Could have been me! (Or you!)

[Jim Walsh]

http://www.wavetrain.net/news-a-views/6 ... at-148-mph
Reckless endangerment as far as I'm concerned. He was not on a closed course.

[Steve Laume]

1st, this guy should be arrested for reckless endangerment. The minute the fog closed in he should have pulled back the throttles and aborted the attempt. It is bad enough that there are boats out there doing 20 knots with active radar but this guy was running blind.

2nd, if he wanted to donate to a cause he could have just donated a few hundred thousand. This was just an excuse to play with his multi million dollar toy. A simple donation would have been much cheaper than the ill fated outcome of this stunt.

3rd, he needs to learn to set his way points a bit wide of the mark. It seems like his GPS was spot on.

I just don't have much (any) sympathy for this sort of action no matter what the stated cause, Steve.

[Bill Goldsmith]

Nothing to say, except:

Rule 6 - Safe Speed
Every vessel shall at all times proceed at a safe speed so that she can take proper and effective action to avoid collision and be stopped within a distance appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions. In determining a safe speed the following factors shall be among those taken into account:
(a) By all vessels:

(i) The state of visibility;
(ii) The traffic density including concentrations of fishing vessels or any other vessels;
(iii) The manageability of the vessel with special reference to stopping distance and turning ability in the prevailing conditions;
(iv) At night, the presence of background light such as from shore lights or from back scatter from her own lights;
(v) The state of wind, sea and current, and the proximity of navigational hazards;
(vi) The draft in relation to the available depth of water.

[jen1722terry]

This guy gives selfish idiots a bad name.

Very fortunately, he killed no one.

Gees, I worry about hitting someone or something at 5 knots!

Happy sailing!

terry

[M. R. Bober]

It could not have been me. On STARVIEW we have a rule, "Never hit a buoy when speed over ground exceeds 100 knots." This rule is strictly enforced.

If you do not have a similar rule on your Cape Dory, you should. Safety is the primary concern of all mariners, except maybe Stuart Hayim.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster, (A good place) VA

[Jim Walsh]

For those unfamiliar with the "accident" location, Plum Gut, it is in an area of dense commercial and pleasureboat traffic. It being in an area with several small island and strong tidal currents it also attracts fishermen at all hours of the day and night.
To proceed at such a speed in limited visibility is, at best, a criminal act. Thank God he hit an inanimate object.