Raymarine SmartPilot ST6002 Operating Manual page 10

not a c ontributing f actor i n t he a ccident. T he p anel w as u nable t o r eview t he o fficial
reports b y t he C oroner, a s i t i s n ot a n o fficial g overnmental i nvestigative b ody.
Aegean w as n ot e quipped w ith a n E PIRB o r l ife r aft. T here a re p hotographs ( see
Appendix 2 1) o f a p artially i nflated d inghy i n t he d ebris f ield t hat w as b uoyant e nough
to f loat. D ebris w as p hotographed a t s ea, a nd p ortions o f t he d ebris w ere r ecovered b y
Vessel A ssist a nd g iven t o t he U S C oast G uard. T he U SCG a lso r ecovered s ome d ebris a s
shown i n A ppendix 2 2. S ome d ebris w as r ecovered b y o ther r ace b oats a nd t urned o ver
to t he N avy o f M exico.
The d ebris r ecovered i ncluded i nterior p arts a nd l aminates f rom a bove t he
waterline w here c ored m aterial w as u sed i n t he c onstruction o f t he b oat. S ome o f t he
debris p ieces h ad l arge s cratches a nd g ouges c onsistent w ith r epeated c ontact a gainst
rocks a s s hown i n A ppendix 2 3. T he U SCG a nd s ome m embers o f t he p anel c ompared
the d ebris t o a H unter 3 76 a nd v erified t hat t he m aterial w as i n f act, f rom s uch a b oat.
Personal e ffects r ecovered i n t he d ebris f ield i nclude i tems s uch a s a G oPro V ideo
camera, a l ap t op c omputer a nd b ackpack b ag, m ultiple u nmarked l ife j ackets, a nd a
Type I V t hrow c ushion.
One p iece o f h ull d ebris h ad a m ussel s hell e mbedded i n t he l aminate. T he s hell
appears i n t he p hotographs i n A ppendices 2 4 a nd 2 4a. T he U SCG r eported a m arine
biologist i dentified t he s hell a s n ative t o t he a rea t hat i ncludes t he C oronado I slands a nd
the s ize w as l arge e nough t hat i t i ndicated a n a ge o lder t han t he s ervice i nterval o f
commercial v essels.
A s ubstantial p iece o f t he u nderwater p ortion o f t he b oat, w ith b ottom p aint
that m atched t he c olor a nd a ppearance o f A egean w as l ocated a nd p hotographed ( seen
in A ppendix 2 5) i n a s mall c ove a t t he n orthwest s ide o f N orth C oronado I sland b y t he
US C oast G uard d uring a f ly-­‐over o n M ay 1 , 2 012. T he h ull p iece w as i n t he a rea o f t he
SPOT t rack l ast r eport. J ohn W alton p hotographed t he s ame h ull p iece f rom w ater l evel
during a t rip t o t he s ite o n M ay 7 , 2 012 ( seen i n A ppendix 2 6).
An e ngine a nd t ransmission t hat m atch t he t ype f rom A egean w ere l ocated i n
early A ugust 2 012 b y d ivers f rom X PLORE O FFSHORE a t t he n orthwest s ide o f N orth
Coronado I sland i n t he s ame a rea a s t he h ull f ragment m entioned a bove. T he p anel
contacted C aptain R ussell M oore r egarding h is a ttempts t o l ocate d ebris i n M ay o f 2 012
and M oore n oted t hat h e w ould c ontinue t o s earch f or e vidence o f t he s inking o f
Aegean. I n A ugust d iving c onditions w ere s uch t hat h is t eam c ould g et c lose e nough t o
U S S ailing I ndependent R eview P anel – 2 012 N ewport t o E nsenada R ace R eport 10