A review of the S/V Magic Bus incident report (Nov 1–6, 2025): read the full report here.

The story begins like many offshore passages do, with careful planning, good weather forecasts, and a capable crew excited for a long sail. The 58-foot cruising catamaran S/V Magic Bus departed Stonington, Connecticut, on November 3, 2025, bound for the Bahamas under a promising weather window. Systems had been checked, supplies stowed, and watches set, but over the next four days, things dramatically deteriorated.

On November 4, the crew noticed water rising in the port engine compartment. They threw everything they had at the ingress, using buckets, electric pumps, and a converted raw-water intake engine pump, but the flooding outpaced their efforts. Suddenly, the jib sheet failed, damaging a hatch and leaving the boat under bare poles. Both engines became inoperable, eliminating steerage. Electrical loads climbed as pumps and systems fought the flooding, overheating the generator and draining the batteries.

Despite the worsening conditions, the crew made the right call when it counted. Using Starlink, they transmitted a Pan-Pan message. By the early hours of November 6, the flooding had risen 18 inches over the port hull cabin sole, leaving no viable path to recovery. The crew made the difficult decision to abandon ship into the life raft. Their actions were organized, calm, and deliberate. Rescue efforts ensued. A Coast Guard C-130 located the life raft in rough sea conditions. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter deployed a rescue swimmer to confirm the crew’s safety. All five sailors were safely extracted and flown to shore by mid-morning on November 6th.

This is not just a rescue story. It is a lesson in how multiple problems can compound and how planning, communication, and seamanship can mean the difference between tragedy and survival.

The vessel was later found inverted, with the port rudder skeg missing, likely the result of a collision with a submerged object that went unnoticed while sailing at more than 10 knots in rough seas. In hindsight, the crew recognized that despite running multiple pumps, the water level in the port engine room never fell below the external waterline, a critical detail that might have altered their response strategy. In-water inspections or hull repairs were impossible in the prevailing conditions. They made the best decisions they could with the information available at the time.

Here are the key takeaways we are bringing aboard Sabado:

Early Communication Is Critical

A Pan-Pan or Mayday should be considered sooner rather than later. Even if flooding appears manageable, early alerts give authorities valuable time to prepare and respond.

Understand How Your Safety Gear Works

Checking how and when devices actually activate is as important as owning them. Redundancy and vigilance are critical for ensuring these systems perform when it matters most. PLBs should be activated before raft departure, which may require manual activation. Handheld VHFs, satellite communicators, and other emergency devices must be waterproof, fully charged, and routinely tested. If abandoning ship, every available communication device should be taken into the liferaft. In this case, the crew’s handheld VHF and EPIRB failed to transmit, but they had also brought a Starlink Mini and a SPOT tracker into the raft. Those redundant systems ultimately provided the signals the Coast Guard and SAR teams used to locate them during rescue efforts.

Preparation and Training Matter Under Stress

Several crew members had completed Safety at Sea training, which directly contributed to their calm and organized response during the crisis. Planning alone is theory; training makes it real under pressure. Participating in hands-on courses or demonstrations can make all the difference.

Systems Degradation Happens Faster Than You Think

Generator failures, flooding, overloaded pumps, any one could be manageable. Together, they overwhelmed the vessel. Reviewing systems as integrated networks rather than isolated components can change how we prepare and respond.

I urge you to read the in depth timeline of events and key takeaways linked at the beginning of this post. The Magic Bus incident is a powerful reminder that offshore sailing is not about avoiding every challenge, it is about being prepared when things do not go according to plan.

I hope this write up encourages you to reflect on your own redundancy, decision making, and overall readiness in a new light, long before you ever need to rely on them!