Never should have been there

[kahuna123]

We are out around 24-27 miles West of Hernando Beach Fl. first of all this is summer. Here it is normally very calm dog days of summer. Until the afternoon thunderstorms roll in where it can go from flat calm to really nasty in no time. But thats another story.

So around 9am we hear a mayday. " We are sinking need help". Turns out its a bass boat, yes a bass boat 25 miles from shore sinking. And its flat calm. So one of the headboats goes over to help. (the only one who could get paid to tow them in). I am pretty close at this point and watch. He pulls along side, gets them aboard, ties off to tow their boat in (full flotation, can't really sink just fill up). Just before this yehaws boat rolls over they start pulling it in. 20 minutes later the bass boat is floating again. They never put the plug in at the ramp. And of course the pump was broken, no manual pump on board.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Never should have been there

On the bright side, they may be eligible for an award for "furthest distance traveled without plug"

 

[robert graham]

Re: Never should have been there

As long as they were moving, no water coming in, But when they stopped to fish!....This could have turned out rather badly for these folks, I'd say good luck was with them! They'll NEVER forget the plug again!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Never should have been there

too bad they didn't learn the real lesson: don't take a bass boat off shore.

And too bad they had to mess up everyone else's fishing on the head boat. If I had paid $50 to fish and couldn't, I'd be thinking I'd like my money back. And so the idiots in the bass boat screwed the customers and the captain, out of their own negligence, and not an accidental emergency like a seacock failing.

I have rescued a lot of people, and it has taken me away from my fishing or whatever, but I will put a limit (weighed by the other's actual danger) on what I do that seatow or USCG can do as well.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Never should have been there

Why couldn't the bass boat "skipper" go over the side, put in the plug, then dump out a tackle box and bail the boat out?

Oh, that's right. He wasn't bright enough to throw in a $50 bilge pump cartridge before he went 21 miles offshore.

 

[kahuna123]

Re: Never should have been there

The real danger here in the summer offshore is people who move here don't realize what can happen. We have very bad thunderstorms that come from East to West. So you have to go through them to get home. I had a 34 Luhrs that had ALL the eyes-n-glass blown out of it. Ive pulled seaweed off the tower before. 60mph gust is not unusual.

Just North of Anclote Island we have what we all call the "sandbar". Its probably 1 ft out of the water at high tide 800yrds long and 100 wide 3 miles off shore. I went out to help after a really bad storm came through. Most of the boats where 30 to 40 yards up from the edge of the water in the sand. They thought those little anchors would hold in muddy-grass bottom. I bought ice and water and shovels. I went to one guy who was sitting in a 30ft Stamas with inboard-outboards you could see the 2ft deep trench they had made for 40 yards through the sand. This is an easy 100 grand boat. I looked at the guy and said" man they are pretty torn up". He looks at me and starts laughing and says " I'm alive".

No place for a bass boat

 

[Steve A W]

Re: Never should have been there

He didn't think to replace/repair His bilge pump, But
he did have a marine radio.
Thats something Ya don't see on a bass boat very often.

 

[soggy_feet]

Re: Never should have been there

Well, a VHF radio looks cool. Bilge pump? Hell, who looks at those?

Priorities man, priorities...

 

[j_martin]

Re: Never should have been there

He didn't think to replace/repair His bilge pump, But
he did have a marine radio.
Thats something Ya don't see on a bass boat very often.

There's one on mine. There's inland waters in MN where marine VHF is a necessity. River system, and Voyagers National Park come to mind.

 

[itsaboattime]

Re: Never should have been there

Wow.....just wow.

 

[2 Eagles]

Re: Never should have been there

Had something like that happen to my Dad & I once. Toke the whole family out (5 of us). Little brother was learning about lanching the boat and asking Dad alot of questions. Dad forgot to but the plug in. Stop to do something and Mom said her feet was getting wet. Dad looked and siad for got the plug. So I get the plug out of the storage area where he keeps it and hand it to him to put in. He starts the motor and drives on. Then as we're going he pulls the plug & lets the water run out and puts the plug back in. Turn on the bilge pump to get the rest of the water out put nothing real came out of it though. We had a great day on the water and laughed about it. But Dad & I have always been good at staying cool in an emergency.

I thank these guy needs to learn how to deal with an emerency. We can all thank of alot of thing we would have done in he's case. But some poeple just don't have the mind set to deal with an emergency when it comes up.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Never should have been there

there are many kinds of emergencies but the ones that happen to stupid people who do stupid things, are usually followed by, and made worse by, more stupid actions. But even the experienced and careful boater, in a sudden and serious emergency, will do stupid things in a panic, and later wonder why (or the forensics guys will do the wondering).

 

[2 Eagles]

Re: Never should have been there

Very true. But I know people the are smart that handle any kind of emergencies. They freak out or just shut down. When something happens is like they cant thank strait. So to you they may come a cross as being stupid. That is all I was saying.