Complete idiots

[OtterGreen]

I hate to speak badly of people in any scenario but this was bad.. the other day my brother and i went for a put for a few miles to check the engine as it was running rough before the storm haul out. it was windy about 25-30 but hey, we were just going for a motor around some islands and back to the slip. anyway, we head south into the wind and am just doing some routine checks when i see a small boat, about 16 to 17 foot max with the jib and main flogging violently. not to concerned at this point i just head in their general direction. 15 minutes later they are still drifting and flogging but there are boats passing them by with no concern, regardless it is obvious something is wrong so i open the throttle and about 100 yards before i reach them a powerboat comes to their aid. 4 people on a boat which looked to be a laser II with an old guy who was cold cocked by the boom and three teenagers. Captain fat wallet on the powerboat takes command which is wrong by telling everyone to get off, then has about a 6 foot line attatched aft of the mast. now NO ONE is on the boat, guy bleeding and 30 knot winds. i tell them i was in the army and trained in basic first aid to try to help, they tell me to shut up im making things worse. okay.. fair enough.. they start to motor away with NO ONE on the boat, and they had taken the rudder off. by this point the sail lashing they had done had failed and were flogging under the wind. im telling them on the radio as well as yelling that they need someone on the boat for balance and too steer. they once again tell me they know what they are doing and dont worry about them. by this point i am pretty ticked off as no one between all those people knows what they are doing and they refuse to listen. Captain fat wallet takes off, the boat submarines ripping the line free and then capsizes. rather than take the old guy in and let other people help, they start fumbling with their laser to tow it back in. then i thought this is getting way out of hand. i called the coast guard and informed them of the debacle, they asked me if i could assist until someone got their but i told them they are refusing help and a man is bleeding from his head. i stayed my distance and watched for about 30 minutes until the CG showed and went on my way. i cannot believe how stubborn some people can be. i fault the crew for overloading a boat and setting sail in 30 knot winds, but i also fault the "rescue" boat which was also only about 18 foot which means 8 people were on board between their boat and the distressed. im going to make the assumption a boating safety class could have really helped here...

[DRFerron]

Originally Posted by OtterGreen

im going to make the assumption a boating safety class could have really helped here...

Probably have to hog-tie the power boater to get him into a boating safety class, but for the sailboat, it's a real-life example of why everyone on board needs to know how to use a radio to call the CG for help. In our boating safety classes we give out free stickers with a ****** that you only need read over the radio; you don't even have to think about what to say to send a distress call.

[DRFerron]

That wasn't a cuss word! I typed "s c r i p t"!

[OtterGreen]

what bothered me most is the way he said he had it, and i was interfering. like i said, i was willing to swim over and offer first aid, then to neglect the old guy on board to save the boat? completely un acceptable..

[PorFin]

Originally Posted by OtterGreen

what bothered me most is the way he said he had it, and i was interfering. like i said, i was willing to swim over and offer first aid, then to neglect the old guy on board to save the boat? completely un acceptable..

Yep -- I suspect that the PB operator was letting his ego override everything else (not exactly shocking.) It would have been a simple thing to share responsibilities: one boat take care of the casualty; the other boat take care of the foundering sailboat.

FWIW, I think you handled it just the right way. No sense in getting into a pissing contest with the guy, since that would have just made the situation worse.

[junkrig]

Originally Posted by DRFerron

That wasn't a cuss word! I typed "s c r i p t"!

Wonderful! I wonder what the BBS thought it was?

[voltzwgn]

First rule of rescue is to not make things worse...... but it seems this guys was going to "help" no matter what. Good call to sit back and wait for the calvary.

[bacampbe]

Originally Posted by DRFerron

Probably have to hog-tie the power boater to get him into a boating safety class, but for the sailboat, it's a real-life example of why everyone on board needs to know how to use a radio to call the CG for help. In our boating safety classes we give out free stickers with a ****** that you only need read over the radio; you don't even have to think about what to say to send a distress call.

Do typical boaters safety classes cover towing and first aide these days?

Also, how often do you see a radio on something like a Laser II?

[DRFerron]

Originally Posted by bacampbe

Do typical boaters safety classes cover towing and first aide these days?

Also, how often do you see a radio on something like a Laser II?

We do cover how to approach another boater who needs help, give examples of towing situations we've come across on patrol where the operators clearly had no idea what they were doing and the dangers involved and encourage taking a first aid class.

Some of the ACE lakes in Pennsylvania monitor channel 16 so I carry a handheld VHF in my kayak, easy enough to have in just about any boat.

[bacampbe]

Originally Posted by DRFerron

We do cover how to approach another boater who needs help, give examples of towing situations we've come across on patrol where the operators clearly had no idea what they were doing and the dangers involved and encourage taking a first aid class.

Some of the ACE lakes in Pennsylvania monitor channel 16 so I carry a handheld VHF in my kayak, easy enough to have in just about any boat.

Sounds like a better quality safe boating class than I'm used to seeing.

On our lake, the CGA monitors 16, but pretty much only keelboats and larger powerboats tend to have radios, and many of them never turn them on--or obviously have no idea how to use them when they do turn them on.