A boating accident that killed 3 girls at a summer sailing camp in Biscayne Bay Florida brings to light the dangers of sailing in a busy channel, particularly on that day with light winds, reducing speed and maneuverability of the sailboat. It appears the 5 girls and a 19-year-old female instructor were in a main navigable channel with little ability to sail at any good rate of speed when they were struck by a tugboat pushing a construction barge. The barge ended on top of the sailboat, a Hobie Getaway (17’ long), with the girls attempting to jump and swim out of the way. 3 of the girls were struck and drowned resulting in their deaths. Very tragic. My thoughts and prayers are with their families. On the side note, all the girls were wearing life jackets.
I live near the Snake River where tugs pushing grain barges are a constant sight. The question has been asked why the tugboat skipper did not stop or avoid the collision. The non boater/land lubber this seems like good questions but for us experienced boaters/skippers its more complex.
Boating rules state that boats with limited draft and maneuverability have rights over boats that are more maneuverable. We all the boat with so called right away as the Stand On Vessel and the boat that does not have right away is Give Way Vessel. In reality both boats need to avoid a collision. And in reality, the small sailboat was the Give Way Vessel. It is likely the tugboat skipper never saw the sailboat due to all the gear and crane on the barge. Big mistake on the tugboat captains' part as you must have a look out on the front of the barge. The sailboat skipper could see the tugboat coming but seemed to not take evasive action well in advance of the accident. It is the skipper's responsibility to be aware of their surroundings and act accordingly to prevent an incident. Some would say the wind was light, which it was, and had no motor, which is correct. The best option would have been to not sail on light days in the channel when busy and to paddle and/or skull the boat out of the way of the tugboat. Channels should be avoided and only crossed when needed. Again, maneuver out of the way well in advance. With an added note, we sailors all know the wind can die without notice, so the sailboat could have had wind and then it died. From the report there is not a note about the wind but in imagens we can tell there is little wind. Also, on very windy days one would not want to capsize in a busy channel resulting in being ran over.
Some might ask what the tugboat captain could have had done. He should have had a lookout or some type of video camera in his cabin showing all in front of the barge. That was his main mistake that likely will cost him legally. What I do not know is if the skipper saw the sailboat but could not maneuver in time. Did he blow his horn, warning the sailboat skipper that might have not been paying attention, or assume the tugboat could maneuver around them (not a correct assumption).
The reality is that the sailboat skipper made a fatal mistake, she was in the wrong and did not take action early enough to avoid getting hit. The tugboat captain had few options due to being restricted to the channel by draft and maneuverability. However, his lack of a lookout is a big problem and breaks a big navigation rule. His main option would have been to slow down at least or put the motors in reverse (if conditions allowed); there really was not much he could do once near the sailboat.
I am not trying to put all the fault on the young female skipper as we all make mistakes but sadly, in this incident, obviously it was a fatal mistake.
My other thought is that this was part of the Maimi Yacht Club sailing program in a busy boat traffic area. Why was there not a support boat looking out for the campers/sailors. And if they had a support boat, why were they not watching sailors in this busy channel. A support boat could have easily moved the sailboat out of the way, out of the channel.
So where is the blame, really it's on all parties… Tugboat captain did not have a lookout and was not blowing his horn, the young skipper did not act soon enough (getting out of the way); And the yacht club did not have proper on the water support. In the end it’s an epic tragedy that could have been avoided, one we all can learn from.
See VIDEO at this link...
https://youtu.be/Ax4x-RZ6aaI?si=g9gKqc6NUw7hjdOm
https://youtu.be/pzfVRdxY5i4?si=E1P6n874g0lGG1LS
This is a continuing investigation
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