Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

Silly Seville · Jul 11, 2013

I don't know the first thing about boating on the coast, so I'm reserving judgement on the intelligence of the fellow in this story. Any of you from the area want to chime in? Did his decision to boat under these circumstances bring peril to his family, or was this just an unforeseeable event and he is truly a hero?

Man swims 5 1/2 hours to save family after boat capsizes

LippCJ7 · Jul 11, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

According to the comments, it appears there was a small craft advisory that day so while I think the boaters used poor judgement going out that day I cannot believe the son(46) swam 3 miles to get help, With the currents in the bay and jellyfish that is incredible.

Ultimately I think they were all very lucky no one died.

JoLin · Jul 12, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

Double whammy- they exercised questionable judgment going out in the first place, and then weren't prepared for any bad stuff to happen.

Maybe there was no cell phone coverage where they capsized, but that seems odd to me considering where they were. Maybe all the cell phones got wet. Why no VHF radio? My hand-held submersible cost me less than $100. A floating ditch bag could have made that ordeal unnecessary.

I give the guy a lot of credit for doing what he did, but it shouldn't have come to that.

My .02

tpenfield · Jul 12, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

It is easy for people who are not involved to pass judgement . . . Hard to say about the prudence of the matter, just glad that they are all safe.

southkogs · Jul 12, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

tpenfield said:
It is easy for people who are not involved to pass judgement . . . Hard to say about the prudence of the matter, just glad that they are all safe.

Agreed. If they ignored a small craft warning, then that's a pretty obvious blunder. But, I'd have to admit to getting caught a couple times too.

TilliamWe · Jul 12, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

I am just glad the "lightening" didn't get them. That could have been hard to explain!

bruceb58 · Jul 12, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

TilliamWe said:
I am just glad the "lightening" didn't get them. That could have been hard to explain!

Took me 4 hours to finally figure out why you had that word in quotes and why it would be hard to explain!

robert graham · Jul 12, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

I'd call it a Lot worse than "questionable judgement"....all those kids and folks in a 16 foot skiff??????.......

emilsr · Jul 12, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

If you ask me, they did alright. PFD's were worn, all got out alive. If they didn't file a float plan and had no way to communicate, swimming for help may have been the only option.

These days (if I remember right) a small craft advisory is for winds of 22 to 33 knots. That's not enough to keep an avid fisherman on the docks, but certainly enough to make you put on a PFD...and they did. I wouldn't second guess their decision to go out; probably have done it many times before.

All's well that ends well.

bruceb58 · Jul 12, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

I have been in small craft advisories in a 24' boat and that was bad. Can't even imagine going out in a 16' boat let alone with a 3 and 9 year old.

TilliamWe · Jul 13, 2013

Re: Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

bruceb58 said:
I have been in small craft advisories in a 24' boat and that was bad. Can't even imagine going out in a 16' boat let alone with a 3 and 9 year old.

Bruce, we finally agree completely on something!

(Glad you looked up "lightening". I just wish newspaper editors would too!)

Safe boating or questionable activity at best?

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