Fatal Night Collision

I haven't seen this on TF yet. https://komonews.com/news/local/sheriff-alcohol-speed-contributed-to-deadly-vashon-boat-crash

Thanks for sharing. I am always concerned about a night collision while at anchor. I anchor realitvely close to shore and ensure my anchor light is functioning--but alcohol, inexperience, and stupidy will null my efforts. I am surprised that so many boaters believe it is safe to go full throttle at night at speeds well over 30 knots--I am so careful just at 6 knots!

But we have gps!

A Darwinian event for sure. Hope his passengers weren't too badly hurt.

Hearing these kinds of totally preventable accidents just makes me wonder.

Even if he were drunk, he could probably just creep home at low speed and avoid hurting anyone. Why do some folks thing that after a few drinks they're invincible?

Fortunately, that's the minority.

And, has been said many times.... avoid the weekends!

Drunk people tend to magnify their normal behavior. I’ve met countless who couldn’t catch a clue when sober. It just makes me frustrated.

I had one acquaintance later friend who got a second chance and actually learned from his close call. He was not drunk, but pushed the whole “but we have gps” once too many. Luckily he did not kill anyone, but came close enough.

By the looks of it the boat he hit was in a marina mooring field. You have to wonder what he was thinking of?

The (deceased) driver was going full speed at night, no instruments, boat reported full of beer cans. Fortunate only one fatality....

Unless this is a case of misinformation....


From a thread not too long ago, this is one case where the captain/owner/operator should not have been and maybe a passenger should have stepped in....

From the most recent coverage in the Seattle Times newspaper.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...ashon-island-boat-crash-says-sheriffs-office/

I love the .....imagine flying a helicopter at night with your phone GPS.


Got some news for people that can only safely navigate at night with Radar and thermal imaging.


Wonder if it really was the alcohol....or the ultra dark night with no instrumentation....or how much of both?

HEY! Here's an idea: Let's take boats to the gig so we don't have to worry about driving home drunk.


I'm having a little trouble understanding where they would have moored the boats near the Tacoma Dome.

I ungrouded a guy more than once who was driving his 30 footer to an AA meeting because he lost his license.
It's a natural progression.

AlaskaProf said:

HEY! Here's an idea: Let's take boats to the gig so we don't have to worry about driving home drunk.


I'm having a little trouble understanding where they would have moored the boats near the Tacoma Dome.

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Dock Street Marina is within walking distance of the Tacoma Dome. Or an Uber or taxi ride.

porman said:

Dock Street Marina is within walking distance of the Tacoma Dome. Or an Uber or taxi ride.

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I used to be just down Dock St at Foss Harbor; all those marinas are long-term and secured. I suppose if you know someone. ..

Dock Street does transient moorage now. We've stayed there several times. Very nice marina with an excellent staff.

Follow up report https://komonews.com/news/local/boating-accident-off-vashon-leaves-one-dead-several-injured

Does anyone have any knowledge about the sailboat that was hit?

BYNW said:

Does anyone have any knowledge about the sailboat that was hit?

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Sorry, no. Other than it was not sunk and it appears no one was on board.

The information is of course sketchy. One thing that isn’t really clear is where exactly the collision occurred. Dockton Park is managed by King County. It has concrete docks that are available for transients. There are also a number of mooring balls off the park, I believe they are all private. Lots of boats anchor there beyond the mooring balls. Unfortunately, there are likely a number of rarely used sailboats anchored in the area although the state and county have been trying to remove unauthorized mooring balls etc...

The point is that that whole area is full of boats either anchored or on private mooring balls. The further you go into Quartermaster Harbor the more boats there are. I’ve known Vashon Island kids all my life. Most had families with summer places on the Island and did, as the last article stated, grew up on the water and are very familiar with the area. They also should have known better than to be running at speed, at night, while drinking. This wasn’t an “accident” it was a collision due to reckless negligence. What is the most frightening are the comments in the article where the “friends” say it wasn’t the boat’s operators fault. His criminally reckless actions cost him his life and serious injuries to his friends. This can’t be written off and simply an unfortunate and tragic accident.

It is the skippers responsibility period. It appears he was going too fast and did not have a proper lookout. Maybe alcohol was involved or maybe not but he was still responsible.

psneeld said:

Unless this is a case of misinformation....


From a thread not too long ago, this is one case where the captain/owner/operator should not have been and maybe a passenger should have stepped in....

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Wifey B: Makes me think of the campaign "Friends don't let friends drive drunk." Well, yes they do. Every day. Toss into this one "Friends don't let friends go too fast at night on the water."

Not one person on the boat with an ounce of good sense and the guts to use it?

I remember when Jose Fernandez and his two friends went on the fatal night run. A couple of friends said no, because of fear for their own safety. Why didn't they stop him though? Didn't want to lose a friend? See how that worked out.

Is it meddling or inappropriate to try to protect ourselves and our friends?

I'd rather lose a friend by doing the right thing than by standing by and doing nothing.

I just felt psneeld highlighted something all the rest of us were missing, that while legally the responsibility falls to the operator (and/or owner), what about the passengers and what about the other boat full of friends following them. Don't they all share some moral responsibility?

dhays said:

They also should have known better than to be running at speed, at night, while drinking. This wasn’t an “accident” it was a collision due to reckless negligence. What is the most frightening are the comments in the article where the “friends” say it wasn’t the boat’s operators fault. His criminally reckless actions cost him his life and serious injuries to his friends. This can’t be written off and simply an unfortunate and tragic accident.

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Wifey B: Tragic event, yes. Unfortunate loss of life, yes. Reckless endangerment. I feel for his family and the other friends, but that doesn't change the responsibility of the operator or the moral culpability of his friends. And this could have been so much worse.

Looking at the pictures of the boats, and the angle of impact, my guess is that powerboat must have been going pretty fast when it hit the moored sailboat:

Jim

Trim on that sized boat can be a factor of many things....speed just one of them.


As to why no one intervened....again...many variables but I do know most people have a lousy self preservation instinct.

dhays said:

The information is of course sketchy. One thing that isn’t really clear is where exactly the collision occurred. Dockton Park is managed by King County. It has concrete docks that are available for transients. There are also a number of mooring balls off the park, I believe they are all private. Lots of boats anchor there beyond the mooring balls. Unfortunately, there are likely a number of rarely used sailboats anchored in the area although the state and county have been trying to remove unauthorized mooring balls etc...

The point is that that whole area is full of boats either anchored or on private mooring balls. The further you go into Quartermaster Harbor the more boats there are. I’ve known Vashon Island kids all my life. Most had families with summer places on the Island and did, as the last article stated, grew up on the water and are very familiar with the area. They also should have known better than to be running at speed, at night, while drinking. This wasn’t an “accident” it was a collision due to reckless negligence. What is the most frightening are the comments in the article where the “friends” say it wasn’t the boat’s operators fault. His criminally reckless actions cost him his life and serious injuries to his friends. This can’t be written off and simply an unfortunate and tragic accident.

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Totally agree. Drunk or not, he was obviously criminally negligent. If he were sober and took the trip, he would have ensured for the safety of his passengers and if they were too drunk to make it as a passenger he would have Ubered them home. And for certain, he would have contained his speed and had a sober lookout to boot.

If ya ain't positive of the outcome, ya don't do it.

No, it was not an unfortunate accident. It was a willful act of death.

porman said:

Dock Street Marina is within walking distance of the Tacoma Dome. Or an Uber or taxi ride.

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Yes, we usually dock at Foss Harbor Marina for events at the Dome. Great marina and staff. We use reciprocal moorage with our YC.

Seevee said:

... If he were sober and took the trip, he would have ensured for the safety of his passengers and if they were too drunk to make it as a passenger he would have Ubered them home. And for certain, he would have contained his speed and had a sober lookout to boot.
...

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That is speculation on your part. Plenty of people crash boats and kill people without being impaired by alcohol or drugs. They just do stupid things.

ssobol said:

That is speculation on your part. Plenty of people crash boats and kill people without being impaired by alcohol or drugs. They just do stupid things.

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Sobol,

True bit many more are drunk. And wouldn't you think this guy would have a much better chance if he were sober?

We bought our boat on Lake Travis near Austin Texas. Huge covered marina with a Carlos and Charlies bar at one end. Floating breakwater about two feet high around the perimeter of the marina. Fairly wide gap between the parked boats in the marina and the breakwater...the ring road around the marina

One very dark night we're watching a movie on board and hear a tremendous bang. We scramble up to the deck and spot a 30ish Sea Ray moving in a tight circle off to the left in the "ring road". It had hit the floating break water at a fairly good clip, launched up and over, tore off one of the outdrives (big hole) and landed inside the breakwater. Two little kids were screaming "Help...Mommy's drowning". Our dink is attached to the davit and I figure it's faster to run to the unoccupied houseboat next door and shove their dink in the water. I slip on the duck **** on their back deck and break my ankle.

My quick thinking spouse is at the bow of our boat and alerts the crew of two boats who are coming around the blind corner on the ring road as to what's just happened. She's illuminating the circling boat with a spot light so they don't hit it. The father/driver of the Sea Ray is unconscious behind the wheel, as he bashed his drunken face into the instrument panel. His drunk buddy was ejected overboard. The second engine was still running and in gear...pushing the listing/sinking boat in ever tighter circles. The drunk in the water grabs a rail, which is nearly under water and holds on. A hero from one of the boats at the scene tosses the kids to his wife on their boat and shuts of the running engine. Then he dives into the forward living space that is almost filled with water and drags the stunned mother up to the deck. The occupants of a second boat fish the drunk out of the drink and one of them climbs onto the sinking boat. The two heros transfer the breathing but dazed mother to one of the boats and then drag the drunk from behind the wheel to the other. They probably saved has life as his wife would have killed him. The Sea Ray sinks in sixty feet of water. Roughly ten minutes have passed. A cop helicopter arrives and illuminates the scene with a Night Sun in time to watch it go down. The drunks are arrested. Everyone lives. Just a typical weekend at Emerald Point marina outside the Carlos and Charlies on Lake Travis. Party on...