Offshoreonly.com

Offshoreonly.com (https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/)
-   General Boating Discussion (https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/general-boating-discussion-51/)
-   -   Boat Accident on the Rappahannock (Virginia)...1 dead, 9 injured (https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/general-boating-discussion/234270-boat-accident-rappahannock-virginia-1-dead-9-injured.html)

Apathetic 07-07-2010 11:36 PM

Boat Accident on the Rappahannock (Virginia)...1 dead, 9 injured
 
About 5-10 minutes from my house... :( This was very preventable. :(

http://www.rrecord.com/news1a.asp

Uncle Dave 07-07-2010 11:41 PM

Awful-terrible news -

Im trying to figure out how it happened.

my guess is that the passengers blocked the captains view directly ahead.
10 people on a 23ft bowrider is quite a group.


Uncle Dave

ar300johnson 07-08-2010 12:09 AM

Driving way too fast for conditions. If the captain had to drive at all, he should be running no faster than idle no wake speed. Senseless tragedy.

PhantomChaos 07-08-2010 12:10 AM

Bad accident......thourough report though!

Jpzaluski 07-08-2010 07:14 AM

I get ridden quite hard by the group I boat with for refusing to run after dark. Too me it's just senseless and far too dangerous. Here's a reminder.

J.B. Marshall 07-08-2010 07:50 AM

Agreed, another avoidable tragedy. So very sad.

I don't run often at night and certainly not far, it's so disorienting with so many lights around.

Uncle Dave 07-08-2010 01:14 PM

Night boating CAN be done safely, but it takes more than a good captain and local water knowledge- it takes technology.

Boating/ mostly swimming in the middle of the night at the lake is a huge part of what I like to do.

Nothing like jumping in the middle of an 80 degree lake on a 100 degree night in the full moon at Havasu.

That said- I spent HUGE money on a radar nav system to do this safely and I can "see" not only my relationship to the shoreline on either radar or nav, but more importantly objects at over three miles on horizon like a buoy or a small boat at night. (32 mile radar- range is limited by the height of the antenna and horizon curve more than power)

that said the speed I go is the slowest speed I can get the boat to plane at- any slower and its more dangerous imo.

Idling across a 10 mile gap is ridiculous with modern radar.

Now If I could keep people from hitting me......

Uncle Dave

apollard 07-08-2010 04:15 PM

Very sad. This is probably the worst I've heard of in a while. I'd be surprised if the driver wasn't impaired.

Seems like every year there is a bad night time accident around here (Charlotte). One year, a drunk hit the interstate head-on. Landed on top of a car. In addition to being drunk, he was watching a couple doing the deed on the deck.

Audiofn 07-08-2010 04:50 PM

When we were out for the fireworks the other night I could not beleive how many people were out with out stern lights or bow lights. I passed a guy on a dark blue kayak when it was almost dark. On the way home after the fireworks I came up on a guy with no stern light on.

It also amazed me how many people had their spot lights on the entire ride home. Don't they realize that KILLS your night vision.

Even with the best radar out there I would not go faster then I can see forward. I would use it more as a defensive tool at night/fog to avoid an oncoming vessle.

VtSteve 07-08-2010 07:25 PM

I boated for years at night, not so much now. Not only are my eyes about half of what they were way back when, but there are way too many idiots out there nowadays. I generally plane at 19 - 23 mph, stay there on the moonlit nights, slower when darker.

The people boating with no lights on should be jailed for 30 days. Scariest thing I've ever encountered.

Apathetic 07-11-2010 07:29 PM

For those interested...new story up with pic of the wrecked boat and the channel marker that he hit "dead on." Driver has admitted to consuming alcohol throughout the day. This is beyond sad. :(

God Bless the injured and the poor 25 year old that died in it.

http://www.rrecord.com/brk_news/brk_...accident-b.asp

maritaltension 07-11-2010 08:01 PM

very sad.....

ImaPoser 07-11-2010 08:38 PM

Wow. I can't believe there was only one killed.

Pete280 07-11-2010 09:37 PM

very sad, why would a blood test take several weeks?

BLee 07-12-2010 10:06 AM


Originally Posted by Apathetic (Post 3155894)
For those interested...new story up with pic of the wrecked boat and the channel marker that he hit "dead on." Driver has admitted to consuming alcohol throughout the day. This is beyond sad. :(

God Bless the injured and the poor 25 year old that died in it.

http://www.rrecord.com/brk_news/brk_...accident-b.asp

Damn, that's terrible.

I went to high school on the Rappahannock River back in the early 90's. I hadn't heard much about that river since then, and unfortunately now.

ChristChurch School is the name of my high school, if any of you that boat or live on the Rappahannock know of it?

Knot 4 Me 07-12-2010 10:13 AM

So sad. I have the 26' version of that boat. I cannot imagine having 10 people on my boat, let alone a 23. How more people were not killed is a miracle. Condolences to the family of the deceased.

ThruHull 07-12-2010 10:17 AM


Originally Posted by BLee (Post 3156201)
Damn, that's terrible.

I went to high school on the Rappahannock River back in the early 90's. I hadn't heard much about that river since then, and unfortunately now.

ChristChurch School is the name of my high school, if any of you that boat or live on the Rappahannock know of it?



Christchurch is one of the few private schools around our area. Nice place, I had a few friends that went there. Small world. :ernaehrung004:

BLee 07-12-2010 10:26 AM


Originally Posted by ThruHull (Post 3156213)
Christchurch is one of the few private schools around our area. Nice place, I had a few friends that went there. Small world. :ernaehrung004:

Haha, small world indeed. What were your friends' names by chance?

I only keep up with one person from those days, but I think about them ALL the time. I used to sit down on the beach area the school has on the Rappahannock, & think of ways I could sail one of the schools' sailing program boats all the way to South Florida in my escape :drink:

MANITIE 07-12-2010 10:38 AM

Another sad story....this boating season has already be a very bad year....we need to stop and think before doing something outside the norm when boating.....

and with passengers on board, you need to be extra carefull, there are a lot more distractions around you....

It is sad to see so many boaters not wearing life jackets...

It makes you wounder if it will be mandatory soon to wear them....

It won't save everyone...but the deaths would drop drasticly..

ThruHull 07-12-2010 10:41 AM


Originally Posted by BLee (Post 3156224)
Haha, small world indeed. What were your friends' names by chance?

I only keep up with one person from those days, but I think about them ALL the time. I used to sit down on the beach area the school has on the Rappahannock, & think of ways I could sail one of the schools' sailing program boats all the way to South Florida in my escape :drink:

Musky Garnett,Lewis Ball and Chris Ball are the first 3 that come to mind but I know there were more. Lewis and Musky would have been there in the early 90's, Chris would have been late 90's. You could have just sailed north up the Rapp to the all girls boarding school :drink:

BLee 07-12-2010 12:18 PM


Originally Posted by ThruHull (Post 3156238)
Musky Garnett,Lewis Ball and Chris Ball are the first 3 that come to mind but I know there were more. Lewis and Musky would have been there in the early 90's, Chris would have been late 90's. You could have just sailed north up the Rapp to the all girls boarding school :drink:


I knew Lewis! We stayed in the same dorm, & played on the same soccer & lacrosse team. Really small world! :drink:

There wasn't much to "see" at the all girls school up the way while I was there, so I would have headed south for SURE if I'd ever gone for it. :ernaehrung004:

Apathetic 07-12-2010 03:17 PM


Originally Posted by BLee (Post 3156201)
Damn, that's terrible.

I went to high school on the Rappahannock River back in the early 90's. I hadn't heard much about that river since then, and unfortunately now.

ChristChurch School is the name of my high school, if any of you that boat or live on the Rappahannock know of it?

Yes sir, I am very familiar of Christ Church, though I never attended. I'm also aware of the Catholic one in Tappahannock that I believe ThruHull is speaking of.

I worked as a waterman during my summers off of school during my high school years (mid to late 1980's) all around the Rappahannock and into the Bay.

It's a small world indeed!

Apathetic 07-12-2010 03:26 PM

Six of the nine injured have been released from the hospital, but the boy is still in critical condition. :(

http://www.rrecord.com/brk_news/brk_...accident-a.asp

Apathetic 08-20-2010 03:10 PM

I always hate it when a story isn't finished, lol, so for those that may be interested in the case the Fire Captain who was driving has been arrested and charged with 7 felonies and 2 misdemeanors and could face up to 52 years in prison. Here is the latest story:

http://www.rrecord.com/brk_news/brk_...t-accident.asp

Hope all is well with everybody at OSO and you all are keeping it safe! :)

vindicator101 05-04-2011 11:23 AM

Latest Update
 
Link to outcome of sentencing......
http://www.nbc12.com/story/14560309/...ating-accident

PhantomChaos 05-04-2011 11:29 AM


Originally Posted by vindicator101 (Post 3394391)
Link to outcome of sentencing......
http://www.nbc12.com/story/14560309/...ating-accident

Tough and sad situation. According to the dead girl's family.....this was an act of God? Good grief. Try blaming the driver and the alcohol.

http://wwbt.images.worldnow.com/images/449649_G.jpg

Catastrophe 05-04-2011 11:48 AM

I agree with the letter.
The parents are acting with the direction they think their poor daughter would want.

Has there been a quantification of how much the people had been drinking ??

Steve 1 05-04-2011 12:26 PM

http://www.nightboating.com/

Apathetic 05-04-2011 03:05 PM

I forgot to update this when our local paper (where this "accident" happened) posted the results.

http://www.rrecord.com/brk_news/brk_2-17-11_guilty.asp


Schmidt also told the court that Nixon and the adults on the boat had run up a bar bill of $388.08 while at Charlie’s Tiki Bar at Windmill Point from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the day of the crash.

Schmidt told the court Nixon’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was .14 when a blood sample was taken at a hospital about 4.5 hours after the crash, adding that the law considers someone intoxicated when they have a BAC of .08.

TOMMY HIWAVE 05-04-2011 07:19 PM

i agree with letter but may have been avoided

ItsPeanut 05-04-2011 08:33 PM

.14 4 hours after the accident. That means his bac may have been higher. To put that many people at risk is just stupid. 3 1/2 for a life. He got off easy.

vindicator101 05-06-2011 09:17 PM


Originally Posted by ItsPeanut (Post 3394933)
.14 4 hours after the accident. That means his bac may have been higher. To put that many people at risk is just stupid. 3 1/2 for a life. He got off easy.

I'ts my understanding that an expert testified in court that the BAC would actually have been lower than .14 at time of the accident due to the way the liver reacts after trauma to the body caused by the accident.

fasttoys7619 05-06-2011 09:44 PM

that is very ,very sad, yes there was alchohol involved that makes it worse, I am not sticking up for the captian but i must say some channel markers are hard to see especially if you dont have gps,radar or night vision, I once slightly glanced a marker pilion and almost hit another in Florida and i was sober !! and by the looks of that one in the picture who knows? was there a report on the marker light ? does it work ? maybe it was not funtioning and that reflecter marker is faceing one way , up here on the Chain o Lakes we have floating marker bouys some with flashers, 25% of them never work and i hit one and got the chain tangled in my prop, our night speed limit is 25 up here
Agian im not sticking up for the driver, i to once in awhile will consume , but every time theres a accident every one blames the captian that was drinking when there can be many other factors that can happen even with a sober captian


just my 2 cents

Apathetic 05-06-2011 10:13 PM

Article from the local newspaper where the accident came: http://www.rrecord.com/news3a.asp

As for fasttoys7619, I'm very familiar with the marker and find it hard that he could miss it, but in all fairness, I have worked the waters here as a waterman in my younger years and have boated here since the '70's...so I guess I should know it.

IMO, Night boating + alcohol + on plane is not very wise, especially if the person is unfamiliar with the area and the marker location(s).

Terribly sad for everyone involved.

vindicator101 05-07-2011 12:48 PM

The captain should have been very familiar with the water including the marker since he had a summer home there. It is strange that with all the people on board they all say they never saw the marker light. I realize that unless you're looking for them they're easy to miss at night but still. The only thing the Coast Guard could say on the record was the light was working when they got on the scene after the accident. Off the record they say that lighted markers in general do not always work properly and sometimes they have to bang on them to get them to come on. Not defending anyone either but if it wasn't on before hand a boat hitting it would sure give it a big jolt and cause it to come on.

VtSteve 05-07-2011 04:49 PM


Originally Posted by vindicator101 (Post 3396900)
I'ts my understanding that an expert testified in court that the BAC would actually have been lower than .14 at time of the accident due to the way the liver reacts after trauma to the body caused by the accident.

Paid experts are famous for using that one. .14 at the time of measurement, four hours later, is pretty darn high. One thing that's almost always been proven true, is that drinking while boating enhances the impacts of the alcohol.

But as many accidents like these as we have every single year, they always happen again and again. It only takes once, and many times, you don't get to say you're sorry.

PhantomChaos 05-07-2011 05:02 PM


Originally Posted by vindicator101 (Post 3396900)
I'ts my understanding that an expert testified in court that the BAC would actually have been lower than .14 at time of the accident due to the way the liver reacts after trauma to the body caused by the accident.

What a load of crap. What's this......the liver produces alcohol and puts it in the blood stream when reacting to trama to the body? :evilb::drink::drink: I see.......so if I fall down a bunch of times causing trama to my body then........what? :drink::drink:

Apathetic 05-07-2011 05:02 PM

vindicator, good point on him having his summer home down here (who doesn't?). As for the light working that night, I can't say, but I can say I was told it was working on Memorial Day. We do have a troublesome light, very occasionally, on Carters Creek channel entrance, but in general these lights around here (Rappahannock River and the creeks) are pretty good.

It was a very bad combination of alcohol and night driving on plane. It's very sad and it really hit home for me since this was the first time we've had a fatality so close to our home.

Best wishes to you all and please be safe. Take care.

vindicator101 05-07-2011 06:31 PM


Originally Posted by VtSteve (Post 3397271)
Paid experts are famous for using that one. .14 at the time of measurement, four hours later, is pretty darn high. One thing that's almost always been proven true, is that drinking while boating enhances the impacts of the alcohol.

But as many accidents like these as we have every single year, they always happen again and again. It only takes once, and many times, you don't get to say you're sorry.


Originally Posted by PhantomChaos (Post 3397279)
What a load of crap. What's this......the liver produces alcohol and puts it in the blood stream when reacting to trama to the body? :evilb::drink::drink: I see.......so if I fall down a bunch of times causing trama to my body then........what? :drink::drink:

It's the first time I've ever heard this about the liver haven't done any research on it so it may well be a lot of crap. I guess you can always find an expert some where to help your case with the right lawyer.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:52 PM.


Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.