[Maine Mariner]

Yes, but there is some additional information.
The engine failed and so the vessel could not maneuver.
The vessel had just been in the boatyard in Maine and the
engines were overhauled. Something somewhere in the overhaul could very easily been done incorrectly.

I did not think the vessel sailed directly into Hurricane Sandy. However, your second point has many of us wondering why she put to sea in the first place. Of course the same
question could be asked of the Captain of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

[Pentagon Leatherneck]

Even properly overhauled engines cannot run when the bilge is swamped. From what I’ve seen, this was poor decision making in the face of perilous weather, perhaps driven by “get home-itis.”

TC

[MissMagnolia]

Here’s a pretty good story ... one of the guys who was actually on the ship, lots of background:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/questions-persist-about-the-loss-of-a-ship-and-two/article_d2c00d02-3459-11e2-8e2c-001a4bcf6878.html

[brityank]

However, your second point has many of us wondering why she put to sea in the first place.

From my limited Navy experiences, a ship is better able to ride out a storm at sea instead of cooped up in a port. There is little room to maneuver, and the terrific damage that the swells can cause at dock will stove in even steel-plated hulls. Ropes and lines can snap, or rip the bollards and cleats off or tear out the dock. I know the Navy puts all capable out of port, and moves others to open anchorages to keep them safer than at dockside.

While I'm sure that future planning for the Bounty figured into its movement, I'm also sure that the same action would have occurred had she been scheduled for a six-month stay. Ships belong at sea, not in port, especially at dangerous times.