"Richard Casady" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:27:45 -0700, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

There was a boating "accident" this evening. 2 dead, 2 missing and 6 made
it to shore in the river near Tracy, CA. 10 people in a 14' aluminum
skiff.
No life jackets, alcohol may be involved. Sad. They were all from
Guatemala, and lived in Oakland. Some were relatives. The paper referred
to the driver as the "Capt." Clueless. The driver is in jail on
manslaughter charges and $400k bail. Hard to put the blame on him in my
estimation. They were all adults and should have some responsibility for
their own wellbeing.

Even those totally inexperienced in things nautical should have known
that ten in a 14 ft boat is far too many. There can't have been much
freeboard. I mean things would surely look bogus to anyone. However,
the skipper is responsable always, and no court is going to overturn
that one.

Casady

True. I used to have a 14' Valco and it had a capacity of about 440#. Even
if the average for the 10 was 140#, I do not see how the boat floated with
1400# in it.