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Short Wave Sportfishing

On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:02:22 -0000,
wrote:

On Aug 1, 10:24 am, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:54:16 -0000,
wrote:

On Aug 1, 9:38 am, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:

True, but the Captain is still a dumbass and shouldn't be bragging
about his clearly inferior "rescue" skill.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Is the captain required to file any kind of incident reprot with the
athourities?

Yes - it was an overboard and the appropriate MAYDAY/Overboard
broadcast call should have been made with course and bearing - in
particular because he did not know the overboard situation existed
until well after the incident occured. At that point, he should have
initiated his rescue turn (pick the technique - Williamson, Anderson,
Scharnow or Quick although Quick in this instance wouldn't be the
best) and begun the search.

Once the incident was closed, it would have been investigated by the
appropriate maritime agency.

So, assuming they did not report this, have they broken any laws?
Could there be criminal charges or just citations and such?

Good question.

There was an emergency - MOB is a bonefide emergency and all
emergencies should be declared.

However, unless the MOB himself doesn't make an issue out of it, then
probably not.

To further complicate the issue, when the MOB situation was
discovered, it clearly took place long before anybody noticed. Which
means that if the Captain didn't report it when he discovered it and
the MOB drowned or they couldn't find him, his ass was grass legally.
It was anyway, but it really would have been bad.

So in this case, and in answer to your question, no - unless the MOB
wished to make an issue out of it.

It was bad seamanship all the way around.

I had something happen to me a few years ago that kind of proves the
point. I was fishing with a Charter Captain in the St. Lawrence
Seaway when I slipped on a soft spot on his deck and went ass over tea
kettle into the St. Lawrence right above Alexandria Bay near the
Canadian side of the Seaway. I couldn't get into the boat because the
Captain's equipment was inadequate - the ancient boarding ladder he
had broke apart when he got it out in an attempt to get me aboard. He
was reluctant to call the USCG and wanted to tow me to shallow area in
the Seaway to get me onboard even though there were CG patrol boats in
the immediate area.

He finally had to make the call, but he only did it when he realised
that hypothermia was setting in and the situation was getting out of
control.

So you never know.