Labor Day Weekend Boating - Will You Join the Fray?

Labor Day Weekend – Will You join the Thundering Herd of Labor Day Boaters this year?

Boaters are sure to flood Florida's waterways this Labor Day Holiday weekend, bringing the summer boating season to an unofficial end. Given the expected level of holiday boating activity, the Florida Marine Patrol “FWC” in conjunction with your local Sheriffs Office and the U.S. Coast Guard will stress the importance of boating safety this holiday weekend.

In 2006, only California (with 757) outpaced Florida (671) in the number of boating accidents. Yet Florida led the nation in fatalities with 69 -- as compared to only 47 in Texas and 44 in California. That's according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation's 2006 Boating Accident Statistical Report, released last month by the agency's Division of Law Enforcement, Boating and Waterways Section.

Holiday weekends often mean increased use of public waterways - and this invariably means an increased need for safety awareness from all boaters. As always, holiday weekends are when the less experienced boaters find their way out into our waterways.

With the crowded nature of the Labor Weekend on our local Florida waterways, will you be entering the fray with your boat? Leave your comment(s) below with your holiday weekend boating plans or stories from Labor Days gone by. We all can use a reminder from time to time of what not to do, both on and off the water.

As for this old boat captain, I will be spending the weekend at the beach!

Many accidents and fatalities can be avoided by reviewing and following safety tips over the course of the holiday weekend's festivities.

• There are no "driving lanes" on the water, so boat operators need to be educated on the "Rules of the Road" and be aware of all other boat traffic in the area.
• Wear your life jacket. Nine out of ten drowning victims did not.
• Don't drink and operate a boat. Half of all boating fatalities involve alcohol. The boat's movement, vibration, noise, sun, glare and wind often produce "boater's hypnosis," so alcohol can affect people much more rapidly on the water.
• Use navigation lights at ALL times on the water at night, whether the boat is moving or anchored. Do not wait until dark to turn your lights on to see if they are functioning properly.
• Don't overload your boat with people or equipment. Check the capacity plate on the boat that indicates the maximum weight capacity or the maximum number of people that the boat can safely carry.
• Minimum Age Requirements. Know Florida's age requirements for boat and PWC operation, and don't lend your PWC to anyone underage.
• Brush up on your boating safety knowledge. Take a boating safety course.
• Be aware of other boaters around you and be courteous.
• Follow the No-Wake Zone markers. Consider why they are posted and even if you are not in a no wake zone you are responsible for your wake. Slow down if you see a situation which will become dangerous if your wake is added to the mix. Look ahead to see if a group of people are boarding a boat at a dock alongside the waterway. Look for small fishing boats which could be capsized by a fast moving boat wake. Be aware!
• Most of all, know your limitations. Please do not operate any boat beyond your own personal capabilities. If you have never taken your boat 25 - 50 miles offshore, or if you have never run your boat in the intercoastal waterway on your own before... please do not choose Labor Day weekend, with your entire family aboard, to take that next step in your experience level.

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Use Your Offshore Powerboat - OFFSHORE!

Florida's Passes - Common use areas for all boaters be aware- be safe!

The video above is a stark reminder of the serious possibility of injury and worse when a boat is operated in an unsafe manner. This incident occurred when the boat was operated in an "organized" activity under the auspices of a "power boat club" in North Florida. In our view this was an extremely dangerous activity to be sponsored by any safety concious organization.

The club organized a high speed powerboat racing video session within a public waterway without any visible markers or controls to protect the unsuspecting and innocent non-powerboat club boaters who had every right to use the same pass. As you view the video consider the vessels which are not the subject of the filming.

There are numerous other boats in this video, both entering and departing the pass, and these boaters had no idea they were in a high danger zone where an "organized" boat club race or video event had been scheduled. The boat highlighted in the video, (and the subject of the story below describing the injuries which resulted) was operating at high speed within feet of other vessels.

As this video proves, even in a pass with seemingly calm weather conditions, a boat operated at high speed can not be certain of the course it may take if just one wave strikes in the wrong angle. The other boaters in this crowded pass were exposed to great danger by the decision of the members and administration of this boating club. Yet, as the story below seems to indicate, those same members saw no fault in the plan to hold this event even though one member is quoted as saying “it’s probably not a good idea to have an aerial photo shoot at one of the most dangerous passes in the world.”

The difference between this activity and a sanctioned and organized offshore powerboat association event is vast. How or why a powerboat club anywhere would organize an event such as the one described below, is unfathomable. The possible danger to the public and to it's own members does not seem to have been a concern.

These types of "accidents" are avoidable and even though the rules of the road were written long before 70+mph go-fast speeding cigarette style boats were common, they apply just as they did when devised. The responsibility level of the owner of one of these boats is greater than that of a regular power or sailing vessel.

When you take command of a vessel which moves at the speeds seen in this video, you must be more aware of your surroundings and conditions. Observations prove the opposite and in the view of this old boat captain, it seems the most inexperienced boat operators are the very same people who attracted to these kinds of boats as a initial purchase. Obviously not all go-fast boat operators are inexperienced and no one wishes to deny the rights of anyone who has the wherewithal to own one of these vessels. In my view, some type of qualifications must be considered. If not in the form of regulatory controls then in the area of personal responsibility.

If you own, or are considering the purchase of a powerboat, especially a powerboat with the power and speed shown in this video, please be sure that you have the experience to operate it in a safe manner. Consider more than your own safety and that of your passengers, be considerate of the other users of our nations waterways. And use your go-fast style boats where they were designed to be utilized.

Use your offshore powerboat, use it at high speed - OFFSHORE.

Navmaster - AKA Capt. Scott

DESTIN
— Jon Fiegel called it “a freak accident. ”His Sunsation power boat went airborne after hitting an “irregular wave set” at about 70 mph last week in a run on East Pass.

When it slammed back into the water, the impact punctured Fiegel’s eardrum, fractured his back and cracked a passenger’s pelvis in three places.“It’s power boating — no different than dirt biking or skydiving,” he said. “There’s risks.”

It was the second consecutive year a boat crashed at the Emerald Coast Foundation’s Boat Week celebration. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Lt. Mark Hollinhead said the two wrecks were nearly identical. So the recovering power boaters took their experience as an invitation to warn others.“The pass has changed so much over the years,” said Jon’s wife, Paige Fiegel, who was on the boat but suffered only bruises on her arms and legs. “I never realized it was that dangerous.“Sometimes you don’t hear about all the accidents that happen — until an accident happens to you.”

High-speed cigarette boats took turns skimming up and down near the pass Aug. 17
as a helicopter videotaped from above. After the wreck, Fiegel said he wanted to tell his power boat club that “it’s probably not a good idea to have an aerial photo shoot at one of the most dangerous passes in the world.”

Investigators used the video to determine the cause of the wreck instead of recreating the scene from scratch. Fiegel, of Niceville, was cited for violating a navigational rule: operating at an unsafe speed. But he said he would fight the charge because he was participating in an organized event, not boating recklessly on his own. Hollinhead said the speed was “certainly related to the accident” and that the boaters probably escaped more serious injuries simply because they were wearing thick, padded life jackets that absorbed some of the impact. Paige Fiegel said the group had just started wearing the snug-fitting jackets instead of a flimsier type vests that only inflate when they hit the water.

Freeport’s Lyvonnica Green, the passenger with the cracked pelvis, began a long
recovery from surgery Thursday at University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital. Paige Fiegel said she faces extensive therapy and must keep weight off her legs for three months.Green’s husband, John Green, who floated in and out of consciousness during the rescue, suffered bruised legs.“Thank God we did not die,” Paige Fiegel said. “And as bad as it was, maybe it can prevent someone else from having an accident in the future.”

“It’s just kind of a reminder that (the pass) is dangerous,” Jon Fiegel added.“Sometimes it just happens, and there’s nothing you can do.”

Andrew Gant for Northwest Florida Daily News
Saturday August 25th, 2007
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