A Nasty Collision

[RiverRat]

Originally Posted by Hillbillyfunk

The owner of the speed boat has no insurance on the thing and claims that it was his son operating the vessel without his permission...

Is the owner of that boat 70+ years old? The driver in this pictures looks to be 50+ years old.

Originally Posted by Microship

I wish people could win their Darwin Awards without hurting others in the process.

...and without reproducing...

[Arch Stanton]

Sometimes I think the CG is too attached to scripts and procedures to use their brains. Maybe the volunteer staff are just covering their butts?

I overheard this conversation last month. The fisherman was NOT following procedure, but the CG didn't help AT ALL, just followed a script. The only player that appeared to have a brain was the Port of Olympia.

Calling Port of Olympia. Calling Port of Olympia.

Port of Olympia here, over.

Port of Olympia, I am a fisherman taking on water, headed to Swantown Marina (the port's marina and shipyard) and need an emergency haul-out in about an hour.

Acknoweldged, we will staff the haul-out and be ready in an hour (it was a sunday)

FISHING VESSEL TAKING ON WATER THIS IS COAST GAURD SECTOR PUGET SOUND, WHAT IS YOUR POSITION, OVER

I am 1/4 mile S/E of Hope Island, heading to Swantown marina

FISHING VESSEL TAKING ON WATER THIS IS SECTOR PUGET SOUND, MAINTAIN YOUR POSITION WE ARE SENDING ASSISTANCE

I don't need assistance, my pumps are running and I will make it to Swantown with no problems, just need a haulout when I arrive. No assistance is required.

FISHING VESSEL TAKING ON WATER, SECTOR PUGET SOUND, WHAT IS YOUR POSITION OVER

I'm 1/4 SE of Hope Island

FISHING VESSEL TAKING ON WATER, SECTOR PUGET SOUND, WHAT IS YOUR GPS LOCATION OVER

No GPS aboard, I'm OK and do not need assistance, heading to Swantown for haul-out

FISHING VESSEL TAKING ON WATER MAINTAIN YOUR POSITION, WE ARE SENDING ASSISTANCE


It went back and forth like this for half an hour. The CG were receiving him fine and wouldn't listen to his words, only follow a procedure.

[Zednotzee]

Originally Posted by livinthedream

CG isnt wrong for what they did. they are trained to assess a life-threatening situation first...

IMO, a vessel being operated in such a manner as this constitutes an ongoing threat to public safety, & as such it should be completely within the Coast Guard's mandate to pursue & detain this person. After all, they are perfectly willing to board 8000 boats searching for PFDs & expired flares.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

It went back and forth like this for half an hour. The CG were receiving him fine and wouldn't listen to his words, only follow a procedure.

Unfortunately this is in the nature of bureaucracies. There are always going to be those who see their job as one of filling out forms, following rules, and adhering to the script. Those who will toss the script, respond to the situation, and make a real effort to help, put themselves at risk if anything goes wrong in the least little way. This is because, as we all know, in the aftermath of any problem there will be blaming and finger-pointing. Those who do NOT follow the script and fill out all the proper forms are easy to point fingers at and to blame.

Like it or not, this is an inescapable aspect of any and all government bureaucracies. The good news is that there are so many within these bureaucracies who are willing to put the script aside when it is obvious that the situation calls for it. The bad news, of course, is that there will always be many who will simply adhere to the script and follow the rules.

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by Unicorn Dreams

What good would it be for the USCG dispatcher to look out the portside window at the station

I suspect most of the time it is a failure to engage brain before turning on mouth, but we did hear one vessel assist call a few years ago that might explain the location question.

boater: I'm out of gas and need a tow.

VA: What is your current location and are you in any immediate danger ?

boater: I'm about 100' behind you, the blue boat with a white stripe.

VA: I am in Oklahoma sir, what is your position ?

boater: Well, uh ....

It may not have been Oklahoma but it was some similar land-locked location. I assume VA relays the calls and that the dispatcher wasn't just pulling the boater's leg ?



-Sven

[hellosailor]

"Unfortunately this is in the nature of bureaucracies. ...and adhering to the script."

Which means that sometimes, you actually can compel the impossible to happen, if you choose your words very carefully and lead the other party down a path that will have only one end.

[svHyLyte]

FWIW, in the area where this event occured, the Manatee County Sheriff has a very active Marine Patrol that frequently responds much more quickly than can the USCG even for SAR requests. The Tampa bay area is very large and the Coast Guard are frequently heavily burdened with demands. This is not to suggest that the incident did not warrent a quick response but sometimes hailing the Marine Patrol (in Florida) will get a much faster response than will hailing the CG.