Some very interesting items

[sailaway78]

In the new Boat US magazine. First, a woman crew member on a boat returning from the Newport/Bermuda race, fell and severely cut her head. A couple of other boats stopped to help and they used duct tape, to patch it up till they got her to a hospital. No one should leave home without at least one roll of duct tape. Thats the good news. Second, and a little disturbing to me. A couple, yeah both of them, fell of their boat, leaving four teen age children aboard. Didn't say how they managed that. The boat was being blown one way, and the current taking the parents the other way. The article said they were all in their early teens. None of the teen agers had a clue as to how to operate the boat, or the chartplotter, even enough to give a location. Does that not strike anyone else as strange. Fortunately, at least one of them was smart enough to use the radio, and apparently had some idea of where they were. Alls well that ends well I guess, and the parents were rescued. And last but not least, and even more disturbing. A 20 footer with four aboard, including two small children capsized in Haulover inlet in Fla. Apparently they were headed offshore, and got into more than they thought they could deal with, so attempted to turn around in the inlet. Surprise, surprise, the boat was flipped, and they all ended up in the water. I once saw a 25 footer upside down on top of a jetty in S.Texas, that had tried the same thing. Six people drowned in that one. Is there any common sense left.

 

[ITMaster]

Just goes to show how many

people there are on the water that have no business being there. You can tell real quick that the majority of these idiots have never taken, much less heard of a safe boating class.
This past weekend, some nitwit in a power boat passes me (near 40 foot) on my port side as I am leaving a marina in a marked channel with a 50 to 60 foot sail boat entering the marina approaching me less than 50 yards away. The channel may have been 40 feet wide and there was little room to wiggle in that tight area, with may I add, very little water depth.
Obviously, this idiot had never taken a class, since we all know that passing takes place on the starboard side of the standby vessel that is being overtaken.
Another reason for mandatory permitting of some form to be required to opperate a vessel on the water ways.
The shame about it all is when someone innocent has lost their life for no reason. From my perspective, it is a form of negligent homicide, especially if the person responsible for a loss of life has never attended an approved safety course.

 

[Doug Burton]

They got hutspa

Last sunday we're sitting in our slip after a nice day and a had to be new 50' powerboat tries to pull up to the transient dock to go to dinner. The wind is blowing about 10 away from the dock. After about 5 tries I finally went around to give his poor wife a chance. This monster had about 10' of freeboard, probably catches more wind than when I have my sails up, and the dock pilings are maybe 4' out of the water. She would have had to be in the rodeo in a past life to ever catch the piling and he can't even remotely see the pier. I'm thinking "this guy must be smart, he's got a million+ boat, but hasn't a clue" The only way they could have docked is to back into position where he could see and have her step off the swim platform then use the bowthruster. Anyway he'll probably run over me next weekend but it amazes me that people will go out and spend more than I need to retire on a toy that they have no hope of using properly without some instruction. You would think that million might get him concerned enough to take a course, Naww, I'm near Annapolis.

 

[RichH]

Huh?

"Obviously, this idiot had never taken a class, since we all know that passing takes place on the starboard side of the standby vessel that is being overtaken".

Now just where in the COLREGS does that appear?

Assuming all power driven vessels at the time, If you pass on another boats starboard side you get to see his green light .... and you have 'customary' rights as soon as you pass; unlike passing on his port side which gives you a RED bow light to see - and which by definition puts more 'burden' on you until you are clear ahead.

Both are 'legal' passes .
So how many 'horns' did you give if you were obviously objecting to the pass? .... if you didnt give him 5 horns, etc. ..... then youre probably equally to blame, etc.
If you and/or he didnt signal ... then BOTH are held to blame. Dirty looks, finger gestures dont count as signals when in passing situations. If you object to a pass, use your horn or contact him on VHF.