Palm Beach diver loses arm as group hit by boat - Florida

[johndiver999]

Even if FWC found no evidence of alcohol consumption on the boat, they should have given the operator a test.

If you think about it, mental impairment might be the only "reasonable" explanation for the degree of recklessness which is exhibited by operation of the vessel in that manner. Driving through all those people on a kayak, paddle board and flag when the weather conditions were clear and relatively calm - is really beyond belief.

The paddleboard and kayak would be clearly visible under the weather conditions that day. The operator was apparently intent on "buzzing" them at high speed and must have missed seeing the little dive flag. Perhaps he was distracted by the other watercraft?

To repeat, the skies were clear and the ocean was relatively calm or there would not have been paddleboard, kayak and snorkelers present. There was very little wind during the incident; a fresh north breeze did not start up until hours later. Visibility was PERFECT.

I get more and more disgusted about the arrogance of the operator as additional details come out.

This is not a normal "accident".

 

[CuzzA]

Let's hope. But with that much money -- and probably connections -- the perp may get off with a slap on the wrist. Don Jr sort of thing.

No, like past incidents this will be settled without going to a Civil trial and thankfully for Carter, the person responsible has the means to relieve the lifelong financial burden he will have to deal with. Like I said earlier, that is the only silver lining, for if the person responsible had no money or assets there's little that can be done. You can get a judgment all you want but if there's nothing to seize it is meaningless.

 

[CuzzA]

Even if FWC found no evidence of alcohol consumption on the boat, they should have given the operator a test.

If you think about it, mental impairment might be the only "reasonable" explanation for the degree of recklessness which is exhibited by operation of the vessel in that manner. Driving through all those people on a kayak, paddle board and flag when the weather conditions were clear and relatively calm - is really beyond belief.

The paddleboard and kayak would be clearly visible under the weather conditions that day. The operator was apparently intent on "buzzing" them at high speed and must have missed seeing the little dive flag. Perhaps he was distracted by the other watercraft?

To repeat, the skies were clear and the ocean was relatively calm or there would not have been paddleboard, kayak and snorkelers present. There was very little wind during the incident; a fresh north breeze did not start up until hours later. Visibility was PERFECT.

I get more and more disgusted about the arrogance of the operator as additional details come out.

This is not a normal "accident".

Off Dunedin causeway here there's an extremely popular kayak launch area which of course is right smack next to the channel less than 100 ft. heading through Hurricane Pass out to the Gulf. I try to maintain a reasonable speed on plane to keep the wake down, but most hot shots blow through there sometimes as if to make a point the kayakers need to get out of their way. Of course that is against the rules of the road. My point is don't underestimate this as being nothing more than look at me, I'm a hot shot, I'll show that kayak what a real boat is, not realizing he was driving right into a dive site.

Or he could have been impaired. Which I doubt because I'm confident they would have tested him and he would have been charged. Of course that doesn't mean pops wasn't impaired driving the boat and his son wasn't and his son is taking the fall. All speculation of course.

 

[chillyinCanada]

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[KathyV]

Carter's Father did the journal entry today and the news is positive!

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/carterviss/journal

December 6, 2019

This is Chuck, Carter's dad. It's my turn to take a crack at this…

…Carter mostly rested on Thursday. He had surgery Wednesday night into Thursday morning on his left wrist and left leg. Dr A said that "someone must have been watching out for him" as the cut on his left wrist barely (think "millimeter") missed a central nerve. Both limbs were repaired and Dr A was extremely pleased and we are ever so hopeful that full functionality will be restored to his left extremities….

 

[Kinasi]

Diver loses an arm in accident with boat off Palm Beach

Ouch. Could not imagine this happening.

Seems your link isn't working.

 

[Catito]

Found this. Diver who lost arm in boat accident ID'd

I think some information is still missing. According to this, the boat captain did see the dive flags and slowed down. It doesn't say how far the guy was from the flag, but really I don't know why the boat still continued in the area of the flags, nor do I know what the distance legally should be.

I am from the area. Local news says driver was going so fast that the hull was up and out of the water. The witness, on the paddle board, near the victim, said that they were in 12ft of water and the boat came between her and the shore. The victim tried to get out of the way but could not. Witness said flag rope was wrapped around the propeller. Driver = Palm Beacher (30yrs old) with alcohol on board. Ridiculous! Victim is in bad shape.

 

[dmaziuk]

After diver hit by boat, some say cheap warning flags not enough in busy ocean

OT: i so the "busy ocean" part of that salespitch. Yeah, the 50 metres from shore where all the childrun are, they're who need really big flags.

 

[scubadada]

OT: i so the "busy ocean" part of that salespitch. Yeah, the 50 metres from shore where all the childrun are, they're who need really big flags.

No just the standard flags, respected by the boaters.

 

[PBcatfish]

Wow Multi-millionaire driving his boat at high speed right along the beach and inshore of the reefs and buoys. Surely he had to know that snorkelers frequent those popular reefs, but he chose to drove a boat with apparent total disregard for those people.

Do we know if FWC even tested the operator for alcohol??

The following seems to indicate absolute total disregard for safety. Surely he should have been able to see a paddle board and a two person kayak if operating the vessel with any diligence. It was a bright clear sunny day.

A slightly larger dive flag would have been disregarded as well.

Christine Raininger, who was with Viss, also had her paddle board with her that day. She said she was in the water, but had come up to the surface and was talking when Talley Girl sped between her and the beach. She said they were in about 12 feet of water.

“He passed by me with my paddle board and dive flag and a two-person kayak,” said Raininger, who said she screamed at the boat. “Then he struck the dive flag of the victim. The dive flag was literally tied up in the propeller when he came in to shore.”

I'm on the water in that area a lot. I don't recall seeing a Yellowfin named Talley Girl. Since the owner lives on PB Island, I am going to need to assume that the boat is also local. Therefore it would seem logical to conclude that the boat has probably not been used much & perhaps the driver may not be particularly experienced. Since this happened on a holiday, it would seem likely that we are dealing with a "weekend worrier" type boater. I would be curious to know if the boat was recently purchased.

While it is common practice to run near shore when running south in that area, to avoid the head current, 12' deep can be very close to shore. It can also be 0.2nm from the beach in that area. The sand bars make it vary a little. 12' deep in that area is not somewhere that I would expect to see a lot of boats on plane, although I do see a few.

Just south of that location, is a group of public mooring balls that sit near patch reefs in front of The Breakers. People do sometimes run down to the moorings on plane to tie up & then dive/fish/swim/drink/sun-tan/etc.

I do not normally see a lot of swimmers entering the water from the beaches north of The Breakers. That water is usually pretty much empty.

I am not aware of the presence of swimming markers off the beach in the area of the incident, although I have not specifically looked for them. I normally don't go in shallower than 30' when boating in that area.