"otnmbrd" wrote
BG ....and he should have been showing RAM lights....why?

If he was RAM and showing shapes/lights then it was the sailboat's fault for not giving way.
If he wasn't RAM it was his fault for not giving way. Sailboats have to keep clear of RAMs
but RAMs have to identify themselves so people know what they are. Towboats are motorboats
unless they're RAM so they have to keep clear of sailboats.
They said it happened off the coast near St. Augustine, FL. That means open water so they
can't claim narrow channels and all that shall not impede stuff. If it was in a channel they'd
have said it happened in the channel not off the coast. Duh.
If you ever sailed a little sailboat you'd know we spend most of our time looking for and
worrying about motorboats hitting us. Sailboats just don't go around hitting things. For one thing
it's hard to hit things. We go so slow. Even if you try to hit a motorboat it's not that easy to do.....
Be honest now. Don't you think the reporting made it sound like the sailboat was in the wrong?
How's about some fair and balanced once in a while. A man gets run down by a tow boat barge and
then gets treated like a criminal. He lost his boat and coulda lost his life. Where's the justice?

Cheers,
Ellen