This happened near where I live, and the coverage is more detailed here. They were sailing between the barrier bars and the shore, in an area with rapidly shifting sandbars. They hit one. Nothing was wrong–I mean the boat wasn’t sinking, and the depth there is generally 9-20’. But they decided to abandon the sailboat and swim to shore. They probably could have got it off the bar and got into port to have it checked for damage. If they had thought to save money for such eventualities.
Anyway, now they’re running a GoFundMe seeking to recoup their losses. There’s a lot of derision here about that.
Oh this sort of nonsense vastly predates that trend. Something about boats gets people convinced they can set off with zero knowledge and no training. There’s a constant parade of sunk, crashed, And stranded boats around here. At least a few people die in the waterways around my home town every year. Inexperienced boaters out in dangerous conditions, unaware of u concerned that they’re going about things totally wrong.
There’s a big push to require captains licenses to operate anything larger than a kayak in us waterways. In an attempt to push back on the problem.
I don’t understand. I have a $200 marine GPS/fishfinder on my kayak that would let me navigate better than that, and you can get a $10 Navionics app for your phone that does much of the same.
To see this “dream” done right, check out the blog and vids of SVDelos. It will make you question your life choices.
My favorite vid
@Ryuthrowsstuff, why stop before kayaks? People in the cold water Northeast US kill themselves all the time in kayaks because they have no idea of the dangers of wind, current and cold water.
Don’t get me started, I’ve had this argument plenty with fishermen I know who like to just cut into their catch. But I really don’t know the frequency of things like Anasakis nematodes in pelagic open water fish. Apparently it needs sea mammals in it’s life cycle, which is why it’s been making a comeback in the US NE with the return of large numbers of seals.
On the other hand, if they wanted to play it safe, they’d have stayed in port.
Hmm, never hear of them before, but from what I just read they’re not dangerous, unlike Anasakiasis which though it won’t usually kill you, will make you think you’re dying with colitis like symptoms. Most occurrence are in…Japan. Duh.
The signs and symptoms of anisakiasis are abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal distention, diarrhea, blood and mucus in stool, and mild fever.
A couple things. Mainly practicality. When the local dicks sporting goods is selling a few dozen kayaks a week. And requiring a captains license for that sort of thing will likely rope in shit like surfboards it gets a little weird.
But at least to my recollection (it has been years) the captains license classes/exam doesn’t really cover much in terms of small inshore craft. And while plenty of people seem to get themselves in trouble (one guy near here accidentally spend 5 days paddling through open water to the next state). It seems like there are fewer serious injuries, deaths, and miniature environmental disasters locally from the small craft.
Once in a while some one goes missing. But in the summer season multiple crashes, capsizings etc of larger boats. Happen everyday. At each of our many harbors, inlets and channels.
As a regulatory concern “two teens went missing in a sunfish a few years back” is less pressing than “Fuck, five boats hit that jetty today and the coasties pulled 3 idiots off a 12 foot whaler out by damn continental shelf. And it’s not even Memorial Day yet”.
Reminds me of the time a gal spent huge hours in the boatyard where I worked, fixing up her boy friend’s boat so when he got his vacation they could cruise the Inside Passage. Finally, the big day came; we launched the boat, they loaded their supplies on board and the boyfriend proudly took the wheel. They started up the Swinomish Channel and the macho boyfriend steered the boat on the wrong side of the channel markers–at low tide. End of trip, end of relationship.
Maybe a sub-smallcraft certificate is in order. You wouldn’t believe some of the crap I’ve seen. Check out these intrepid mariners heading into Raritan Bay in the 1st week of May. The water is still in the 40’s and they don’t have a single PDF visible!
The middle guy is sitting on a cooler, which many amateur boaters consider to be a PFD. Also, the beer cans that are no doubt inside it are slightly buoyant.
Those Frikin bass boats. I guess the major sporting good chains sell them pretty cheap around here. No end of people who get convinced a tiny boat intended for calm fishing ponds and lakes is perfect for open, rough salt water and quick moving creaks and inlets. They strap so many bells and whistles to the top they end up hopelessly top heavy. And then the 3 guys packed onto them discover waves are a thing. Dozens of the things for sale on Craigslist with absurdly high asking prices. Most of them end up converted into duck blinds.
But here abouts if you’re 16 or under you need a basic boater safety class to operate anything without a motor alone. Or anything bigger under adult supervision. Junior captains license to operate motor craft alone. I think they’re just looking to apply that to adults. Boater safety cert to operate any boat. Captains license if it’s above a certain size. I think they’ve already required boats be insured.
Like I said we get idiots in trouble in small craft. But a lot more damage and frequent deaths and injuries seem to come from the inexperienced buying a big expensive boat to go with their new summer house. And don’t even look into the basics. Like you can’t sail a sail boat through an inlet against a strong tide and into the wind. It has an engine for a reason. Or that it’s not safe to take a small boat with an under powered engine and a shallow inshore draft into open water. That just because you have 4 engines strapped to the back of your hot shot boat doesn’t make it safe to go out in foul weather. And that a pontoon boat design for calm man made lakes isn’t appropriate for a open water cruise to Block Island.
