10 Ship Launches That Went Horribly Wrong

 One of my favourite failed launches has to be the Sept 1907 launch of the Italian ocean liner Principessa Jolanda . In those days it was apparently common to launch ships fully equipped and completed, however someone must have misjudged her balance and how she would sit on the water once she came, too quickly, off the slipway, because she began to slow list to her port side side. And kept going. And going. Until she was resting, completely submerged, on her side. It can't have helped if there were loose fittings and furniture, which would have all slid to the same side, as well as open or incomplete portholes. She also didn't have any coal aboard or ballast to balance out being top-heavy. The ship was scrapped from right where it was, and her sister ship was redesigned to be less top-heavy. She was gone in about 20 minutes, and never actually sailed. The sister lasted about three days before being sunk.

When you look at the way liners were built, at least by the more famous British shipwrights, the hull and main boat decks would be completed, as well as at least some of the superstructure, however a significant portion of the ship would be completed after it was solidly in the water, tied again to a special portion of the dock while everything was finished. This way you knew how the ship would sit on the water.

 Launch 5, in South Africa - this is actually a very common launch method in that part of South Africa. There is a lack of slipways along the coast, so beach surf launches (of both hard boats and RIB's) are the only way. The method used is also correct - speed up so when the car brakes the boat is pushed off the trailer because of its momentum and into the sea - the outboards are lifted up at that stage. Slow and steady actually doesn't work at all in this kind of launch - you need that speed and sudden stop. What went wrong here is that there must have been a shallow ridge just beyond the shore line which the stern of the boat hit. Most of the time such a shallow ridge is not present, so most launches like this actually work really well. Once the boat is afloat the outboards are lowered and the boat is turned towards the sea. Getting from there through the waves is where the real fun begins, and skippers must be experienced and knowledgeable to dodge the waves as they slowly weave through them to open sea. Recovery is usually by driving the boat up the beach and using a break-neck trailer. The 4x4 is a version of the original Toyota Land Cruiser - a real capable work-horse.