Padeen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2015
- Messages
- 110
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Mary A
- Vessel Make
- Chris-Craft Speedster
While the captain should have taken measures to prevent a collision, he should not be 100% at fault.
"Well what about the Rule of Tonnage? They should have gotten out of my way!"
Just from looking at the video, I would say that he is 100% at fault for the collisions.
However, I would hope that there were a lot of other citations given to those boaters for impeding navigation, BUI, failure to comply with a LEO, etc...
Ummmm, Salty, I was joking when I said that. One of the problems with the internet is you cannot post facial expressions and voice inflection when making jokes. Sorry if I misled you or any one else.Well what about not blocking the channel?
Ummmm, Salty, I was joking when I said that. One of the problems with the internet is you cannot post facial expressions and voice inflection when making jokes. Sorry if I misled you or any one else.
Lots of blame to go around here, it seems to me. It would be interesting to know what special-event rules the local CG office had issued prior to the event. If the organizers had been talking to local LEOs, the latter should have known to bring in the local USCG district. Commercial operators like the Spirit should have been in the conversation, too.
Apparently the Spirit captain felt that he had a right to keep to his schedule, just like any other day. That assumption is often a good way to get in trouble. A boater should be mindful that nothing about a nautical schedule should treated as if it's sacred.
Recreational boaters can sometimes be like manure. When they are spread out in the right places, good things can result. But when you get them all tightly packed together in one spot, the effect can be combustible.
In hindsight, it appears that the USCG and/or the local LEOs could have done things differently to avoid the problem. I would bet that in the future, things will be done differently.
On the video that I watched, there was both a USCG and a LEO boat there trying to clear the channel. It is a bit of "too little too late".
While it is easy to say that the USCG boat should have cleared the channel, I think that would have been easier said than done. On the one hand you have a military crew with the full weight of the Federal government behind them. They are armed and they are trained. OTOH, you have 2-3 18-20 year old kids faced with scores of boats with hundreds of drunken fools. What are they going to do?
Years ago a kid I knew that was the youngest brother of a friend of mine enlisted in the USCG. He loved it and did a full career. He did make the comment one time that the level of responsibility was sobering. At 22 he found himself as senior guardsman in a boat with the rest of the crew being kids right out of high school. They were trained, but they were still kids. On certain hoardings at sea, the protocol was that the crew have weapons drawn. His concern was always that none of his crew do anything stupid.
Anyway, lessoned learned hopefully on all sides with no one getting hurt in the process.
Sure ....and the highway patrol is in fault of every highway accident.
Walk a mile in all involved shoes before making sweeping comments.
I just watched 3 or 4 videos of that situation. In one of them...the cameraman says the USCG has been warning people to clear the channel for 2 hours.....
I'm sure the USCG didn't site themselves for not clearing the channel....but that might have been warranted. Certainly they share some of the blame.