ooops for one captain!

[Veg]

So I had a chat with the service guys for the new Doral dealer in Tampa. They have a whole fleet of gorgeous boats in town, absolutely loaded and beautiful. They were a hit at the Tampa show.
Well, apparently the captain they hired to take back the 33' (Elegante) to the dealership got "confused" as he was docking it... apparently wasn't used to the separate throttle/transmission controls... so he got into a bit of trouble and then trying to get out floored the throttle while still in reverse and basically WOT'd the boat back into the sea wall.
The HUGE beautiful teak-covered swim platform suffered great damage... and being a new boat will have to be completely replaced before they sell the boat.
In any case, I'm just glad I'm not that captain. I bet he won't be delivering any more boats for this dealer.

 

[L Hall]

They are lucky he didn't throw it into forward while at WOT.

 

[L Hall]

While comments like "Let thee that have never sinned cast the first stone" sound very politically correct, a licensed captain has to be held, and is, to a higher standard than the average boat owner. We have many discussions about getting CG licenses but everyone needs to realize that, while it's cool to be able to call yourself "Captain," the title comes with a price. One, a jury in any civil suit stemming from an accident is going to hold a licensed captain to this higher standard. Second, by getting a license, you are calling yourself a professional. It is up to you to learn everything you need to learn to act like a professional. A professional captain does not confuse shift and throttle levers - period. There is no excuse, none whatsoever.

A professional will always plan a docking, taking into account wind and current. Then, most importantly, if things aren't going to plan, a professional will abort the plan, get out of there and start over. A true professional is as not concerned about what to do he gets into a jam as he his about not getting into a jam in the first place.

 

[L Hall]

Of course accidents happen. In the rhelm of the professional mariner, they happen because someone screwed up. Usually they are accidents of omission - someone not paying attention. Rarely do they happen because of mechanical failure or some other factor beyond the control of the captain. But, in each and every case, someone will be held responsible - frequently several people. That is as it should be. There is no room in the marine world for an attitude of "Gee Whiz, sorry I rammed your boat. Stuff happens."