Get out of the way!

Yes this does happen. About 1 1/2 years ago a member of my fishing club was killed in RI. He was anchored, fishing in his C.C. when a large cruiser running on auto pilot, no one at the helm, ran him over. The Coast Guard charged the licensed captain with not maintaining a proper lookout, he received a minor fine. That capt. is now facing man-slaughter charges brought by the state.
 
What happened to the boat that ran them over? Also, divine intervention that they chose to jump off the starboard side instead of the port.
 
That is freakin' terrifying. There is no way they had time to do anything other than jump. I find it hard to believe someone is traveling that fast and can't see over the dash!
 
jagizzi":3jhygq89 said:
That is freakin' terrifying. There is no way they had time to do anything other than jump. I find it hard to believe someone is traveling that fast and can't see over the dash!
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I think it's amazing that they even saw the boat coming and had so little time to respond as they might have been occupied with their fishing, and if so a worst incident would have occurred.

I do have to wonder under what circumstances the video happened to be running to capture the event unfolding ?
 
Many fishermen use videos to catch the action and to show their friends the big one that got away.
 
This is terrifying. I travel with my wife and young children on our R27. I'm not sure there would have been time to warn everybody and abandon ship on our Tug.

Two years ago while traveling up the Keys in our motor sailer, a very large (80-100 foot) yacht that was traveling in the opposite direction passed by us at a high rate of speed and throwing an enormous wake. We noticed it a couple of miles away and even altered course to avoid a near pass. It passed by about 200 feet off our starboard side. Due to the incredible wake behind it, I immediately turned 90 degrees to starboard to take the wake head on. It was a wild collision with the wall of water that filled our cabin with water from the wave washing over the bow and into an open hatch. We had to stop to bail out the cabin and salvage what we could. The yacht continued on as if we were not even there. What a jerk. I'm convinced the yacht was probably on autopilot with nobody on watch. If we had not altered coarse when we did, it may have been closer or worse!
 
Hi

I used to fish bouy 10 fisheries but not any more too many close calls like this.
 
Many years ago my dad was scuba diving in the Caribbean and a large cruiser, apparently on autopilot, cut their dive boat in half. Luckily the dive operator managed to get out a mayday before his half of the boat sank and the dive company sent a rescue vessel out to pick him up and the divers when they surfaced.
About ten years ago we were sailing to Beaver Island in lake Michigan and a cruiser (about 45 to 50 feet) on auto pilot would have hit our 38 foot sailboat if we had not changed course. Never will know whether he was down making a drink or using the head, but he clearly was not keeping a lookout. He did look a little shocked when he came back up from the cabin to the helm and realized he just passed us.
Last spring one day when I rode my bike into the office I counted six out of the first eight cars that passed me texting or making calls on their cell phones while driving. There are way to many idiots in this world for you not to do everything you can do to keep a lookout and drive defensively!
 
Unfortunately this happens a lot when fishing in area with single handed salmon fishing trollers- usually these type of incidents amount to near misses as the speeds are much lower. It is a good idea to have an air horn ready if you are still fishing in an area where they are fishing to get their attention. Hopefully the boat occupants that were hit by the grossly negligiant driver in this video will find a good marine attorney and never have to work again. Another reason to keep a GoPro running while you are fishing!
 
This video has gone worldwide. Just saw it on BBC World News as their Must Watch lead video.
The owner of that cruiser should never be allowed skippering a vessel on the water again IMHO!
 
You try to launch this around here in California and you would not get it of the trailer before you get a visit from your friendly Leo
 
What I can’t believe is that the idiot son-in-law - by his own admission - knew his father-in-law was not paying any attention and couldn’t see where he was going, and yet he didn’t do anything about it!
 
I saw this video at a MM&P meeting earlier this week. There was the usual screaming and yelling about sunday sailors, MAFIs, WAFIs, and the need to educate and license people operating boats over a certain size.
I don't know if I agree with that. Testing and licensing, while valuable, doesn't ever replace common sense.
The owner and operator of that boat was 75, had cognitive issues, used a scooter to get around on land, couldn't stand at the helm while steering, and couldn't see over the bow while seated. The only thing being licensed would have helped would be getting his license revoked and getting him off the water before he kills somebody.
I see displays of idiotic boatmanship almost every time I go to work. Harbors seem to be the worst places. It seems like people who boat for sport would want to clean up their act a little.
If that guy on the cruiser had killed the people he hit one of the reactions would have been the call for mandatory testing and licensing.
 
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