A 28-meter-long schooner with two large masts advances uncontrollably and rams several boats moored at the dock. This is what can be seen in the images recorded last Sunday in the Marina Lanzarote port. The accident was starred by La Bella Lucía, owned by businessman Juan Francisco Rosa. Apparently, this boat "failed the engines and the rudder" and ended up hitting two other boats, which fortunately were empty at that time. This has been explained to La Voz by a port worker who witnessed the events and who admits that, "if there had been a crew on board" those boats, "something much more serious could have happened."
As explained by this witness to what happened, the accident was triggered when La Bella Lucía was preparing to leave Marina Lanzarote. Although this schooner has its usual mooring in Marina Rubicón, it comes "assiduously" to the marina of the capital. On Sunday morning, he was preparing to leave. He had already left the mooring and was advancing towards the exit channel when "suddenly, they ran out of engine and rudder, practically without control," says this worker, who adds that "never" had anything similar happened in Marina Lanzarote.
The large boat then began to advance uncontrollably towards the rest of the boats moored in the port. "Something happened, it's broken!" someone is heard shouting in the video recorded when the events occurred. La Bella Lucía ended up hitting two boats later. The boats, both owned by foreigners, according to sources from the port, suffered several damages that will now have to be assessed by experts, so that the schooner's insurance takes care of the costs. However, this port worker believes that "the damage was not as serious as it seemed."
Specifically, one of the boats suffered damage to the fiber, in the deck area and also in the rigging of the masts. Another of them, explains this worker, has a stainless steel pulpit in the stern, whose repair could be "more expensive." But, in any case, he ventures that the expenses will not be "a big deal, for what the repair of one of these boats means." La Bella Lucía, for its part, barely suffered damage. "Some iron bent from the bowsprit, but the cause did not have major damage," he says.
"It's like a car running out of brakes"
The breakdown suffered by La Bella Lucía is something unusual and of considerable gravity, according to him. "It's like when a car runs out of brakes. It doesn't happen often, but it can happen," says this employee, who stresses that "for what it could have been, it was nothing." "The problem in this case was the dimensions of the boat, apart from the fact that it was made of wood, the weight it had. It was spectacular."
After the accident, the port operators had to intervene to secure the schooner. In the images you can also see several agents of the National Police running when they see the boat advancing without brakes, although according to this employee, "it was a coincidence" that they were there at that time and their action was not necessary. The same has been confirmed to La Voz from this police force, which points out that the police were in the area and simply approached when they saw what happened.
Thus, the staff of Marina Lanzarote, together with several boats, intervened to tow this schooner. "We tried to secure the boat in the area, moor it and try to prevent it from continuing to move; and notify a boat that works in Puerto Naos to tow it, take it out of the area and put it in a safe place." Three days later, La Bella Lucía continues moored in that port.
