Boating accident in Canada, hit and run

So is the high speed ferry operator on dope too ?
Riptide III said:
I hope that was sarcasm. I expect everyone to follow the rules. I expect everyone to travel no faster than they can see and avoid. Fast Ferries don't have a hall pass on safety.
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No dude, no joke. Last "high speed" ferry ride is well after sunset from and to Hyannis and Nantucket.
 
Kwik said:
Gps speed at 29mph.
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Speed limit in Missouri (and I believe all Corps lakes) is 25 MPH from dusk to dawn. Have never seen a bass boat obey that. Love boating at night. Only time I had a problem was when I almost ran over a bass boat with no lights on. I came out of a no wake zone and jumped on plane, that's when he decided it was a good time to hit the lights. I was 50 yards from killing him.
 
E
scoflaw said:
So is the high speed ferry operator on dope too ?

No dude, no joke. Last "high speed" ferry ride is well after sunset from and to Hyannis and Nantucket.
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I know that read my post! Hence the lights that are not in accordance with regs and blinding to other Mariners. Rules are for all. Slow it back to see and avoid. These guys care more about schedule than safety. Zero visibility, 30kts thru woods hole. They are the same idios that hit and ran up the jetty at 30kts. They feel they are priority because they are commercial craft and have to maintain a schedule. I'm sure their throttles have a slower setting and schedules could be adjusted after sunset. OFF TOPIC. SORRY FOR THE RANT. YOU STRUCK A NERVE. I'M OUT.
 
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highslice said:
Speed limit in Missouri (and I believe all Corps lakes) is 25 MPH from dusk to dawn. Have never seen a bass boat obey that. Love boating at night. Only time I had a problem was when I almost ran over a bass boat with no lights on. I came out of a no wake zone and jumped on plane, that's when he decided it was a good time to hit the lights. I was 50 yards from killing him.
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or killing yourself.
 
highslice said:
Speed limit in Missouri (and I believe all Corps lakes) is 25 MPH from dusk to dawn. Have never seen a bass boat obey that. Love boating at night. Only time I had a problem was when I almost ran over a bass boat with no lights on. I came out of a no wake zone and jumped on plane, that's when he decided it was a good time to hit the lights. I was 50 yards from killing him.
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dusk to dawn speed on LOTO is 30mph. I did have a bass boat cut across my bow from my port on the way to dinner. I saw him coming and assumed he wouldn't follow regs and backed it down and until he passed. Only saw highway patrol on the way in after dinner. One just outside the cove by Harbor 13 and one at the buoy to the channel entrance at the finger.
 
O’Leary’s wife is charged.
 
Boat Guy said:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...-months-fatal-boat-crash-in-muskoka-area.html

"Ontario Provincial Police said Tuesday that Linda O’Leary, 56, of Toronto, was charged with careless operation of a vessel, contrary to the Canada Shipping Act."
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AND, "Richard Ruh, 57 of Orchard Park, N.Y., was also charged with failing to exhibit a navigation light while underway."

"Linda O’Leary’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said what happened was “a terrible tragedy.”

“. . . but we find it regrettable that the OPP has chosen to charge Mrs. O’Leary under the shipping regulations in circumstances where the person has always been a cautious, and certainly experienced boater, came in a collision with an unlit craft on a dark and moonless night on Lake Joseph,” he said."

Interesting to see where this goes.

MM
 
So, is 18 months a typical sentence for a boater without a card or is it expanded because of the fact there was a fatality? AND why the hell would you be on water at night without navigation lights? I wanted to hold the question until it was confirmed. I also didn't see anywhere in the articles if the Ruh boat was underway or anchored.
 
Kwik said:
So, is 18 months a typical sentence for a boater without a card or is it expanded because of the fact there was a fatality? AND why the hell would you be on water at night without navigation lights? I wanted to hold the question until it was confirmed. I also didn't see anywhere in the articles if the Ruh boat was underway or anchored.
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Ruh, 57 of Orchard Park, N.Y., was also charged with failing to exhibit a navigation light while underway."
 
MonacoMike said:
AND, "Richard Ruh, 57 of Orchard Park, N.Y., was also charged with failing to exhibit a navigation light while underway."

"Linda O’Leary’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said what happened was “a terrible tragedy.”

“. . . but we find it regrettable that the OPP has chosen to charge Mrs. O’Leary under the shipping regulations in circumstances where the person has always been a cautious, and certainly experienced boater, came in a collision with an unlit craft on a dark and moonless night on Lake Joseph,” he said."

Interesting to see where this goes.

MM
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This lawyer must of not of cost much.
 
I don't want to judge. But, lives lost and lives ruined because you didn't hit a couple buttons. It's very sad.
 
I am surprised at the charges because
Charges under the shipping act are normally for commercial vessels and this particular one is not of great enough consequence for the situation
It will be hard to prove it disprove the Nav light question
I still dont believe she was the operator at the time of the accident.
 
Kwik said:
I don't want to judge. But, lives lost and lives ruined because you didn't hit a couple buttons. It's very sad.
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As a boater I try to imagine this type situation. No lights...why not? Forgot to turn them on, maybe the all around lite burned out during the ride and the collision was from the rear. Maybe a red or green running lite burned out during the ride and now all that is visible is the all around and it just appears to be another white spec among many along the shore line.

Maybe it's a boat that isn't required to have regular navigation lights. Some one out in a rowboat is only required to show a white light in sufficient time to prevent a collision.

Maybe your own dash lights or running lights interfere with your night vision and you sometimes don't see another boat as easily as you should. A friend had an old SR that had a factory all around light mounted in front of the windshield, you couldn't see anything at night.

Maybe there's some thing out there that doesn't require any lights at all. In WI a swim raft can be up to 200' from shore. Maybe the swim raft has come loose, who knows where it might be. This actually happened where I used to live. Kids would boat over to a neighboring guys raft and use it at night. The owner was mad and cussin' all the time at them. One night the kids cut the raft loose in retaliation, the owner called the cops, the cops are in his boat with him trying to catch the kids and ran into the raft.

Lots of ways for things to happen lights or not.

Now add in the fact some folks are running 30mph in the pitch dark. When they should be 100% watching for hazards out on the water, they are instead looking at their GPS/chartplotter to see where they're at. ....shits gonna happen once in a while, ain't no way around it.
 
Woody said:
As a boater I try to imagine this type situation. No lights...why not? Forgot to turn them on, maybe the all around lite burned out during the ride and the collision was from the rear. Maybe a red or green running lite burned out during the ride and now all that is visible is the all around and it just appears to be another white spec among many along the shore line.

Maybe it's a boat that isn't required to have regular navigation lights. Some one out in a rowboat is only required to show a white light in sufficient time to prevent a collision.

Maybe your own dash lights or running lights interfere with your night vision and you sometimes don't see another boat as easily as you should. A friend had an old SR that had a factory all around light mounted in front of the windshield, you couldn't see anything at night.

Maybe there's some thing out there that doesn't require any lights at all. In WI a swim raft can be up to 200' from shore. Maybe the swim raft has come loose, who knows where it might be. This actually happened where I used to live. Kids would boat over to a neighboring guys raft and use it at night. The owner was mad and cussin' all the time at them. One night the kids cut the raft loose in retaliation, the owner called the cops, the cops are in his boat with him trying to catch the kids and ran into the raft.

Lots of ways for things to happen lights or not.

Now add in the fact some folks are running 30mph in the pitch dark. When they should be 100% watching for hazards out on the water, they are instead looking at their GPS/chartplotter to see where they're at. ....shits gonna happen once in a while, ain't no way around it.
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Did you read the latest reports? Olrearys boat was going 17 mph. True other boat had no lights. Moonless night. That lake has steep shoreline with lots of trees and cottages. Lots of boat traffic at night. Driving without navigation lights is really bad. Really bad. Yes this his very tragic. But all boating accidents are tragic. Its usually some thing small that causes bad things to happen. That is why we all NEED to follow all the rules. They are there for a reason.

NAV lights on at night. Full stop. Just do it. It’s not hard.

Don’t drive faster at night than your vision allows. No legal speed limit needed. Just common sense.

the two above not done. Tragic results. Very sad. Very avoidable.
 
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