Revenge is sweet

[Salty]

I don't see this post as political and I have no problem with it staying. This have a lot to do with one in our sailing community (and it can happen to anyone of us) and how he was incorrectly persecuted. I think we should be concern with this story because it can happen to anyone of us. I am just happy see those involved was booted out and I don’t care what political party they belong too because it’s not relevant. (wrong it wrong)

 

[pogo2]

There was an insident simuler to this on the Niagara River, wher a power boater ran over a 14' fishing boat and killed both occupents, then the scum left the sene as the fisherman were crying for help, it took 3 years to finally catch the piece of crap, his defense was there were no lites on the boat, proof there were the proper lighting. he hid the boat in his garage for 3 years. take the dirt bag out and throw him over the falls. one of those killed was a good friend of mines brother.
those 3 who covered for the cop should be repremanded, and tried in a court of law.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Folks this accident had multiple causes. A power boat going to fast on a dark night, a sailboat operated by an impaired crew (both helmsman & owner) and questions about lights. Revenge??? Is that what we want here?

I kinda would like to do a FACT CHECK here for ya.

The sailboat was sailing, at night, hardly moving with little or no wind. The county goons picked on the guy at the helm. The lady was murdered by the sheriff in his speedboat going over 45 knots on a dark (not stormy) night. Most reports indicate that the sailboat's lights WERE on. Impaired? Hardly.

And they were NOT anchored, either.

Revisionist history does no one any good.

Revenge? Hardly.

Justice? Too bad it's too late for that. Bismark's life is ruined and the young lady is dead. Perdock's still walkin' around.

I respectfully believe that you have your priorities somewhat backwards.

Just thinking about this all again makes me madder than heck. I used to sail on Clear Lake. Never at night, 'cuz the goons in their blow-boats were jerks even way back then (mid-80s). They'd just invented jet skis, and those idiots would buzz us at anchor in the morning, even before we'd have our coffee ready.

You would do well to re-read what really happened.

Abuse of power is a horrible thing to see.

 

[Ctskip]

It's more about corruption and abuse of power.
A innocent person lost her life that night and another lost his income. While three corrupt individuals walk around, lost nothing. Yet. Hopefully they will lose more and be forced to make restitution to those that did. Then justice will be served , somewhat.
Unfortunately the corruption goes deeper than just the three individuals. You can rest assured there are twice as many involved with this, than just the three out on front street. There's a classic example atrocity of justice. If America is going to pull the covers off a miscarriage of justice. Pull them all the way off. Not part way. When will we learn?

Keep it up
Ctskip

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Seriously?

Folks this accident had multiple causes.
A power boat going to fast on a dark night,

No doubt.

a sailboat operated by an impaired crew (both helmsman & owner)

Where did you get that? How about the testimony of several witnesses seeing Perdock in a bar and drinking immediately before the accident? How about how he avoided the breathalyzer?

and questions about lights.

You mean the powerboat right? Because an examination of the nav light bulbs of the sailboat by the court determined that they were on at the time of impact.

Revenge??? Is that what we want here?

Maybe. But we'd probably settle for justice.

How about we all take a hard look at how we operate our own crafts and allow our friends to operate theirs? Rule's or the road or right away means nothing if you let yourself get in a sistuation where something bad is going to happen.

That sounds nice, but what exactly did the sailboat do wrong? Sail at night? Get in the way of a speeding powerboat possibly operated by an impaired driver on a pitch-black night?

I grew up on that lake, it isn't the first accident due to speed & alcohol nor will it be the last.

Sadly, I agree with you. Unfortunately, in this instance the speed and alcohol issues on the powerboat were probably the primary causes.

But we do need to look out for each other.

No doubt. But what was your point again?

 

[Texas Lake Sailor]

My point was that taking a boat out impaired puts yourself at risk as well as your passangers.The owner & helmsman were impaired. Could they have done something different? Most likely yes. Was it wrong to drive a powerboat that fast on a dark night yes. Had Denius had a previous DWI, yes. Should the DA charge both operators? Yes. The point is when we take folks out and do not take proper care we put our friends at risk and we should learn from this event. Many folks could have prevented it and like it or not it wasn't just one powerboater at fault.

 

[OldCat]

It's more about corruption and abuse of power.
A innocent person lost her life that night and another lost his income. While three corrupt individuals walk around, lost nothing. Yet. Hopefully they will lose more and be forced to make restitution to those that did. Then justice will be served , somewhat.
Unfortunately the corruption goes deeper than just the three individuals. You can rest assured there are twice as many involved with this, than just the three out on front street. There's a classic example atrocity of justice. If America is going to pull the covers off a miscarriage of justice. Pull them all the way off. Not part way. When will we learn?

Keep it up
Ctskip

At least they appear to have gotten the guys closest to the top, or maybe at the top, who are responsible for this. So often they only tag the smaller players...

OC

 

[Cpt. Jon]

Thanks for the update!

 

[Ctskip]

My point was that taking a boat out impaired puts yourself at risk as well as your passengers.The owner & helmsman were impaired. Could they have done something different? Most likely yes. Was it wrong to drive a powerboat that fast on a dark night yes. Had Denius had a previous DWI, yes. Should the DA charge both operators? Yes. The point is when we take folks out and do not take proper care we put our friends at risk and we should learn from this event. Many folks could have prevented it and like it or not it wasn't just one powerboater at fault.

I don't see where the operators of the sailboat were at fault in the slightest degree. Sure they had alcohol in their system, but were they impaired? I would say no they weren't impaired. Having one shoe off is impaired. One must define impaired. And the state does that to the nth degree. Over the limit, they were not. The powerboater was 100% at fault not only was he speeding, he wasn't paying attention. He struck the sailboat from the rear. Being a public servant, he should be held to a higher standard. The punishment should be twice that of a regular punishment.
Just where does the responsibility for ones passengers end and personal responsibility begin? To provide passengers with a safe and sound vessel and life jackets made available is what I feel all the captain is responsible for. Should the weather turn for the worse. That is not the captains fault. Should the guest become drunk is not the captains responsibility either. Should the passenger fall head first into the commode is not the captains fault either. Just what is the captain responsible for? The behavior of his passengers? I think not. He can put them ashore or make them swim. Is this whats to be expected? Do we all have handcuffs and a holding cell below deck? Alcohol and boating go together like, water and towels. Hopefully all captains choose their passengers with a bit of decorum. One never know what one gets when alcohol is introduced into the equasion.

As for alcohol and being impaired. It remains a unknown facter at this point, I believe. What is known is speeding and a improper lookout were the primary reasons we had this to begin with. Both the responsibility of the powerboater, impaired or not.

Keep it up,
Ctskip

 

[Old Skool Neil]

Seems that's what it's turned into, one sip of alcohol and you assume all liability for anything that follows. There's no longer any consideration for degree of impairment. ANY trace of alcohol in the blood and you're assumed to be a stumbling drunk. As long as legal cases continue to be presented with hyperbole, all reason is abandoned.

The court system and the State Attorney General had an opportunity to send a message that this sort of prosecutorial abuse would no longer be tolerated. That opportunity was missed.

The voters sent the message which likely fell on deaf ears. These three quietly faded away to enjoy their obscene retirement pensions.

 

[Ctskip]

Now, it would seem to me, to be just the begininning of the civil suits.

Keep it up,
Ctskip

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

My point was that taking a boat out impaired puts yourself at risk as well as your passangers.The owner & helmsman were impaired. Could they have done something different? Most likely yes. Was it wrong to drive a powerboat that fast on a dark night yes. Had Denius had a previous DWI, yes. Should the DA charge both operators? Yes. The point is when we take folks out and do not take proper care we put our friends at risk and we should learn from this event. Many folks could have prevented it and like it or not it wasn't just one powerboater at fault.

If your point is that an impaired crew generally lends itself to unsafe situations and poor decisions then I doubt many would disagree.

To be clear, Dinius was found to have a BAC of .12 having both a breathalyzer at the scene and a blood test done after having been taken to the hospital. I cannot find any record of the owner (Mark Weber) having been given a BAC test of any kind. Perdock may have been impaired but the sheriff's office made sure we would never know.

However, I don't see how Dinius' BAC had any impact on this accident.

Setting aside the alcohol issue for a moment, you ask "Could they have done something different?" You answer yourself with "most likely yes" as though it were a self-evident question. Well, I'm suggesting it's not. What would you have done differently that would've altered the outcome? What difference would it have made had Dinius been stone cold sober?

You cite Dinius as having a previous DWI. How did that contribute to the accident?

"Many folks could have prevented it," you say. Could you? How?

Politically correct platitudes won't shed any light when they're not germane.

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Yup.

The court system and the State Attorney General had an opportunity to send a message that this sort of prosecutorial abuse would no longer be tolerated. That opportunity was missed.

. . . that and the voters just sent the Attorney General to the governor's mansion.

That's sending a message alright. Of course, I shouldn't talk. I live in Florida for goodness sake . . .

 

[Texas Lake Sailor]

Denius previous DUI shows poor judgement. His high BAC shows impairment which could have impacted his ability to understand a situation and take action before it was too late. It was reported very early in the pretrial and in the trial that the owner also tested about the limit at the hospital the night of the accident.
As to what could have been done? How about showing a light on his sails, most lake sailors have used this to warn off rapidly approaching pwr boats. How about lighting off a flare? How about starting the engine and moving out of the path early enough so that he was well clear of the power boat.
I have never said that fault did not ie with the operator of the pwr boat. But as much as anyone would like to, the folks in the sailboat are also responsible for their own safety. And yes I have had to take all of the above actions to prevent being run over by a pwr boat on that very same lake.

 

[Old Skool Neil]

TLS,

. . . the folks in the sailboat are also responsible for their own safety.

A drunk is crossing the street in a crosswalk with a green light his direction. A motorist runs a red light, hitting and killing him.

What percentage of the responsibility is the drunk's because he couldn't get out of the way fast enough? Or didn't take additional means to make his presence known? Or was in the crosswalk in the first place?

The fact this is even discussed sadden's me.

 

[kenn]

Denius previous DUI shows poor judgement. His high BAC shows impairment which could have impacted his ability to understand a situation and take action before it was too late. It was reported very early in the pretrial and in the trial that the owner also tested about the limit at the hospital the night of the accident.
As to what could have been done? How about showing a light on his sails, most lake sailors have used this to warn off rapidly approaching pwr boats. How about lighting off a flare? How about starting the engine and moving out of the path early enough so that he was well clear of the power boat.
I have never said that fault did not ie with the operator of the pwr boat. But as much as anyone would like to, the folks in the sailboat are also responsible for their own safety. And yes I have had to take all of the above actions to prevent being run over by a pwr boat on that very same lake.

Don't be ridiculous. A becalmed sailboat, at night, and a powerboat approaches at high speed from their rear quarter. You could have the alertness and reaction-time of an on-duty Marine and still not get out of that powerboat's way in time.

 

[jackhartjr]

Texas, I seldom call folks out on this forum...however I find your logic pretty lame! The boat was becalmed...the powerboat RAN IT OVER...broke it in pieces! Now even if there was no lights on the sailboat...and perdunk did not have enough lights to see it at the speed he was running..then you draw the conclusion!
Give me a break Texas!

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Okay Texas, you're right.

And I appreciate you attempting to be specific. Let me help you out.

Perdock was estimated to have been moving at up to 60 mph at the time of impact. If my math is correct, that's a football field every 3.75 seconds. Let's say you noticed this craft heading at you at 300 feet away (remember, it's very dark.) Could you get your engine started in 3.75 seconds? How far could your boat get in 3.75 seconds? And how about retrieving a flare and firing it off in that amount of time? How about twice that amount of time?

Shine the light on the sails? If you could do it in time you would still be at the mercy of an allegedly drunk (impaired) idiot who's covering the length of a football field every few seconds, is coming head-on, is largely invisible and obviously not looking your way anyway.

Sorry, you provide good strategies that aren't germane (IMHO.) They probably wouldn't have worked or been possible in this instance even for a stone cold sober skipper, owner and crew.

Oh, and you left out a word. What you should've written was,

Denius (sic) previous DUI show(ed) poor judgement then.

 

[Texas Lake Sailor]

You all are missing the point. I am not saying that a pwr boat operator speeding at night is not at fault. What I am saying is that every skipper who goes on the water has a duty and a resposibility to be clear headed and keep a sharpe lookout so that he / or she does not find themselves in a situation where there is a bad outcome. You are making my point, a boat that is becalmed must be more alert for pwr boats especially at night. And no skipper that either operates or allows somebody else to operate his boat while impaired is taking care of his crew. Folks step onboard my boat, it is my responsibility to bring them back safely, that means keeping a sharpe lookout, taking appropreate action and knowing when it isn't the time to go out.

 

[Ed Schenck]

So Texas, you are convinced had that been you and your boat the outcome would have been different?! You are anchored out of the channel but would not be having a pop and would be watching for approaching idiots. Then when you saw one coming you would have reacted instantly. And that would be what?