On August 5, Rob Tyler was at his home in Ontario, Canada, when he checked the boat monitoring system and onboard cameras on his Aqila 70 Steady AF which was moored in Longboat Key, Florida. To his horror, he saw smoke coming from the starboard hull.
Tyler made several phone calls and finally a marina dockhand inspected the boat and confirmed that smoke was indeed coming from the transom of the starboard hull. He also called 911.
By next morning Steady AF lay wrecked with her starboard hull burnt and underwater.
The previous evening firefighters arrived at the marina at about 2040 to find the big cat on fire. They gained access to the starboard engine room and flooded it with water. But, the water did not dowse the fire. This was the first indication that the fire was caused by lithium batteries.
A full insurance investigation is now underway. Read more here.
