordinator in the Agder police district, Magnus von Porat Fiane, who has spoken in the case. The error was corrected on July 15 at 18.47.
