Key West Safety Concerns; First Hand...
11-22-2011, 09:15 PM
#52
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I was there, I traveled with the team, and worked for Bob on and off for 22 years, I did not see his helmet, I do however recall when I purchased my first offshore helmets they were designed to seaperate as mentioned above, so in the event of a stuff it would not " bucket" and seaperate the head/brain from the vertebrea in the the event of a forward stuff, and in this case the force of the water acted in the same manner. I did however see JT's helmet and it showed no significant damage. I also have been hearing rumors of stuck throttles and malfunctioning equipment. The drives were straight and trimmed at a nuetral setting, all four throttles and linkage assemblies worked properly after the accident. I have also heard rumors of Bob having a stroke or heart attack prior to the accident, I have a close up photo that shows both men inside the cockpit and the speedo on the dash ( so yes its close, and no I could not read the speed ) both were upright and concious when they passed me, which was about 1000 feet prior to the accident. I was in the pits and crane area immediatly and the rumors were from one end of the spectrum to the other, the emotional roller coaster was crazy, in the end I spoke with someone from the hospital, she told me neither man suffered, and that is good enough for me.
Last edited by lotopa.com; 11-22-2011 at 09:19 PM. Reason: typo's
11-22-2011, 10:18 PM
#53
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Sorry all ... I guess I misunderstood the thread starters intentions. I didn't get that he wanted to vent, I thought he actually wanted something to happen. Talking to somebody at SBI didnt mean he talked to the right person at SBI. Just tryin to help steer him to somebody there to talk to that would listen and hear his concerns. Been there, done that.
I agree with Ted whole heartedly. We can talk about this all day long but until SOMEBODY actually DOES something, nothing is going to change... and who is qualified, who has the ability, and who wants a change bad enough to stand up and make it happen.
As I said before, God bless you Penaltybox. I hope you find closure.
I agree with Ted whole heartedly. We can talk about this all day long but until SOMEBODY actually DOES something, nothing is going to change... and who is qualified, who has the ability, and who wants a change bad enough to stand up and make it happen.
As I said before, God bless you Penaltybox. I hope you find closure.
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11-23-2011, 01:04 AM
#54
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As much as I respect Pat D for what she does and like Dawn, I have to disagree with both your comments. SBI cannot be allowed to "investigate" this themselves and the Coast Guard is really not qualified to know what they are investigating. During one of our races we had a horrendous crash that thankfully did not result in a fatality (at the same time another boat was over on the opposite side of the course). The follow up investigation from the CG was several phone calls but very little else. No one even inspected the boat. Since these accidents resulted in deaths I'm sure more investigation will be done but they haven't even locked down the boats so how much could really be done? There are so many things that are "supposed" to be taken care of during tech inspection that may have contributed to at least one of the deaths and maybe all of them. Who is going to go over the boats and find out if they were teched? Who is going to check the safety systems like the escape hatches, air system, and helmets? (The BTM helmets were not the only ones that SBI was interested in.) After that who is going to compare the number of safety, medical, and patrol boats against other comparable sites? Who is going to look into the qualifications of the safety people on the water? Who will assess race com procedures, volunteer operations, helicopter ops, and even the communication between the various law enforcement, safety, and USCG personnel? There are so many questions and someone without a huge financial interest should be looking for the answers. Unless the racers consider themselves expendable then they should want these questions answered also.
11-23-2011, 01:16 AM
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Sorry all ... I guess I misunderstood the thread starters intentions. I didn't get that he wanted to vent, I thought he actually wanted something to happen. Talking to somebody at SBI didnt mean he talked to the right person at SBI. Just tryin to help steer him to somebody there to talk to that would listen and hear his concerns. Been there, done that.
I agree with Ted whole heartedly. We can talk about this all day long but until SOMEBODY actually DOES something, nothing is going to change... and who is qualified, who has the ability, and who wants a change bad enough to stand up and make it happen.
As I said before, God bless you Penaltybox. I hope you find closure.
I agree with Ted whole heartedly. We can talk about this all day long but until SOMEBODY actually DOES something, nothing is going to change... and who is qualified, who has the ability, and who wants a change bad enough to stand up and make it happen.
As I said before, God bless you Penaltybox. I hope you find closure.
Happy Thanksgiving to you! It will suck for those three families.
11-23-2011, 08:10 AM
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Wow.....you just don't get it do you. This is a discussion. Bring up points, discuss and compare facts, suggest improvements........enough guys died the other week. Talk to the right person at SBI? He was part of the rescue team!!!!! If there is no communication path to listen to simple suggestions from a rescue team member (especially after the tragedy), there are bigger problems than what already stinks about this whole situation. When should we start discussing problems and ways to improve things? After 1 more death, 2 more, 5 more deaths?
Happy Thanksgiving to you! It will suck for those three families.
Happy Thanksgiving to you! It will suck for those three families.
11-23-2011, 08:50 AM
#57
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Wow.....you just don't get it do you. This is a discussion. Bring up points, discuss and compare facts, suggest improvements........enough guys died the other week. Talk to the right person at SBI? He was part of the rescue team!!!!! If there is no communication path to listen to simple suggestions from a rescue team member (especially after the tragedy), there are bigger problems than what already stinks about this whole situation. When should we start discussing problems and ways to improve things? After 1 more death, 2 more, 5 more deaths?
Happy Thanksgiving to you! It will suck for those three families.
Happy Thanksgiving to you! It will suck for those three families.
on the lady
11-23-2011, 09:19 AM
#58
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I get the need for conversation and dont discount it at all but I also get that the power of OSO comes from its members DOING. As Ive stated several times now, I just wanted to help the thread starter get some closure by hooking him up with the same people that helped me. Thats all. Action. This guy. This situation.
Ill leave you guys to the conversation ..... Happy Thanksgiving to all.
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11-23-2011, 09:30 AM
#59
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Scotty, Thank You to you and everyone that always help out, you all have no idea how much we love to see you guy's out there protecting us while we race, (Well when I did raced) But THANK YOU ALL for being there! Augie
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P4-13 Team THE JERSEY BOYZ OFFSHORE POWERBOAT RACING, OPA/ SBI/APBA/UIM. PRESIDENT: THE JERSEY BOYZ , VICE-PRESIDENT: OPA RACING, THE GREAT SOUTH BAY RACING ASSOCIATION. WAZZUP RACING ENGINES
P4-13 Team THE JERSEY BOYZ OFFSHORE POWERBOAT RACING, OPA/ SBI/APBA/UIM. PRESIDENT: THE JERSEY BOYZ , VICE-PRESIDENT: OPA RACING, THE GREAT SOUTH BAY RACING ASSOCIATION. WAZZUP RACING ENGINES
11-23-2011, 09:50 AM
#60
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It's my understanding the only agency in the State of Florida with authority under Florida Statutes to investigate boat accidents is
http://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/le/
http://myfwc.com/about/inside-fwc/le/
