Posts: 199
Location: Sandusky, OH | Having all the electronic navigation devices available doesn't always mean you are any safer if you don't know how to use them and aren't paying attention. We've been doing some night work on the lake the last couple weeks with a boat equiped with radar and chartplotter, and it's still amazing how things sneak up on you. We were coming in one night last week, and there were a bunch of lights on the Cedar Point breakwall. A little further down we met the Tow Boat US boat, and saw an ambulance running on shore. Seems like an hour and a half earlier, a charter captain in a 30' Fountain Sportfisherman with all the bells and whistles put in on the rocks. Was watching his gauges and not his navigation equipment. Nobody got killed, but most of the 8 people he had onboard were in the hospital. His clients were shooting footage for a fishing show; Roger Raglin from Oklahoma was onboard (I've never heard of him, but apparently he has a nice hunting and fishing show).
The only safe way to navigate at night on any water body is to first slow down!
Eric |
