Sailboat Runs Over Divers

[bene505]

Originally Posted by Starbuck

The thread title "Sailboat Runs Over Divers" is a little sensational, IMHO.

+0.5

Regards,
Brad

[brak]

I was planning to dive that bridge in the near future. It's one of the better dives in the area. As far as I know, divers always go there at high tide just for this reason - but still, all the more reason to be extra careful.

Please mind those of us who are in the water without a hard shell around.

[S/V Antares]

- Ok ... the sailboat was not in the channel. 1st mistake & very strange.
- Ignoring the flags they drove through, second mistake

This is a good dive sight...NOT a channel. This was just a FOBAR and luckily no one was hurt. My question is where was the Dive boat? Blocking the channel causing the sailboat to go outside the channel?

[brak]

There is usually no dive boat there - it's a popular shore dive location.
Ignoring dive flags is not a mistake - it's a violation of a law.

As a sailor and a diver, I certainly hope that other sailors, even if not partial to diving, would watch out for dive flags. Just like as a sailor I'd like power boaters to watch out where they leave their wakes.

Water belongs to everyone - it's important to remember there are others out there enjoying it in different ways.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by S/V Antares

- Ok ... the sailboat was not in the channel. 1st mistake & very strange.
- Ignoring the flags they drove through, second mistake

This is a good dive sight...NOT a channel. This was just a FOBAR and luckily no one was hurt. My question is where was the Dive boat? Blocking the channel causing the sailboat to go outside the channel?

My thoughts exactly. It looks to me in the the beggining the video shows the dive boat IN the channel before it slowly moves on and the sanctimonious comments start from the dive crew. Would not surprise me if the sailboat saw the dive boat IN the center channel perhaps picking up other divers and so headed off to port to avoid it. I think there is more to this story than what is heard from the dive boat video or the TV report.

[Bash]

This is one more reason I've never been a proponent self-taught navigation according to the just-buy-a-boat-and-get-out-there school. The sailboat in the video actually hits one of the dive flags. What did he think they were, channel markers?

They look like this, folks. If you've never heard of one, at least take a boater's safety course.

[redcobra]

Originally Posted by S/V Antares

- Ok ... the sailboat was not in the channel. 1st mistake & very strange.
- Ignoring the flags they drove through, second mistake

This is a good dive sight...NOT a channel. This was just a FOBAR and luckily no one was hurt. My question is where was the Dive boat? Blocking the channel causing the sailboat to go outside the channel?

FOBAR? or do you mean FUBAR. What's a FOBAR?

[Dkdoyle]

I didn't see a boat or dive flag. They are darn lucky it was a slow sailboat. Once in awhile there is a bald old man swimming in the channel leading to the marina. Total idiot. I had a hard time spotting him and at first I mistook him for a crab pot or seabird. You have to wonder how he managed to live long enough to loose his hair.

[markpierce]

In California, the diver-down flag is not required by law and DOES NOT IN ITSELF RESTRICT USE OF THE WATER. Boaters are expected to exercise caution. Those flags shown in the video are tiny. See post #24.

The porpoise I sometimes see between the Richmond - San Rafael bridge and the Brother Islands notices me before I notice him, and it is able to keep a safe distance even at my top speed of 7.8 knots. A conscious diver should be able to avoid a boat going at about a knot or two as the divers in this instance did. I'm not saying a boater should drive over divers if it is possible to avoid them.

It bugs me that the crowd, diving experts, and newscasters seem to believe the divers "owned" (for their exclusive use) that area of the water. They do not, least not if this happened in California.

[markpierce]

I subsequently checked out Florida boating laws. There, divers must display the flag. Also:

"Boaters must make reasonable efforts to stay 300 feet away from divers-down flags in open water; 100 feet in rivers, inlets, or navigation channels.
Boaters approaching divers-down flags closer than 300 feet in open water and 100 feet in rivers, inlets, or navigation channels must proceed no faster than is necessary to maintain headway and steerageway (idle speed)."


Finding himself in the midst of divers, the sailboater appears to have followed the law.

[brak]

Originally Posted by markpierce

I subsequently checked out Florida boating laws. There, divers must display the flag. Also:
...
Finding himself in the midst of divers, the sailboater appears to have followed the law.

"Finding himself in the midst of divers" is the violation. He should not have "found himself" there. Those dive flags were on the surface all the time. It is a responsibility of a captain to post appropriate lookout.

Now, if these were not dive flags but multiple rocks sticking out of the water - do you think he'd be going through that opening?

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by Bash

This is one more reason I've never been a proponent self-taught navigation according to the just-buy-a-boat-and-get-out-there school. The sailboat in the video actually hits one of the dive flags. What did he think they were, channel markers?

They look like this, folks. If you've never heard of one, at least take a boater's safety course.

It can also look like this:

[Dulcesuenos]

After reading the posts I had to watch the video, my Wife having had a very close call in islamorada 3 weeks ago. The first thing I noticed is those dive flags looked like the tiny ones a "conveinience" shop would sell, and not the mandatory 20x24" flag required. I agree the capt should have had a lookout. I think maybe the capt saw their flags ( again they looked way under legal size) too late and if he had to have backed it up he would have prop walked right over them or into the bridge or both.
I watched and screamed and yelled as a boat drove over top of my wife in 13' of water on a full plane. She was less then 75' from our dive boat, with an oversized dive flag, she watched the prop go directly over her and would have been hit if ascending. Neither the CG nor the FWC cared. All the FWC cared about that week was busting lobster divers.
Another sportie for hire was trolling around us at near displ speed within the 300' mark. Then to top it off there was a charter Boat from Tavernier went by us with our divers in the water at at least 10-12 knots. The CG did not care either that I reported it.
They should have, The captain of that boat ran over a father and son client 2 days later putting them both in critical condition.
Thank goodness the divers werent hurt, they should however have had a lookout at the surface to intervene faster given the circumstances.

[David M]

Both sides seem to share blame in not doing a better job of avoiding each other.

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by markpierce

It bugs me that the crowd, diving experts, and newscasters seem to believe the divers "owned" (for their exclusive use) that area of the water. They do not, least not if this happened in California.

+1 here