Failure to Launch
Claim:   Photographs show an expensive yacht capsizing during transport.

Status:   True.

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, June 2007]

65' Custom Built Motoryacht, staterooms, gps navigation, twin supercharged diesels, etc. = $ 2.5 million.

Crane and Rigging complete with faulty turnbuckle = $2,500 per hour.

Champagne and Strawberries, dockside, for the excited "soon to be owners" = $250.00.

Watching your dreamboat nose dive into the harbor, accompanied by two corporate representatives just prior to "inking" the final paperwork ... Priceless.

        


Origins:   According to the site cargolaw.com, the above-depicted yacht mishap occurred on 7 March 2007 at Port Jebel Ali (a man-made harbor in the Gulf of Arabia outside Dubai, UAE). When the pictured $1.5 million Carver 55' Marquis Motor Yacht was being lifted aboard a cargo ship by slings for transport to the U.S., it slipped out of the forward sling, plunged bow-first into the water, and capsized, with the friction from the rear sling tearing off the yacht's propellers, shafts, struts, and drive train.

A marketing representative with Carver Yachts confirmed that this explanation is basically correct:
"We are aware of this accident. The sling broke while it was being placed in the water. They are legitimate pictures that you have forwarded on to us."

Last updated:   2 July 2007

The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/photos/boats/badlaunch.asp

Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2007
by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson
This material may not be reproduced without permission.