22 ft Skiff - 20kn - Egg Island

[clamshack]

There was a post recently on a Facebook group regarding a guy who almost hit snorkelers near Egg Island off Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The boaters position was that they were not clearly marking their activity with a dive flag or near a dinghy to mark their location.

The boater is right in my opinion, the snorkelers were negligent to some extent. However, I believe, at least in the Bahamas, the boat operator would be in a significant jam if someone had been killed.

What do you think? Egg Island, is a spot with quite a bit of activity. Does 20 knots in a vessel, with already limited visibility, seem like a recipe for trouble?

[rslifkin]

If he had no reason to believe there were non-visible hazards in the vicinity and it wasn't a crowded area at the time, then 20 kts was probably not unsafe. How far from shore or a boat were the snorkelers?

[clamshack]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

If he had no reason to believe there were non-visible hazards in the vicinity and it wasn't a crowded area at the time, then 20 kts was probably not unsafe. How far from shore or a boat were the snorkelers?

I don't think he had reason to believe the area was crowded at the time. I don't know how far from shore the snorkelers were.

It's an interesting event in my opinion. Who would be at fault if someone was hurt or killed? Of coarse a bunch of folks came to the table with FL laws or regulations, but this being the Bahamas, they are irrelevant.