Boater Missing on ICW

[Freesail99]

The missing cat could simply be that he was holding it in his arms when he went over.

[AboardIndigo]

Complete speculation, but what if the cat was in danger of falling overboard due to it being in a bad spot as some wake or whatever was coming, Martins went to retrieve (grab for?) the cat, and the next thing you know it both of them ended up in the water?

Too many things could have happened - there aren't really enough facts to put together any solid theories.

[pinkpussycat1031]

From an earlier post (I cannot "quote" yet in my posts) it said a fisherman saw a ladder upright and strapped. Can any of you explain to me what that means? Is it a separate ladder than the one on the back of the boat? One that would be put over the side of the boat into the water? If that were the case, what would be some reasons the ladder would be in place?

[JohnRPollard]

Pink,

They are referring to the ladder on the stern or rear of the boat, commonly refered to as a "swim ladder". It is kept folded up while underway, and generally only used for reboarding the boat from swimming. The fisherman reported the ladder was up when he saw the boat underway with John aboard. When the boat was found, the ladder was deployed down into the water. This suggests that John deployed it at some point. If he was on board, it would be a simple matter to fold it down. If he had already fallen in, it would take a mighty effort to get it down, and then another mighty effort to pull oneself up against the drag or force of water caused by the boat's forward motion. He may have succeeded at one but not the other.

[sailingdog]

I believe the fisherman was talking about the ladder on the transom, above the swim platform. If it was strapped in the upright position initially, and then seen in the deployed position later, it may mean that someone had pulled on it in an attempt to board the boat.

Originally Posted by pinkpussycat1031

From an earlier post (I cannot "quote" yet in my posts) it said a fisherman saw a ladder upright and strapped. Can any of you explain to me what that means? Is it a separate ladder than the one on the back of the boat? One that would be put over the side of the boat into the water? If that were the case, what would be some reasons the ladder would be in place?

[camaraderie]

Note to all...the cat is and always has been safe at home. That was initial misinformation.

[pinkpussycat1031]

Yes, I think that came from an earlier post of mine - the original info (which is like most, was wrong). My group (more co-workers) in NC forwarding forwards, etc. smears up info. Why I stated yesterday I was going to stick to 2 sources. Here and the ICO!
How did you find out the cat was at home Cam?

[brak]

It could be that he stepped on the transom platform to take a leak (a fairly pleasant experience in the right circumstances), perhaps stedying himself by holding one hand on the transom ladder.
We did this quite often when sailing in Norway, even in some fairly rough conditions (actually it is better than going down below), but there was always more than one person aboard - this is clearly not the safest thing to do alone.

[singlesoul]

To pinkpussycat1031 are you a friend of John's? I am. Yet you sound like and act like a reporter. Please do not try and contect me. I will say that in the 12 years that I have know him I have never heard him called John expect by reporters.

[camaraderie]

Pink...I have sources and now TWO of them have told me that John was never called John by any friends or co-workers. Do you wish to specify exactly who you are and what your connection to "John" is?? Otherwise, I think our conversation is at an end.