Another boating fatality

cwms

cwms

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It happened again on the Rappahannock. Boat running at High speed at night, runs into a shore bulkhead. 2 people killed.
This happened not too far from another nighttime accident that claimed a life last year. Another boat running at high speed late at night.
 
On the news this morning, they hit a channel marker before hitting the bulkhead.

It's early in the season and tis is the 3rd incident I know of with death resulting from boating; and one drunk in a dingy with a black box chained to his neck floating outside the Surry nuclear power plant. Not good at all.
 
I feel badly for the families.

Peter

Palin bus tour "She's using the flag of the United States of America for her own financial purposes... This has nothing to do with the presidency and everything to do with filling her pockets."
 
quote:
Originally posted by Cobalt 25

Palin bus tour "She's using the flag of the United States of America for her own financial purposes... This has nothing to do with the presidency and everything to do with filling her pockets."

Click to expand...


The very obvious political portion of your post has absolutely no business being here.
 
Wen,

Gee, why no similar comment about

"Barack Hussein Obama is very transparent.
I can see right through him."

or perhaps

"Capitalism is to this administration what Judaism was to the Third Reich" ?

Are right wing signature lines the only ones allowed?

Peter
 
Cobalt does have a point and I also agree with Wen - let's not have any (right or left) political signatures. Let's just stick to boating.
 
Ok, let's see if we can avoid a political hijack. Back to the Original Post:

---
"Boat running at High speed at night, runs into a shore bulkhead. 2 people killed."

While I suppose that there might be a way to operate at high speed at night ( I don't know this method, however ), the crux of the matter is that the operator failed to maintain a proper watch.

While "knowing the area", and having advanced piloting aids ( GPS/plotter, radar ) is a useful thing, nothing beats the Mark I eyeball. And if you are exceeding the "operating specs" for that device, slow down ( including: anchor ). "How fast?" is an operator judgment call, but there is almost never a good reason to push the envelope at night.

Just as there are very, very few reasons for you to run full speed into a wall with your eyes closed while in your house, there are very, very few reasons to run into a bulkhead at speed. And, yes, accidents can ( and do ) happen, but good judgement calls for anticipating the potential for catastrophe, and "high-speed operation" at night carries a high potential for problems.

Be safe, be happy.
 
This was the same area where the teacher was killed in 2010. The boat was a 25 Grady. It was totaled. I cannot fathom how fast they were traveling. Totaling a Grady is like totaling a Mack Truck.
 
I'm always amazed at how fast some boats are travelling at night.
In the Sacramento Delta, there are tons of sloughs that meander and connect to other sloughs. In some cases multiple intersecting sloughs. Very few straight passages and the sloughs are fairly narrow (most less than 200ft across).
When I was anchoring out, I'd hear "cigarette" style boats going at least 30mph at night.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Radioactive
---
"Boat running at High speed at night, runs into a shore bulkhead. 2 people killed."

"How fast?" is an operator judgment call, but there is almost never a good reason to push the envelope at night.

Click to expand...


Not an excuse but it turns out they first hit a marker which caused injuries to the woman. They called 911. Then proceed further and had the 2nd accident which proved fatal. Now this is where it gets speculative. Did the guy panick about the injuries to the woman in the 1st incident with the marker? and think I need to get her to help right away?? Maybe he hit his head as well which might have effect judgement or it could have been alcohol? We won't know until the details come out.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/...oat-involved-in-fatal-rappahannoc-ar-1087125/
 
Sounds like panic after the first crash and trying to get to assistance when the 2nd happened.
 
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