Boat slams into breakwall at 30 mph

Presentation said:
The bumper thingies are on then wrong side.

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Classic :lol:
 
jpk33 said:
New boater(s)? according to the story one may have had some expierience - However in the area they were in the lights on shore (heavy industry) sometimes obscure nav lights (aids to nav and vessel lights) add that to inexpierience and any other mitigating factors (was alcohol involved?) and the speed was a primary cause. I travel frequently at night and even with radar and GPS you would be surprised at what you may find after dark (unlit small craft - dingys & PWC's without lights) out on the water on for a "moonlit cruise" and these small targets rarely present themselves as a good target on the radar. We have the same issue with new boaters hitting breakwalls every year (at least 3-5 per year on average) in this area alone.
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None of us know what really happened..we rarely do. But, (excessive alcohol and abanding the helm aside) one thing is for certain...No one deliberately drives his/her new boat into a rock wall at speed.

Inexperienced and new boaters have a number of things in common though. They probably don't know the laws of the marina ( I got shouted at a couple of times to slow down the first time I motored into my marina...didn't think I was doing anything wrong), they don't know the area, especially the perculiarities of navigating at night ie a seawall at night with open sea behind it can be invisible. Similalrly, one with lights behind can give the impression of a foreshore some distance away. Experienced pilots have fallen victim to a similar problem which in aviation is termed the black hole. This an area of unlit terrain or water on approach to a well lit runway. Depth perception is tricky and unless the 'clocks' are watched carefully a pilot may find himself decending and crashing short of the runway. The point is that unless you are very familiar with the area and what it should like at night you may be doomed from the outset. Depth perception (and obviously visibility) is badly affected at night.

New boaters don't know the laws of physics as it relates to their new steed either. On the plane they think they are in total control and are not the slightest bit aware that the boat is travelling much faster than they think (and therefore shouldn't be on the plane) or that there is anyone else out there without lights. They probably haven't turned on the radar and if they have, they don't know what they are looking at. And, they are distracted by an array of unfamiliar gauges which they know they must somehow try to look at and understand while all the time displaying confidence and competence to their friends aboard. Like giving a monkey a loaded gun, this showmanship without knowledge or experience is a recipe for disaster.

Of course, some people are just over confident, too rich or both. I still haven't taken my boat out at night (although I have returned just after dark). I could never imagine going out at night after having just bought the vessel. I have a couple of friends who have been boat brokers in the past and they both said they are sorry they sold boats to some people. Usually well heeled, these people purchased vessels way above their competence to operate safely but sadly, there is no law against it. Boating safety education and some form of license should be essential.

So in summary, while we tend to think of these accidents as finalists in this years Darwin awards, there are human factors at work here that (as jpk33 suggests above) will ensure accidents like this one will continue to occur to new/inexperienced boaters unless education/licensing becomes mandatory.
 
Lord Farringdon said:
Boating safety education and some form of license should be essential.

So in summary, while we tend to think of these accidents as finalists in this years Darwin awards, there are human factors at work here that (as jpk33 suggests above) will ensure accidents like this one will continue to occur to new/inexperienced boaters unless education/licensing becomes mandatory.
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There is another thread where a boat hit a breakwall at night - two dead. That happened in Canada where boating education/licensing is mandatory.
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/06/07/18248301.html
 
JerryS said:
There is another thread where a boat hit a breakwall at night - two dead. That happened in Canada where boating education/licensing is mandatory.
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While education and licensing is mandatory here, the bar is pretty low. You are required to obtain a Pleasure Craft Operator Card (this is the education part), and licensing is just a paper exercise and numbers for the bow. To get the Operator Card you need to pass an exam (80%, I think) that until April of this year, consisted of answering 36 multiple choice questions about boating safety and operation. General knowledge and common sense will get you at least 50%, I would think! The exam is now 50 questions, more involved, and also requires a 3-hour study session.

You do not need to pass a practical exam or demonstrate skills or ability. Reading charts isn't (or wasn't, at least) part of the education. The program is more to regulate operation by age, and is also the beginning of a more rigorous process that is being phased-in. This does a great job of preventing kids from slamming their watercraft and small boats into docks and each other, but really does not do a lot except raise general awareness for adults that operate large boats and yachts.

To be honest, obtaining my VHF operator license was far more difficult and thorough.
 
Unlit small dingy's, water craft not a good target on the radar??
If that's the case, The gain my need to be turned up and some filters maybe turned off.
My 4k Furuno unit glows all targets in bright red. Tiny bouys, Yaks, dingys,birds, long before I spot them with my eyes.
I had one evening 20 miles off shore cruising back to my marina. All of a sudden I get a bunch of bogys on my screen about 1/2 mile in front of me. Yikes! What the heck. Turned out to be like 6 birds. LOL
 
Tail Chaser 661 said:
Unlit small dingy's, water craft not a good target on the radar??
If that's the case, The gain my need to be turned up and some filters maybe turned off.
My 4k Furuno unit glows all targets in bright red. Tiny bouys, Yaks, dingys,birds, long before I spot them with my eyes.
I had one evening 20 miles off shore cruising back to my marina. All of a sudden I get a bunch of bogys on my screen about 1/2 mile in front of me. Yikes! What the heck. Turned out to be like 6 birds. LOL
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Exactly, if they are “not good targets” then I just going to throw my dome away!

I remember several years ago I took a bunch of people from where I work out on a dinner cruise. Well dinner took much longer than expected so we had to make the run from Middle River back to the Gunpowder at night. This is no big deal as I had done it many times with the only problem being you just can see the crap pots. Well as we got close to home one of the female members of my group came up to the helm and was asking me questions about the gauges and then the GPS and Radar. Then she says to me “what is that yellow dot on the radar screen directly in my path? I looked down and said, “****… something I should avoid” and quickly turned to port. As it turned out to be one of the small red markers, smaller than a typical navigational marker, APG (military) used to denote their water bounties. I knew it was out there, just not sure exactly where.

My point being the radar is a very useful tool when boating at night, especially if it is turned on and you understand how to use it. I always have mine zoomed in close, I really don’t care what is four miles out in front of me! I know that breaker wall would show up as a great big yellow blog, and that would be something to stay clear away from!
 
Tail Chaser 661 said:
Unlit small dingy's, water craft not a good target on the radar??
If that's the case, The gain my need to be turned up and some filters maybe turned off.
My 4k Furuno unit glows all targets in bright red. Tiny bouys, Yaks, dingys,birds, long before I spot them with my eyes.
I had one evening 20 miles off shore cruising back to my marina. All of a sudden I get a bunch of bogys on my screen about 1/2 mile in front of me. Yikes! What the heck. Turned out to be like 6 birds. LOL
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I've heard others mentions the issues with "small targets" in the past, but my Garmin radar has never failed me. I run with it all of the time, day or night. I can pick up a fixed piling marker easily with it, and I've picked up smaller skiffs in the area. Anytime there is some obstruction in the water, my radar has picked it up. Especially useful to me in my area are pound nets which do not show up on a GPS, and are not lit. Those used to scare me the most about night boating. Now, my radar picks them up as huge blotches to steer clear of.
 
Its kind of mean. But is kinda fun. Coming back into the marina at night. No wake speeds.
Pick up a bogey on the screen. (A unlit dingy). Just sort of cruise at them in the 12 oclock position on the screen for a little while. LOL.... Soon you will see some white water from there prop as they try to get away.
Funny part. they never turn. They stay at the 12 o'clock spot. LOL I hope its a wake up call for them.

Hey gunn,...Very cool your display pics up nets on the water. I get concern of things falling off the super tankers out here and floating at or just below the surface.

Hey hack4alivin,.... Good thing your passenger pointed out that little blip on your screen.
We all need some lucky breaks in boating with all the hard work we put into our hobby.

I have not clocked one. Ive heard the super tankers cruise near 30kts.
Cruising along at night, mid channel 20kts. Tired from 3 days at sea. Salt crystals in my eyes.
I watch the whole bottom of the my screen turn red.
A super tanker 3 miles behind me passing at the 6 oclock position. Thats a wake up. looked exactly like a moving breakwall. lol And I did not have my rubber bumper thingies protecting my stern.
 
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Gofirstclass said:
You're absolutely correct. Been there, done that with being hit by a drunk boater.....

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We still boat at night, and often overnight on the boat, but I keep a hand held spotlight on the helm just in case someone gets close.
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I can not see the pics, I would like to though. Very interesting thread.

LK
 
hack4alivin said:
I travel a lot a night as well. You can not tell me that this size breaker wall would not present a “good target” on your radar. It is going to show up big time and if you decide to keep running in that direction on plane, well guess what!
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Small targets are iffy at best (depending on radar settings). No - the breakwall would present an excellent target - IF they had the radar on (which I am assuming they did not or it was on and they had NO CLUE as to what the information on the display meant). I know a number of boaters with radar that never turn it on - I run mine shine or rain.
 
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