Seaman's Manslaughter - Fascinating Indeed

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Jan 7, 2011
4,727
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Wow...a crazy guy assaults the captain and crew, and jumps to his death over board, and the captain is arrested...doesn’t seem right.

Not sure I would have done anything different. Maybe try to tie the guy up and restrain him for the duration of the trip. But he sounds like a big guy, and that may not have been practical.

Captains attitude sounds callous, but still not sure there would have been a better outcome.

Hope common sense prevails.

Greg
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
It is an interesting case. One issue not mentioned are the side effects of Transdural Scopalamine, See here:

https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682509.html

The victim has a history of depression, is seasick, and has taken a medication which can cause confusion, agitation, and hallucinations among other adverse reactions. Other crew members apparently gave Pontius a prescription medication without knowing his medical history or perhaps the side effects of that medication. Their actions may well have contributed to the problem.

So the immediate lessons are don't give prescription medicine to someone without adequate medical supervision. Don't use the Patch for the first time when offshore. Do a good job of vetting your crew before taking a long offshore trip.
 
May 7, 2012
1,338
Hunter e33 Maple Bay, BC
Not sure I would have done anything different.
I am sure that more information will come out over time. But immediately deploying the life ring(s), the "boat's emergency beacon", signal flares and turning the boat around to commence an initial search in 5 kts of wind would not be too much to ask. And although maybe a bad assumption, but if he was able to communicate with Chris Parker (SSB ???) the next morning he possibly could have contacted the USCG soon after the MOB.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,727
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I agree...that is what I meant by his callousness. May not have changed the outcome, but would have been the proper (and prudent in retrospect) thing to do.

Greg
 
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Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
I agree...that is what I meant by his callousness. May not have changed the outcome, but would have been the proper (and prudent in retrospect) thing to do.

Greg
Just guessing, of course, bur that oa probably why the whole thing is going to court. The captain's actions, as responsible for the safety of his crew, were inadequate after the guy jumped overboard. It is like having CPR training and mor performing it on a heart attack victim. You didn't cause the condition, but you have a responsibility to perform to the level of your training. Whether it would work isn't the issue.

I feel for the captain. I hope it works out for him, but the case has merit.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I agree this is an interesting case. The statement of the Ex-wife sure rings true in my mind.
  • even if he is found not guilty, the incident in October 2015 may have forever changed him.“He was such a wonderful, free-spirited person,” she said. “Now, I don’t know.”
Being a skipper/captain carries a burden many of us take for granted.
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,400
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Actions of a Captain, who is offshore and sailing 24/7.
1) All weather deck crew should wear a PFD, equipped with a strobe light.
2) There should have been at least one drill for MOB, with all crew members.
3) An Erratic crew member should have caused immediate response to head to shore and contact USCG.
4) After MOB, there should have been a continued search, until another vessel or USCG arrives. Exception is that the sea state endangered the boat/crew. GPS coordinates noted for MOB. Also they should have changed course for the shore as best as possible, since they were down 1 crew member.

Even if the lost of the MOB was apparent, the Captain made a possible bad assumption and continued his voyage.
Jim...
 
Jul 9, 2018
65
Catalina 25 Lake Monroe
I read this article yesterday and there are parts of the crew story that don't line up, I suspect there are more details to come out later.

I've been scuba diving for over 20 years and I can tell you that without weights, a human body simply does not sink when it goes overboard. As a matter of fact, you have to SWIM down to stay down, especially if you are overweight as this man was because fat floats. That is a *huge* glaring issue with their story and certainly gives pause to more closely examine other parts of it.
 
Jun 1, 2015
217
Macgregor 26d Trailer Estates, Fl
It is like having CPR training and mor performing it on a heart attack victim. You didn't cause the condition, but you have a responsibility to perform to the level of your training. Whether it would work isn't the issue.
If I remember correctly this is not the case in most US states and each one is slightly different. You don’t have to start treatment or rescue, but once you do you can’t negligently or purposefully make it worse and can’t generally say “just kidding!” And stop. Note the difference in rescue expectations on land and sea.

If you start, you have to perform as a reasonable person with your experience and training (objective, not subjective standard). Most states have good Sam laws to encourage folks to help by protecting them unless grossly negligent.

Totally different discussion if you are an on duty professional (paid or volunteer).

Net, if you get trained, learn the rules of your local BEFORE you engage. Never mind that, learn the rules before you engage, trained or not.

This is not legal advice, YMMV, probably not licensed in your neck of the woods, no maritime/admiralty cert or specialty, and 1000 other disclaimers that are never read incorporated here by reference.
 

Mikem

.
Dec 20, 2009
820
Hunter 466 Bremerton
Hmmm. Having had several intentional jumpers from Navy warships over the years every search and rescue effort was made to recover the individuals.
I remember one dark night in the Mediterranean a sailor came to the captain on the bridge during flight ops (an aircraft carrier). The sailor deposited his shoes in the captains's lap and asked the captain to polish them. At any rate the sailor dashed from the bridge and raced to the port sponson and jumped into the garbage chute, a metal tunnel if you will about 3' x 3' lined with razor sharp fins to slice garbage bags as they are dropped thru the chute. We launched the alert helo anyway but nothing was found. Pitch black that night with no horizon.
Another incident a sailor came charging across the hangar deck with a wild look in his eyes almost knocking me over to get to the deck edge. He was shouting that he was going to swim home (again from the Med). We launched the motor whale boat to retrieve him but he kept swimming away from the boat. The bos'n, uh subdued him with the boat hook and he was hauled aboard. He was flown back to Norfolk the next day.
As a former SAR helo pilot, finding someone overboard at night even in the best of conditions is nearly impossible, especially if the victim has no reflective gear. I think this Captain could have saved himself much grief if he had only stopped and listened for a few minutes if he did nothing else.
 

Mikem

.
Dec 20, 2009
820
Hunter 466 Bremerton
Anybody else think this was a peculiar thing for a charter captain to say? “You can’t just turn a boat like that around in the middle of the ocean.”
Really odd. We turn aircraft carriers to look for someone overboard. Better not to have said anything.
 
May 17, 2004
5,032
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Anybody else think this was a peculiar thing for a charter captain to say? “You can’t just turn a boat like that around in the middle of the ocean.”
Struck me as a strange thing to say too, especially since he had just "turned the boat suddenly starboard, which knocked Pontious off his feet." In 5 knots of wind it should be easy enough to turn around. My guess is that the captian preumed Pontious dead, and was rattled by the incident, to the point where he wasn't thinking very clearly.
 
Jun 14, 2010
307
Seafarer 29 Oologah, OK
What was the determination of the USCG?
From the linked article: "An initial U.S. Coast Guard investigative report dated Nov. 4, 2015, concluded that neither Smith nor the other two crew members were prepared for Pontious’ apparent break and 'tried to handle it the best they could.'"

By the way, the remark, “You can’t just turn a boat like that around in the middle of the ocean,” was not made by Smith or the two other crew on the boat; it was made by another captain who knows Smith, Tom Larson. Maybe he meant that it's not as easy as landsmen might believe to simply go back and retrieve a MOB.

I think they're telling the truth and that they were scared spitless of the large, violently psychotic man, and that no rescue effort was mounted because they didn't want him on the boat.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
they were scared spitless of the large, violently psychotic man, and that no rescue effort was mounted because they didn't want him on the boat.
I think there is truth in that. However, since the guy chose to throw himself overboard, rather than continue a violent confrontation with the captain, how scared should they have been? It will take a trial to determine what was reasonable behavior and what was not.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Seems this could be a case of mental illness in a worst case scenario.

I have a young friend who after one erratic episode with no harm to himself or anyone, he and his family decided to seek professional help. He was ultimately diagnosed as having bipolar disorder.

There are several levels of BD which afflict millions of people, and with therapy he has never had another incident.

He had an opportunity to join a large sailing vessel engaged in education and research for a long ocean voyage. Accepted, when it came time to fill out the health records paperwork, he waffled on putting down the bipolar disorder diagnosis as it may have jeopardized his position(he may not have been obligated, legally).

But he did the right thing and included the diagnosis. Thinking it through with friends and family, putting yourself on a boat for a week or more, with strangers, is a potential for a reoccurance of bipolar disorder or any other medical condition, either physical or mental, that you would be placing the boats crew into.

It's not known if the deceased was diagnosis with a mental disorder but the antidepressants sound like he may have been.

I'm not making a judgement on right or wrong (I know the boat but not the captain, well). It sounds like an impossible situation to regulate. Doomed from the start.

Forgot to add, my young friend was still accepted (rightfully) for the position on the ship and is at sea right now.
 
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Jul 9, 2018
65
Catalina 25 Lake Monroe
However, since the guy chose to throw himself overboard...
Ah... but the catch here is... that's assuming he actually did decide to throw himself overboard vs the crew being exhausted from his behavior and pushing him overboard. The crew would certainly never admit throwing him overboard if they did.

They claimed they actually saw him sink immediately (which is definitely untrue), which would make one question what other parts of their story is untrue.

I had to go on trial years ago for something I didn't do. Luckily the evidence clearly showed I was innocent, but one of the biggest pieces of evidence was a friend who happened to be driving by and saw the incident. I was worried that the judge would not believe her because she was my friend and I thought maybe we should NOT disclose that we knew each other, but my attorney (very smart guy) said, "NEVER lie. Once you get caught in a lie, it damages your credibility and everything else you've said gets called into question and you could be found guilty of things you didn't do." They completely grilled the hell out of all of all the witnesses, but quite simply since everyone was telling the truth, the responses only showed that. The police officer and his partner were fired from the police force after the trial.
 
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