KermieB
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2010
- Messages
- 144
If you've been a boater for any length of time, you've been checked by "The Man" at some point or another. Some times, it's an annoyance, but there is a reason they require you to carry safety equipment and act like you have some sense on the water. SAFETY IS EVERYTHING!!! Here's a good example.....
As I write this post, the Coast Guard is searching for a missing boater off the coast of South and North Carolina. His wife said that Andy Richmond left out of the marina in Shallotte, NC alone at about 8:30 Thursday morning to go fishing. At 11:30 that night, his 28 ft Sailfish CC washed up on shore near 61st ave north in North Myrtle Beach with the engines still running. His GPS indicated that the boat had traveled a distance of 167 miles since that morning, but the straight line between his marina and where the boat washed ashore was less than 30 miles.
http://www2.scnow.com/scp/news/loca...s_for_missing_ocean_isla_beach_boater/211063/
The news or witnesses didn't say how fast the engines were running, but it seemed by their statement that it was a slow cruise. There was no visible damage to the hull reported on the news or visible in the news report.
I saw the boat on the news and it's visibly loaded with electronic navigational equipment, and the guy was a very experienced boater. Several of us were talking about this on the water today, and a logical explanation is that either of two things most likely happened: He was cruising along and hit a errant wave that threw him off the boat, or maybe he hooked a big one and was pulled overboard by the fish. The boat likely continued on it's way until the wind pushed it back toward the shore.
As much as I would love to hear on the news tonight that he was found wearing a life vest, cold, soggy, but alive, I doubt there is much hope.
This lends me to ask the question: If either of my scenerios is correct, how could this accident been avoided? ...and... How much of a risk is it to venture out by yourself and do any of you more experienced guys ever go out like that... ocean, lake, river, creek... anything?
As I write this post, the Coast Guard is searching for a missing boater off the coast of South and North Carolina. His wife said that Andy Richmond left out of the marina in Shallotte, NC alone at about 8:30 Thursday morning to go fishing. At 11:30 that night, his 28 ft Sailfish CC washed up on shore near 61st ave north in North Myrtle Beach with the engines still running. His GPS indicated that the boat had traveled a distance of 167 miles since that morning, but the straight line between his marina and where the boat washed ashore was less than 30 miles.
http://www2.scnow.com/scp/news/loca...s_for_missing_ocean_isla_beach_boater/211063/
The news or witnesses didn't say how fast the engines were running, but it seemed by their statement that it was a slow cruise. There was no visible damage to the hull reported on the news or visible in the news report.
I saw the boat on the news and it's visibly loaded with electronic navigational equipment, and the guy was a very experienced boater. Several of us were talking about this on the water today, and a logical explanation is that either of two things most likely happened: He was cruising along and hit a errant wave that threw him off the boat, or maybe he hooked a big one and was pulled overboard by the fish. The boat likely continued on it's way until the wind pushed it back toward the shore.
As much as I would love to hear on the news tonight that he was found wearing a life vest, cold, soggy, but alive, I doubt there is much hope.
This lends me to ask the question: If either of my scenerios is correct, how could this accident been avoided? ...and... How much of a risk is it to venture out by yourself and do any of you more experienced guys ever go out like that... ocean, lake, river, creek... anything?
