It appears the company will only get a FINE of up to $100 for not having the required number of crew members on board (2 )
Civil suits should make sure they dont operate again ......
http//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051004/ap_on_re_us/boat_overturned
What about the wake from the passing boat that upset this one. Surely it must have been going too fast to cause this.? ???
With passenger numbers calculated by weight and the figure used by Coast Guard set at 150 pounds per passenger, I would imagine a lot of passengers weigh far more than this.
The figures need revising with Americans clearly getting larger, as passengers weight shifting to one side after a wave knocked the boat probably contributed a great deal towards capsizing this boat.
I don't think having an extra staff member on board would have made the slightest bit of difference.
Even in the 21st century, accidents still happen. No doubt the people who start up the lawsuits in relation to this will conveniently forget this.
I don't buy the idea that it was the bow wave of another boat. Any boat shoould be able to handle the wash of another boat.
I don't buy the idea that it was the bow wave of another boat. Any boat shoould be able to handle the wash of another boat.
Not necessarily.
If a boat comes by you, too fast and the bow wave hits you side on (maybe you are getting out of the way of the other boat and present your broadside?), it can rock your boat hard to one side. If all the passengers then get tossed to that side from the rocking this creates, your boat could then tip past the point of return and capsize, especially if it is high-sided and not designed for much more than tootling around a lake slowly.
I suppose it might depend on the definition of "any boat" but most river authorities issue warnings and post signs on rivers/lakes to take boats out of gear and then put them back in slowly so that they do not create wash - this is to protect the environment but is also listed to prevent other craft from being swamped.
I have not kept up on this story but do know how a wash from one boat can have a serious effect on another... what I do not understand is how so many people died. Were most of the passengers old or children?
In general, I was thinking that anything big enough would probably not be fast enough. The boat they were accusing is a big old passenger boat that went into service in 1908 or there abouts.
Mostly old people on a tour I think - I saw reports saying some boarded with walking frames so probably were not able to stay afloat for long with no life jackets on.
Londonsquare - I went online and found pictures of that boat and agree that it does not look the safest boat I ever saw. I suppose it just took a bunch of coincidences to send 27 years of safety for the company down the pan.