Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Coast Guard rescues two children after boating accident

The Coast Guard received a report at about 7:30 p.m. from Linda Saunders, of Hudson, stating that her 17-foot white, center-console boat had been in an accident with her family of five on board. She reported that two of the children were suffering from severe injuries and needed immediate medical attention. Saunders, her husband and one small child were not reported injured.

Rough weekend on the water for children.

Dwayne

Boy Killed In Keys Hit And Run Boating Accident

 A boy enjoying a Memorial Day by snorkeling this weekend was killed in a hit-an-run boating accident near Key West Monday, and the culprit might be another child.

Makes one wonder where the parents of the hit and run driver were? 

Dwayne

Old Hitler - Modern Day Jaws

The "No Swimming" signs are posted.

No young swimmers will be making the nearly half mile swim from Cayo Costa to Gasparilla Island anytime soon.

Advertisement

The big news coming out of the west coast is that the famed shark "Old Hitler" might have been caught.

Dwayne

Friday, May 26, 2006

Coast Guard Pushing Boater Safety For Holiday

The Coast Guard wants to remind boaters to play it safe this Memorial Day weekend.The holiday typically signals the start of the boating and paddling season in New England. Coast Guard officials say it is also the time of year when inexperience, overconfidence and alcohol overtake safety and common sense.

———————————————————————

Have a safe boating weekend on the water

Dwayne

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Waterways and Boating Safety Ordinance is Causing a Stink

The Marco Island City Council put itself and the city in a no-win situation when it passed the Waterways and Boating Safety Ordinance on May 1.


Members and officials of local and state boating organizations told the Marco Island Sun Times that if the ordinance isn't amended or repealed by July 1, they will challenge the law in state court.

That is the date that political pundits expect Gov. Jeb Bush to sign a new bill that addresses derelict boats, hurricanes and anchoring.

Dwayne

Holiday boating hordes increase need for safety on area waters

Test your boating knowledge.

Dwayne

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Kayak Hits, Critically Injures Swimmer

A woman swimming off Diamond Head was rushed to the hospital Tuesday after a kayak struck and critically injured her.

Seems the crowds can be dangerous in the surf.

Dwayne

Friday, May 19, 2006

Verizon Wireless Links Area Boaters to U. S. Coast Guard

ORANGEBURG, N.Y., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- As boating season kicks into high gear, Verizon Wireless wants to remind boaters it offers a direct connection to the U. S. Coast Guard by dialing *CG (24) from any Verizon Wireless phone. There is no charge for the service to Verizon Wireless customers in the New York Metro region which includes coastal Long Island and the Jersey Shore.

Dwayne

Thursday, May 18, 2006

6 people rescued after fishing boat goes missing

Updated: 1:20 p.m. ET May 18, 2006

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Rescuers found at least six of the seven people who had been aboard a chartered fishing boat reported missing off the South Carolina coast, the Coast Guard said Thursday.

National Fishing and Boating Week - June 3-11

See “takemefishing.org”

Dwayne

Grant Czuj / Michael LaFave / Zukey Lake - Boating accident Death and Trial

Michael LaFave, 27, was killed on Zukey Lake when a speedboat driven by Grant Czuj of Hamburg Township slammed into the unlit pontoon boat at speeds estimated at between 20 mph and 30 mph shortly after midnight on July 23, 2005.

The pontoon boat was adrift while tied to another boat with about a dozen people, including LaFave, on board both. The pontoon boat pilot apparently had turned off the lights to save battery power, according to earlier testimony.

The defense is arguing “intervening superceding cause” which is a legal concept well established in the maritime law.

Dwayne

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Bloglines - Local cruise ship passenger missing (WKYC Cleveland)

Bloglines user Lawboat (lawboat@comcast.net) has sent this item to you.


Yahoo! News   Yahoo! News Search Results for cruise ship
Yahoo! News Search Results for cruise ship

Local cruise ship passenger missing (WKYC Cleveland)

Local cruise ship passenger missing


Bloglines - Coast Guard hunts for missing cruise ship passenger (CNN.com)

Bloglines user Lawboat (lawboat@comcast.net) has sent this item to you.


Yahoo! News   Yahoo! News Search Results for cruise ship
Yahoo! News Search Results for cruise ship

Coast Guard hunts for missing cruise ship passenger (CNN.com)

The U.S. Coast Guard began searching Tuesday for a 21-year-old man believed to have fallen from a cruise ship sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida, to the Bahamas, a Coast Guard spokesman said.


21 Year old man missing from Mariner of the Seas - Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

MIAMI � The Coast Guard has launched a search for a passenger on a cruise ship after he disappeared during a voyage with friends from Cape Canaveral to the Bahamas. Petty Officer Dana Warr said the Daniel DiPiero, 21, of Canfield, Ohio, boarded Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas in Cape Canaveral on Sunday. He was with six friends. Dwayne

Improvise when in Peril - Coolers

When the boat breaks and is sinking improvise.  Coolers have been used for everything from bailing buckets to life preservers.  Read this cooler story.

Dwayne

Friday, May 12, 2006

Close call for pro fishermen in boating accident

It can happen to the pros too.

No matter how experienced you are you must prepare for accidents.

Dwayne

Investigators Say Boaters ( On Ortega River) In Fatal Crash Were Intoxicated

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The operator and a passenger who died in a fatal boating accident Sunday night were intoxicated, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigators said Wednesday.

Investigators said the boat hit one dock, ejecting the younger Christy, then continued on, struck another dock and wedged under a boat lift, killing Streat and injuring the elder Christy.

Brett Christy remains in critical condition at Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Boat Crash kills officer who survived war (Capt. Joshua Snyder)

A Beaver Falls native who survived nine years of special operations missions in some of the world's most dangerous areas died Sunday in a boating accident at a military family picnic in Texas.

As I said yesterday …boating can take us to perilous places.  It all seems so safe but the water can be extremely hazardous.  This is a tragic story.

Dwayne

Barge vs. Boat - Boating Accident Kills One

Search Continues for Missing Boater

Divers with the Charleston Fire Department and the United States Coast Guard spent Wednesday afternoon looking for answers below the water. Thirty one year old John Jones has been missing since late Tuesday when a barge collided with the fishing boat he was riding in. Two other people swam to a nearby private dock for help.

"That's what happens with a barge. You really don't if you're sitting in the river and not looking. It slips up on you before you know it's there," said Charleston's Assistant Fire Chief.

Big vessels and barges particularly can be very dangerous.  As big as they are they can sneak up on boaters in the night giving little time to react.

Dwayne

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

A guide to kayak fishing websites

Paddler online magazine guide to kayak fishing sites. 

Dwayne

Rescuers still searching for boater

William "Bill" Richardson III, the head of his family's business in Greenville, loves hunting and fishing, said his mother, Lib Richardson.

Love of the outdoors can take us to perilous places.  Be safe.

Dwayne

 

Don't forget your GPS device when going boating

GPS, cell phone and life jacket would be a good start at safety.

Dwayne

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Hitler's Sunken Secret?

This is a Nova program on an interesting sea story.

Dwayne

Boaters need to understand Jones Act

In general I think the theme of this article is correct.  If in doubt talk with your local maritime lawyer and / or marine insurance broker.  A little consultation up front may save you a bundle down the river.

Dwayne

Monday, May 08, 2006

Coast Guard asks tour boats to drop number of riders

Current capacities set when people weighed less

The U.S. Coast Guard is asking that the tour boat industry voluntarily reduce the number of passengers on excursions this summer because customers are getting larger and this could lead to accidents.

America is getting bigger and it is causing stability problems and accidents.

Dwayne

2 Die, 1 Injured In Boating Accident On Ortega River

This accident happened on one of our local rivers, here in Jacksonville.  Docks can be very unforgiving to boaters.  Sometimes if they are lit they are still hard to see.  Some boaters favor the use of a spot light in our area because of the many docks and bridges.

Dwayne

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Bloglines - Trial date set in boating death

Bloglines user Lawboat (lawboat@comcast.net) has sent this item to you.


MSN Search News: boating
Search results

Trial date set in boating death

Clinton Daily Journal - CLINTON-Judge Stephen Peters set a July 17 trial date for Byron Thompson, 28, of Bloomington, in the 2005 boating death of Robert E. Tharp, 82, of Farmer City. During a hearing Monday, defense attorney Steve Skelton withdrew his motion asking the ...


Bloglines - Man faces charges in fatal boating accident

Bloglines user Lawboat (lawboat@comcast.net) has sent this item to you.


MSN Search News: boating
Search results

Man faces charges in fatal boating accident

Seattle Post Intelligencer - A Seattle man faces a felony charge for a boating accident on Lake Washington last summer that left a 13-year-old girl dead. Police say Charles Fraser Hall knew the running lights on his Mastercraft 20-foot ski boat weren't working July 19, when he ...


Bloglines - A High Life on the High Seas

Bloglines user Lawboat (lawboat@comcast.net) has sent this item to you.


MSN Search News: boating
Search results

A High Life on the High Seas

MSNBC - May 15-22, 2006 issue - Some subset of the elite population has always taken to the water, living part or full time on their yachts and traveling among glitzy ports in the Caribbean or Mediterranean. But increasingly they are venturing all the way to ...


Bloglines - Tribute to girl's legacy

Bloglines user Lawboat (lawboat@comcast.net) has sent this item to you.


MSN Search News: boating
Search results

Tribute to girl's legacy

Newsday - At the Deer Park ballfield where Brianna Lieneck played the game she loved so much, her family, Little League coaches and teammates gathered yesterday to honor and remember her as the heart and soul of her softball team. A single red rose placed atop ...


Bloglines - Boat-safety lessons skip too many

Bloglines user Lawboat (lawboat@comcast.net) has sent this item to you.


MSN Search News: boating
Search results

Boat-safety lessons skip too many

Sarasota Herald Tribune - I read with amazement and enormous distress in your April 21 edition the article indicating that boating deaths in Florida have "climbed to the highest number in 10 years." Eighty people lost their lives on Florida waters. This is absolutely ...


Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Kayaking in Jacksonville

Kayaking is a huge and growing sport in Jacksonville and across Florida. 

This is a good club and news blog I am told if you want to get into the sport.  There are lots of great links too.  We have them permanently linked on our blog roll.

These are fishing machines and you are the motor.  Saves gas…

Dwayne

 

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Heart Warming Story of Courtesy on the Water??

Boater accused of opening fire on Lake Travis (link is not clean)

Wow…

Dwayne

100 feet from shore was too far...

Two Dead In Fishing Trip Accident Near Cocoa

An investigation is ongoing and an autopsy will be scheduled later this week, officials said. Ofcr. Kat Kelly, a spokesperson for Florida Fish and Wildlife, said alcohol was not involved.

Officers, however, already believe that wearing life vests would have given the men a chance at survival.

Wear the jackets boaters…..

Dwayne

Former Eagle Bend woman writes book on boat safety for youngsters

Former Eagle Bend woman writes book on boat safety for youngsters

Teach your children well and young.  I think this is a great idea.  Like seat belts if children are taught to be safe and wear life jackets it is more likely they will do so later in life. Also reading to your kids and grandkids is a good idea and fun!

Dwayne

Monday, May 01, 2006


tug and barge Posted by Picasa

Failure to render aid at boat accident results in major penalty

We posted this article below on failure to render aid.

Here is a generic law blurp on the rescue doctrine. There is a similar rule in maritime cases.

Below is some language on the doctrine from a maritime case.  This should clear it up for the reader:

We believe that the maritime rescuer's perception of the need for immediate action must be evaluated under the same wanton and reckless standard. In rescue situations, perception and response are inextricably linked. The same standard governing conduct that saves the lives of seamen must apply to the perception that generates the act. By definition, the perception of danger requiring prompt action is formed under the same stress and on the same imperfect information as the rescue itself. If rescuers will not be charged with the simple negligence of their acts "in the excitement and confusion of the moment," it is anomalous to charge them with a failure to prudently verify that immediate action is necessary. See Wagner v. International Ry. Co., 232 N.Y. 176, 133 N.E. 437 (1921) (in the rescue context, "the law does not ignore the reactions of the mind in tracing conduct to its consequences. It recognises them as normal.")

Dwayne

Safe Place to Boat in Florida??

Boater safety improves

No fatalities on Brevard waters in 2005

At least its not all bad news.  Here’s a safe place to boat in Florida!

Dwayne

Tarpon in Naples Area, at Boca Grande Soon

Tarpon in Naples Area, at Boca Grande Soon

They are on the way!!

Dwayne