22' capsizes in James River, 10 go in the drink

[dmchose]

Originally Posted by Silvio

Kids do stupid sh*t all the time.

I have told my kids ( now in their 20,s ) many times to remember that their mother and I are a walking and talking survivor team. Many who we were growing up with are not. They too have the choice to join the rest of us in due time or not. For the most part, the choice is theirs. All ready unfortunately, they know some who elected or were put in the position of "not".

[SailorNate]

Twenty year olds are not kids. Infantilizing them makes the problem worse. Makes me think how capricious and arbitrary it is that I am here and others, better men than me, are not. I have surely transgressed worse than these boaters, but yet, here I am.

My condolences to the families.

Nate

[trumpthegoat]

The formula doesn't even really matter here; when people are drunk and acting stupid, the boat could have a clear maximum capacity of three and they would be piling on. I lost a lot of respect for a friend of mine when they decided it would be a good idea to (drunk) hop on a tiny motorboat with a bunch of other (drunk) people and put around the lake. I can't believe the guy who was steering even made it away from the dock.

[sailguy40]

I just read the whole article and watched the video clip. They said nothing about any of them being drunk or intoxicated. Now it did mention about them going to a party but I and several of my friends used to go to parties even in our early 20s and walk out sober. So good chance at least half of them were not drunk, I doubt they were all plastered. From the light conditions of 5-10knot winds and 1ft swells, they had to do something to capsize the boat. How do you capsize a sailboat in calm conditions? Chances are they were probably cutting up pretty bad, just acting crazy. I bet they decided to "rock the boat". This said, I would never want 10 people onboard my 22ft. The most people I ever had onboard mine was 5 including me. Mine is meant to sleep 4 which I think most 22ft boats can. So at most it should be no more then 8 people total, 4 people in cockpit and 4 in cabin but it could get very crowed! More practical would be 4-6 people total onboard. Almost all the time I have 1 to 3 people on mine and that 1 is always ME On capacity, how about 1 person for every 5ft of boat? Like an aquarium, 1 inch of fish per gallon. So you can have two 4 inch fish and a 2 inch, or five 2 inch fish. Prevents overcrowding.

[trumpthegoat]

fair enough sailguy - but I find it hard to believe there wasn't alcohol involved in cramming 10 people onto a 22' sailboat after a late night party.

I guess I'll wait for the details. It said they were from NASA's Langley center (aeronautical research), I would think they'd act smarter.

[LauderBoy]

Originally Posted by SailorNate

Twenty year olds are not kids. Infantilizing them makes the problem worse.

Helicopter parenting. Kids always leave the nest eventually, if you don't let them fall down and get hurt when they're young(and you're there to pick up the pieces), they'll just do it when they "grow up".

I owned my first rifle when I was 15(and could use it unsupervised) and lived on my own when I was 17(parents moved 200 miles away and I stayed to finish my senior year in HS).

Neighbors would probably call child protective services if parents did that today.

[sailingforfun]

so the truth is that the capacity (as confirmed by VMRC) is 10; all safety regulations were complied with; no one "drunk"--no indication at all (and, yes, I have personal knowledge); a few beers by some, but not all--and that over a 4-5 hour period BEFORE even getting on the boat; no cutting up. Just 10 people on a pretty small boat.
maybe the operator moved away from the rudder to let someone access the back to use the bathroom? maybe all on board weren't familiar with boats, the rudder--and maybe someone pushed the rudder hard to the side. this boat doesn't have a deep keel; it went over quickly. cold water, dark, a long time trying to right it. good kids; not one of them a drain on society; all working and on their own, not robbing your houses or drunk-driving and killing your kids; or sucking up welfare money that will cheat you out of social security; all with families and dreams. No one can ultimately fight the cold; tread water and swim while trying to help a weaker swimmer and if you're a lean healthy person the cold is going to eventually get you. Is that survival of the fittest? it's exactly the opposite. if the fit had swam for it and forgot about the others, they would probably be here to tell the story. they could've done everything right but cold is cold and the best of us can't fight biology.
why such negative assumptions? how would you like to read some of these comments about someone you loved? who said they were drunk or worthless? all they really did is go out for a late night sail on a beautiful night--and, yea, they didn't actually have the lifevests ON.
I've accidentally pushed a rudder to the side many times but had someone nearby who corrected; i know all of us have done a lot more careless things, probably every single day-- so maybe it's all just luck; terrible luck; one second of a decision that ended badly.
most of the people i know in the sailing community seem so laid back and peaceful; a nice attitude toward life and living. some of these posts are meanspirited--very surprising. hope there's karma

[sailingforfun]

using the formula, that boat capacity is 11; so much for all the mean comments that the "kids" overloaded the boat. Maybe the CG's formula is the problem

[FishSticks]

Thanks for your informed comments sailingforfun. With your post you have enhanced the quality of this website.

[chuck53]

I saw a picture of the boat. Despite official capacity, way too small for 10 people. Heck, I've got a 34 footer and I'll never have 10 people on it except maybe when sitting at the dock - and even then, 10's too many.

Yes, you are right. From what I've read, all were good, intelligent young people. Sorry this had to happen.