Sailboat Runs over DiveFlags at BHB

[jimw]

Can anyone think of a reason why this sailboat driver went thru an area, that may give more mast clearance on the bridge; at high tide when there is reduced clearance? Makes no sense.

 

[imwright1985]

Can anyone think of a reason why this sailboat driver went thru an area, that may give more mast clearance on the bridge; at high tide when there is reduced clearance? Makes no sense.

That isnt a restricted area so they are allowed to use it, only problem is IF he is small enough to fit under the bridge in the channel then he didnt take action to avoid dive flags. IMHO if i had a boat that didnt easily fit under a bridge i would not navigate under that bridge and use jupiter inlet or store on the south side of the bridge

 

[mselenaous]

Looks like the Local News Station ran a store on this. Here is the thread in the A&I forum:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...florida-sailboat-nearly-runs-over-divers.html

 

[miketsp]

After watching the video I have little sympathy for the divers. They're blocking the channel and the sailboat came through at the minimum possible speed that allowed maintaining steerage.
Certainly not someone "rushing to hit the ocean" as stated above.

Did we watch the same video?

 

[DMDavid]

After watching the video I have little sympathy for the divers. They're blocking the channel and the sailboat came through at the minimum possible speed that allowed maintaining steerage.
Certainly not someone "rushing to hit the ocean" as stated above.

Did we watch the same video?

Apparently we did NOT watch the same video.
He did not use the center channel but rather he went through between the fishing pier and the center channel.
See image for a better idea of where he squeezed through.

FB>Florida Scuba Diver< ...0p

 

[danvolker]

After watching the video I have little sympathy for the divers. They're blocking the channel and the sailboat came through at the minimum possible speed that allowed maintaining steerage.
Certainly not someone "rushing to hit the ocean" as stated above.

Did we watch the same video?

I think your perspective is caused by your never having done a dive at the BHB. Virtually 99.9% of the divers at the BHB "believe" that the ONLY boat crossing is in the main channel, on the other side of the wall you saw in the video....virtually all divers were under the belief, that NO boating traffic was allowed in that area where the sailboat crossed. There are no signs to designate this as a sailboat crossing area, and their has never been any attempt by law enforcement, or by the boating lobbies, to educate divers about this possible scenario.
Much could be done to make the crossing safer for a large sailboat....so far, zero has been done or considered.


With all that said, there are a few conclusions I think it is quite safe to make from watching this video....

1. The captain of the sailboat feels as though his rights as a sailboater, are higher level or more important rights, than the rights of the divers in the channel...this could be translated to him believing his boat, and he himself, are better than divers..some say all people are created equal, the captain here believes he is MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.
2. The captain is clearly self indulgent, not interested in the wellfare of others, this indicated by his practically fouling his keel or props on dive flags. In fact, it appears all he cares about is not hitting the bridge, and not actually fouling his props on a dive flag line.Where the divers actually are, does not appear to concern him in the slightest.
3. This boat could easily have severely injured or killed a diver. Only luck prevented this.
4. The captain of the sailboat absolutely disregarded the warnings on the radio of the dive boat Deep Obsession, and they were in easy earshot as well. If anything, it appears there was a contempt for the divers, and for the diveboat, by the captain of the sailboat.
5. Any boat close to running over divers, SHOULD be turning off their motors. This would have endangered the safety of the sailboat, which may then have sustained hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, but the captain of such a vessel is supposed to be skilled at choosing safe passage ways, and avoiding seriously dangerous events like this one.
6. The sailboat "COULD" have waited on the north side of the bridge, and gotten the attention of divers in the channel, and then asked them to clear a path before entering it--if it was ESSENTIAl for him to cross then, AND through this channel. He did have a motor, and could have held a safe position for everyone, until the divers in his path were cleared....No attempt whatsoever appears to have been made in this regard. This is not civilized behavior, this is "elitist behavior".

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Dan:

Thought you were not going to stir the pot...This is like a bunch of hippies playing frisbee in the median of I-95 and then getting pissed when a car almost hits them when they venture out into the travel lanes.

From everything we know, the boater has a legal right to traverse that area and he did so at an extremely slow speed.

Your suggestion that the boater should be obligated to contact all the unseen divers who are submerged and then wait until they move before he continues on is

A more logical solution is for the divers to stay out of that area.

I would also challenge you to provide some documentation that supports your apparent arguement that the divers have more rights to the use of that area than the sailboater? THAT is the essential issue here.

Clearly it is unsafe for the two user groups to share that same space at the same time, so who has the legal right to use it?

 

[danvolker]

Actually DD, my intent was not to stir it more....the TV News story that ran last night, created a huge discussion and "emotional crisis" over this..if you read my posts here and on Facebook SINCE the news story came out, what I am trying to do is to put this in perspective....
If I am calling for anything, it is for divers to be aware that Sailboats CAN come through this area, and that we need some way to warn each other of an impending crossing in "our" channel, if the sailboat elects NOT to warn or wait for us.

I think it is worthwhile to "ask" that some signs go up, indicating to sailboat captains that divers and flags may be present in the East channel, and that they are "requested" to sound a boat horn through their hull. Meanwhile, there should be either signs or education of divers at the BHB, that sailboats can legally run through the East channel. Right now, they do not know this....and the TV News story will have them all cranked up for something to be done....
I am just trying to showcase what can be done, and what is likely to be possible. At the same time, I do believe the Captain of that sailboat needs to be seen as a person who acted in a manner of negligent care to those around him...This is a separate issue to juust having sailboats cross in the east channel.

I don't think it has to be unsafe for both user groups to share this....all we need is to address the issue, insteasd of pretending it does not exist.....
As to two user groups sharing a resource, with one creating a serious danger to the other, we have a LONG HISTORY of this in Florida
What do you call fishing at piers like the Lake Worth fishing pier, right at the beach.....I have video of blood and chum entering the water, not 15 feet from small children swimming and playing in waiste deep water....more over, the blood is far less dangerous in influencing shark behavior, than fish STRUGGLING on the end of a fishing line...of which there can be close to a hundred, on a nice day at the Lake Worth beach. Any shark in the area, exposed to the struggling fish vibrations, starts to get pretty excited..as you know...
So we have the children and adults swiming at the beach--one user group...and we have the fisherman at the pier and surf fishing--another user group which is obviously going to create major dangers to the swimming group.
Florida has determined that one group will not have more rights than the other group, even though the swimers pose no threat to the fisherman--they both are allowed equal rights here.

We are in greater jeopardy at the BHB though, because of the legal standing of a "Navigable Waterway" and laws about not interfering with operation of vessels within one....So we need a plan to make the 2 user groups more compatible....less dangerous to each other.
We dont need to interfere with the operation of a vessel, as long as some form of early warning occurs. Even boats are expected to "warn each other" of impending intersection of courses, and potential collisions....

 

[Straegen]

The sailboat was warned before he entered the channel, ignores flags that he has been made aware of, was moving toward surfaced divers, in a lane that isn't marked for boating traffic (and isn't obvious either) and in a fairly shallow crossing. I agree we as divers need to "dive defensively" but it isn't like this guy didn't know those divers were there or missed a small flag. He knew and kept coming... if an injury had occurred I wonder how it would have shaken out.

The scary part to me is the number of people who think running over a dive flag in an unmarked channel was justified... on a diving board. Maybe I should run over the next pedestrian I see not walking in a crossing because apparently we both have the right to be there. IMO in an unmarked channel, a boater has no more rights than a diver to the space and it is a first come first serve situation. I don't expect a boat to move if my dive flag comes within its vicinity and vice-versa.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

The sailboat was warned before he entered the channel, ignores flags that he has been made aware of, was moving toward surfaced divers, in a lane that isn't marked for boating traffic (and isn't obvious either) and in a fairly shallow crossing. I agree we as divers need to "dive defensively" but it isn't like this guy didn't know those divers were there or missed a small flag. He knew and kept coming... if an injury had occurred I wonder how it would have shaken out.

The scary part to me is the number of people who think running over a dive flag in an unmarked channel was justified... on a diving board. Maybe I should run over the next pedestrian I see not walking in a crossing because apparently we both have the right to be there. IMO in an unmarked channel, a boater has no more rights than a diver to the space and it is a first come first serve situation. I don't expect a boat to move if my dive flag comes within its vicinity and vice-versa.

First come first serve ???????.... The boater has the right to navigate that channel. divers are protected by a law that says the boat does NOT have to avoid them, they are only required to proceed at idle speed. Once again, ignorance of the applicable laws. hope nobody runs over your frisbee.....