fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

[Home Cookin']

Not calling anyone stupid when there's a tragedy but this is where we share these stories. This weekend, an 18' boat was hit by a barge and flipped; one of four occupants killed (don't know if drowned but he was recovered right away). Occurred in popular fishing area with heavy shipping traffic. I heard that he didn't try to move until the "last minute" and then his engine wouldn't start. I am sure that the barge was not at fault and could not avoid him. And I'm not sure from sketchy reports if the boat was hit or flipped by wake.

I also know from experience that even the giant ships and barges can sneak up on you silently if the wind is right. so it's easy if you are concentrating on your lines, rigging baits, whatever, not to think to look over your shoulder occassionally, and then a six story "building" appears out of nowhere.

With as much trouble as we all have from the fuel systems these days, a new rule to add to the list is to count on the motor not starting when you are approaching (or being approached by) a hazard. We do a lot of drifting around bridges and rock jetties in strong current/wind and nothing is worse than the sound of a starter motor cranking punctuated by a crunch.

And keep your VHF on scan, in case the big one is trying to warn you.

 

[Thad]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

Sad for sure. A nice day of wetting a line on the water turned tragic.

Things like this should never have to be written. I can only hope that as we progress, fewer accidents happen.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

Often times the ones who need the advice aren't around to hear it. What I love about this forum is the large number of inexperienced boaters who are here to draw from others' experiences. And the experienced boaters can't hear it too often when it comes to matters of safety. That's why I posted it.

The night before and the day of this accident, I was out there in the same area, alone, and my motor was acting up. I was very circumspect about crossing the shipping channels and circled around behind a tug/barge and a dredge even though I knew I could clear them. And this incident will make me even more careful.

 

[scipper77]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

There are multiple levels of prevention. Start with basic maintenance, next is common sense, radio, flares, horn, ending with PFD's. It's a shame that despite the requirement of all of these things there was still a death.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

tugs pushing or towing barges are like trains in that they can't change direction or stop like you would hope. keep your distance and don't anchor or drift in marked channels. a barge a mile away can be on top of you in just a few minutes.

always be aware of your surroundings.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

seems if the Barge thought the boat was in danger, they would have sounded their horn.

 

[henrye718]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

seems if the Barge thought the boat was in danger, they would have sounded their horn.

Yup it happen to me, they blew their horn for a long time before I got the motor started. I am sure they were looking at me with binoculars watching me trying to get it going and would have avoided me if I did not move. I dont think any boat has an excuse to hit something that is standing still.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

A couple of postings from those who use the waters where it happened, including one from a pro:

Sometimes the right of weight is more important than the right of way.

"Most boating issues I've encountered involve either ignorance of the law and the rules of navigation, or lack of common curtesy. Most boaters don't know what their responsibilities are or how their actions are perceived by others. When two vessels approach each other, regardless of circumstances, one vessel is the "stand on" vessel and IS REQUIRED BY LAW to maintain his course and speed until in extremis (about to hit you). I'd venture that is what the tug was doing at Little Creek. The other vessel is the "give way" vessel AND IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO MANUEVER TO AVOID COLLISION. So if you come in close contact with a commercial vessel and get the "look of death" from someone in the wheelhouse or on the deck, chances are it's because you are clueless as to what's happening around you and what to do about it. And if you are in fact the stand on vessel, you are a fool to place a larger vessel in extremis to make a point. Wise mariners in small vessels give vessels restricted by draft or manuverability a wide margin for error. And if you shut down your engine while drifting in a deep draft channel, then the law of natural selection applies. Your genes will be removed from the gene pool."

Another: "I've seen some good responses to this post. I am a tug capt. and can tell you many times we are either constrained by our draft,or our ability to manuver is restricted by our tow. If we are towing we can't stop and in some cases to turn hard over to miss a close qtrs. situation would just be too dangerous to execute. One thing I did notice, one poster said he had "lines in the water". That does not designate it as a vessel engaged in fishing restricted in manuverability due to gear. Common sense tells you the larger boat needs more room/ deeper water to navigate. We are all boaters on one level or another and we try to run our vessels as safely as possible. When able I slow down for smaller vessels, navigate around them when I can do so safely and generally watch out for everyone as I see it from both sides of the fence. Some of the things I have seen rec. boaters do that are unimaginable to me are: run in fog with no radar or radio, actually leave the wheel of a boat underway to fish when there is traffic around them in close proximity, try to "outrun" a tug or ship just to cross ahead of it and cause a situation that is dangerous to all concerned. (with ethenol think of water in the fuel that could stall you right in front of a larger vessel that can't stop), anchor/drift in any channel used by larger vessels without an engine running, (I recommend to never anchor in a deep draft channel), run at night with no nav lights, run full bore into the wake of a larger vessel, insist on running a channel when your draft does not dictate the need, anchor by the stern..... the list is long. As others have, I recomend every boat out there have at least a handheld VHF radio and when they see a ship or tug that may come close to them call on chan's 13/16 and start a dialog. Like as not we've been trying to contact you. If we can we'll accommodate you..if we can't...work with us and we'll all have a safe day on the water."

 

[david_r]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

terrible turn of events for a day of getting a line wet.

it seems to me pure stupidity to wait and move out of the way for a barge or tug........ or even a cruise ship for that matter.

i fish on kerr lake a lot and we have barges pass through all the time, goin up and down the arkansas river, and i can guarantee you if i see one coming at me i move. i usually try to anchor out of the barge channel so i dont have to move but sometimes thats where the fish are.



Home Cookin,

since i know you are a real captain i have a few questions for you if you dont mind.

1. are the vhf 13/16 nationwide or does the frequency/channel change from state to state?

2. are the barges required to blow a horn or ding a bell or anything of this nature while moving through fog?....... if so how often is the sound made?

3. if i dont have a vhf radio are there any other ways to communicate other than hand signals?

the reason i asked these questions is because i have been out in the middle of our lake puttin along when the fog rolled in. we couldnt see maybe, and i mean a big maybe, 50' . i couldnt remember exactly where we were in relation to the barge route so i killed the eng to listen for anything coming or going....... seems like a bad idea now.

the bad part is how much fog muffles sound. my buddie wanted me to continue on at a slow pace. he said "if we just keep goin straight we will be ok". i tried to explain to him how small craft are hard to drive in a straight line goin slow....... not to mention we were listed to his side and this caused me to literally zig zag at low speeds. we were using the 1/3 rule, but like i explained to him---- we may as well be in the middle of the ocean, we are in the middle of a lake that is 4-5 miles wide and 6-7 miles long ad cant see 50', how are we to know where we are without landmarks.

i now have a gps and hopefully it will pay off big if we ever encounter another fog incident............ but i would still like to know if the barges make any kind of sound in dense fog to warn anyone in their path.

i was thinking i didnt need a radio on an inland lake........ not so sure now.

 

[dingbat]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

1 dead; 3 injured when boat capsizes near Hampton

The U.S. Coast Guard said one person died and three others were injured when a boat capsized near Hampton.

The Coast Guard received a call around noon that an 18-ft. boat had capsized about a mile east of Fort Monroe.

People in two boats pulled the four from the water and took them to a nearby marina, where they were taken to Sentara CareFlex Hospital. One man died, and the remaining three were being treated for minor injuries.

The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.

 

[45Auto]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

Anybody got a link to a real report? Was it hit by a barge, did a barge wake capsize it, or did they manage to capsize it through their own stupidity? None of the news reports on it I've seen have any mention of a barge or wake.

 

[dingbat]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

Anybody got a link to a real report? Was it hit by a barge, did a barge wake capsize it, or did they manage to capsize it through their own stupidity? None of the news reports on it I've seen have any mention of a barge or wake.

I can't find a single report that says the boat was hit.

Here is another report


Lt. James Newsome
Wake jail guard killed in boating accident

Posted: Oct. 5, 2009

Raleigh, N.C. ? A Wake County deputy was killed over the weekend in a boating accident in Virginia.

Lt. James Newsome, 55, was boating with friends on the Chesapeake Bay Saturday afternoon when his boat capsized a few miles east of Hampton, Va., authorities said. A tugboat was involved in the accident, according to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, but authorities declined to release more details.

The U.S. Coast Guard and some boaters in the area rescued three other people from the water, authorities said. Kenneth Evan, 57, Tilghman Hall, 70, and William Thompson, 73, all of Raleigh, were taken to Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

Newsome, a detention officer, had worked with the Wake County Sheriff's Office since August 1991.

The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the accident.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

what's posted here is all there is so far. Nothing says "hit" and I suspect, since the other boats got them out of the water, that it capsized from wake, which could have been rolling off the bow wake just feet from the hull.
USCG 5th district press release is the same, so the agencies are recycling news. The other forum I mentioned (tidalfish-Virginia) is local to the incident (as am I). I'll keep watching.

David R, I think that the customs for VHF channels should be nationwide. 13 is port ops; 11 is also a contact channel; 9 is emergency; 16 is the primary hailing channel. Around here the fishermen use 68, too, which is why I suggest being on scan.
Don't know about sounding in fog; proceed as if they are not going to.
Other communications? Even hand signals are useless. If you are in extreme danger, use extreme signals, even a flare. Tie a life preserver to your paddle and wave that--be conspicuous. But understand the big boat's lack of manueverability and the rules of standing on. And think about what happens to the barge if the tug does stop suddenly?

 

[basalt51]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

I highly recommend everyone who isn't already familiar with the rules of waterways get a copy of "The One-Minute Guide to the Nautical Rules of the Road" Its an very easy read, brief and to the point. And according to the book, it is actually the law that every boater has a copy of the nautical regulations in their boat in some form, and the book qualifies as such.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071479236/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

Though I've been boating my whole life, I've never been on anything other than smaller lakes with only other recreational boaters, which in most cases completely disregard and/or are completely unaware of any rules for standing-on or giving-way. Unfortunately I'm sure many of those same idiots share the waterways with large commercial vessels.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

And according to the book, it is actually the law that every boater has a copy of the nautical regulations in their boat in some form, and the book qualifies as such.

the disclaimer... according to the book "The U.S. Coast Guard requires every boat more than 39-feet long to carry a copy of the nautical rules of the road onboard." So a minority of boaters, not every boater.

 

[basalt51]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

the disclaimer... according to the book "The U.S. Coast Guard requires every boat more than 39-feet long to carry a copy of the nautical rules of the road onboard." So a minority of boaters, not every boater.

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

Regrettably, we have to assume that any recreational boater we are approaching does not know the rules. Seems no one knows "port to port." I teach my children to exaggerate every turn when other boats are approaching so they know for sure which way you are going, and to judge when to go the "wrong" way if it's apparent the other boat doesn't know.

 

[henrye718]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

A good rule to follow is "Don't assume".

Its like crossing the street, don't assume becuase its a red light the cars will stop as you cross keep your eyes on them and keep watching.

Same thing in boating keep your eyes on what can hurt you and Don't Assume they won't drive right into you or they are going to stop or even know how to.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

I'd be interested in knowing if it was a tug or a pushboat. One of the problems with small boaters around pushboats is that they don't understand the danger associated with the propwash behind the pushboat. Even a small, 600hp pushboat creates significant propwash when pushing a few barges. If you pass too closely behind one, you are driven sideways very rapidly and very suddenly. In some boats, that could roll you over easily. Do that behind a 10K (three engines, 10,000 total hp), and you have BIG problems!



.

 

[david_r]

Re: fatal accident--motor wouldn't start

thanks for the advice Home Cookin'!!!...... and the channels!!!

i will put them to good use. i wish there was some kind of law that required a boat underway to sound off in fog. i dont go over 3-4mph in the fog even with my gps....... depending on visibility, you never know where someone is anchored or where a log has came drifting down the river.

i sitll do not understand why they would wait so long to move....... i would never wait till the last minute. i have seen how fast those dudes move. it may look like a turtle from far away, but that is a lot of weight moving up and down the river......... even empty.

i have been below the lock and dam when these guys come through... even when they are just getting moving again these guys put off some decent sized wake.

i live about 25 minutes away from the I-40 bridge that got hit by a barge a some years ago......... so i know they cannot just stop nor maneuver like a small craft.. so i stay clear.

i have unfortunately witnessed an idiot on a jet ski trying to ride and play on the wakes........... we hollered, yelled, blew my horn, and whistle until he came over to my boat where i tried to explain to him how dangerous that was.... he looked like he was around 15 or 16 and just scoffed and went to chase down the barge for some more fun. i told my buddy we may be seeing him on the news later, we didnt im glad to say but still.......