http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...,4847626.story

prob up on plane running at 11.30 at night

Lots of good reasons not to boat at night.

This kind of thing happens when the captain/ operator does not know or have experence about operating in commercial waters. The large vessels and barges cannot react to a small boat. The report does not tell us if this was a high powered craft, but I suspect it was not and was just a weekend boater or fisherman trying to get home with his buddies after getting stuck with mechanical or sandbar problems and was unlucky. He did not have a clue as to what the Tug captain was trying to warn him about. You just gotta be careful at all times and understand whats going on arround you at all the time!

According to the NY Post. The barge was being towed 800 feet behind the tug. That's an awful lot of room. Just about 3 football fields. It also stated that it was the first time these guys went out at night. What a shame. It was a 24 foot baja fishing boat according to the post. It showed a photo of the boat.

The boat apparently ignored the tug's warning blasts from its horn and its light shining on the cable,

sad situation

"The boat apparently ignored the tug's warning blasts from its horn and its light shining on the cable, which was more than 1,500 feet long, a U.S. Coast Guard official said Sunday."

That be 5 football fields

I've seen that type of towing in the daytime. I could barely see the cable!! Surprized there are not more incidents.

Why would they have 1500 feet of cable out towing a barge? Around here they push the barges not drag them down the river a 1/4 mile back.

I was thinking the same thing.

At night - nobody could see that - even if somebody shined a light from say 3 football fields away. And at speed - anybody think their going to hear a horn - forget about it. I couldn't even hear the sirens last time I got pulled over on a boat, and he was less about 100 yards away.