Lucky Nobody Died

[AjariBonten]

Ok, if I remember correctly, when two powerboats are approaching one another; the one approaching from the starboard quarter has right of way right?

LiveLeak.com - Coast Guard Auxiliary Accident

This one looks like a no-brainer ..........

[T34C]

WOW! There's an investigation that should only take about 5 min.

[merlin2375]

wow, indeed. That was ridiculous.

[Alden68]

'I didn't even see the boat until it hit us"

Nice spacial awareness.

[jr438234606]

I suspect that the "Civilian Volunteer" pilot on the CG vessel was suffering delusions of grandeur and was seeking to "teach them a lesson". How dare that speed boat encroach MY search area? He probably rationalizes that he was trying to save the life of the victim in the water being searched for. The truth is, he's a loose cannon, improperly trained, with serious judgment issues, who has no business in ANY position of authority. Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Here are some links to his land-based buddies:

LiveLeak.com - More troubles for SC Highway Patrol after dashcam shows squad car hits fleeing suspect
LiveLeak.com - SC Highway Trooper ramming a man running down a side street, and flipping him into a ditch

[T34C]

Originally Posted by Alden68

'I didn't even see the boat until it hit us"

Nice spacial awareness.

Too busy checking out the cruise boat.

[Alden68]

Yup.......there were probably girls on the boat. While I think even Chapman himself would agree that looking at girls is ok, I think this guy really blew it. Does anyone know about alcohol and this incident?

[sailaway21]

My audio in disfunctional but it appears that the CG vessel was well on his way to getting into a close quarters situation with the cruise ship as well.

[chucklesR]

CG aux skipper clearly thinking he had right of way based on his position of authority - and just as clearly at fault because even if he had right of way (and he did not) he failed to take ANY action to avoid a collision.

I think we sailors in the crowd know that just because we have right of way in some situations we are still responsible and culpable if we take no action to avoid a collision of which we are aware is imminent.

[Alden68]

Absolutely. If I sailed by the books every day I would get into an accident every time I slipped the mooring.

I think some blame has to placed on the PB who was clearly not paying attention to anything relevant to operating a vessel at high speed.