There was yet another recent article in the Guardian UK about that.
sigh…
Seriously, you have no idea how irrational they’re going to be. From their POV, you caused it because if you hadn’t been there to harass, they wouldnt have gotten into the accident while they were harassing you. (“I hurt my fist very badly by striking you.”) Also, they might get angry you are videoing them the entire time.
Uh, and what about that video. It was kind of a "They circled our boat rudely... Yada, yada, yada... Their boat is on fire." What happened? A collision? A spontaneous fuel leak. Is one of the boaters like Drew Barrymore in Firestarter? Just a little more information?
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Agreed - I’d like a little more info on the cause and effect of the fire…karma is one thing, but physics are real…
I’m not sure what maritime law says about circling around the bigots in the water for a few minutes while laughing and giving them the finger before picking them up.
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While that’s a good one, I think this is better, no obligation, just a really good human being:
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So we should try using to COVID variant lineage tools for song sampling.
I couldn’t help noticing none of the bigots had life vests. They’re so stupid in so many ways!
Here’s one of my best boating stories.
We’d gone out to watch the 4th of July fireworks on the crowded Detroit River during the late 90s. We were aboard mom’s then-BF’s 38ft houseboat, a top of the line 1970 River Queen. 
She was more than a little shabby by then, but we had so much fun aboard her. We brought amusement, much better music, and an improvement in the attitudes of the snooty, rich yachting folks we encountered. They’d get as close as poss and turn off their own music, because my mix tapes were so good, and we’d crank our music so they’d hear it better. Their passengers had been leaning on railings looking sad or sour, and w/in a minute of being under our influence, they were laughing and dancing, just like us.
A man piloting (I’m using the term loosely) a small powerboat nearby was having the hardest time finding a spot to drop anchor and hang out. He kept going in circles, pausing a moment, like a nervous bird afraid to land. His wife then started yelling at him to move the boat to different spots a few yards from their position, over and over, like the boat was a new living room chair. He complied several times, becoming angrier and angrier. We’d been laughing at him, and waving to other boaters, pointing him out to them, too. Many had been watching these antics, but now everyone on all the other nearby craft began watching and cracking up, even disappearing to drag others out on deck to watch, and hipping more boaters, so there was a nice-sized audience.
He finally yelled at his wife, telling her to shut up, killed the engine and dropped anchor. He then decided he needed to move a little bit, and ran the props over his own anchor line, which cut it!
The gentleman was furious by now, and yelled at his wife, then at their son, who had done nothing but silently sit in the stern like a blob. It was quite a show. He again moved his boat a small distance, then threw his second anchor overboard. This action was well-observed by the real boaters, and none of us missed the third* hilarious mistake he’d made thus far.
He’d thrown out the anchor w/o first tying it off!! 
We all watched, trying not to laugh, as the faultlessly coiled rope uncoiled, quickly disappearing after the anchor. We were waiting for him to notice, which didn’t happen until shortly before the end went under. He opened his mouth to yell again, but everyone was laughing so loudly, his mouth shut like a trap. We burst into spontaneous applause, which naturally spread to the other crafts’ denizens. He fired up the engine and plowed away, absolutely livid, back to his marina (or trailer), leaving our laughter and applause in his wake.
*His first mistake, of course, was taking out the boat that afternoon.
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Way better than my response, which would be:
“So, would you like a hand? Or would you rather wait around for some red-blooded, heterosexual, T***p-voting, Real 'Mericans to rescue you?”
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After watching the film Dead Calm, I’d have to keep them at a distance. 
If someone was struggling in the water, that would be the exception. My goal would be to keep them afloat until help arrived.
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One of my favorites in recent memory:
The guy took the boat out, it stalled, and they almost got swept over the falls. No flotation devices, at least one aboard couldn’t swim, a couple pets, too. The owner then bragged about how he “wasn’t scared” throughout the ordeal, because he’d been in the Navy. I remember thinking, WTAF?!? Didn’t they teach you basic boat safety? It’s one thing to keep your cool in the moment. It’s another to have put all your passengers in such danger in the first place, and that’s not something to be proud of.
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We don’t know the water temperature, their swimming ability (no lifejackets), or the extent of any injuries.
I’d pick them up, not out of any sympathy for them, but because I’d feel better about myself and, like so many things, it’s all about me. 
I’d certainly feel a tiny twinge of regret if they drowned when I could have saved them.
I believe Section 7 leaves it up to the judgment of the individual skipper.
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All boaters have had those days but yelling sucks.
That last bit of anchor rode is the “bitter end” for reasons. Actually one reason. That reason.
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What an asshole!
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I don’t think it will change their perception of the LGBTQ community. Look at it this way, if your boat was sinking and you were rescued by a group of people wearing MAGA hats and flying a Trump 2024 flag on their boat would it change your perception of Trump supporters?
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That would be worse.
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If I was saved by a group of MAGA-hat-wearing boaters I’d just been harassing and flipping off then I’d probably at least be less likely to act that way the next time I saw some boaters wearing MAGA hats.
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Probably not–but this is the kind of event that in some people can sometimes flip the switch. I think few people are truly irredeemable, but there are a lot of people who have to be hit in the face repeatedly with reality in order to learn a lesson.
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Okay. But while the catch is in the net, I’d use the opportunity to hone my grappling skills.
But is there any rule that says you have to render aid immediately? I mean, going in circles around them saying, “well, we’d pull you up on board, but then you’d be sharing a boat with those awful homosexuals…” a few times before “Oh, we’re not that bad when you need help? Ok. All Aboard!” seems excusable.
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