Received an image from CTDave yesterday, along with this text from his Blackberry... This morning, The Treasure Coast News published this info:
Hi, Not a good weekend and not just in Fl. Got a message from a close friend this morning that his usual dive trip to Egypt wasn't as good as previous outings 12 went out and only 10 came back.
An awful reminder of how things can go wrong so suddenly. A simple "see ya later honey, were going fishing for a couple of hours" & then tragedy strikes. We all can become complacent with our every day hobbies & professions. Be careful out there folks............
I think this needs to be noted in bold The men were not wearing life jackets. How many times have we seen that. Almost regardless of vessel size I always don a PFD when breaking out an inlet. Once you're in it it's too late. On small boats like that an inflatable PFD is no inconvenience. Ladies these make great birthday presents that say 'I want to celebrate more birthdays with you'. My sincere sympathies to the family.
I also would like to pay my condolences to the family of the deceased. In my area, the inlets can get really treacherous, Moriches inlet and Shinnecock inlet in NY. I never wear a life vest, but after reading this and in general reading threads on this forum, I'm going to start doning a vest and everyone on my boat when in possible dangerous waters.
Moriches inlet claims upwards of 4 boats each year. It's not too bad going out because you can see the wave face. On the way back in you can't see what you're getting into until you're in it and you've got moving shoals east, center/east and west. Glad to hear you're going to use those PFDs. Everybody should be aware that it's near impossible to get a PFD on once you're in the water.
+1 to what NYCap said. Once you're in the water it's too late. A recent study by the USCG disclosed that almost 75% of the people who died in boating accidents had never taken a boating safety course. I wonder about these two. Sad situation but it repeats itself every day.
Inlets can be treacherous, that's for sure, I recall how bad Boynton inlet used to be before they extended and remade the jetty to cover the mouth of the inlet. I don't think they came any worse than that.
My condolences to the family and friends. It was blowing 25kts S.E. with 4-6' seas (reported). I can tell you that we were at the beach & there were easy 4-6's with some monstors breaking on the outer reef. It's a nasty inlet & that day it was almost constantly covered in breakers. I don't know if they tried to get out & decided to turn around or if something happened & they drifted toward it. I've watched many, many boats go out here & decide it's too rough & get slammed trying to turn around There have been many accidents. As we all know, you have to commit. Once clear and away from the inlet, then turn back if you choose. Now that I said that, why even go out if there is a question?
I've got to agree with this. I've yet to run my "unsinkable" Boston Whaler without a PFD on. When things go wrong, they do so in a hurry. All that much more so in a small boat.
I agree 100% with wearing a PFD but listening to and heeding the marine forecast is the first step. Sometimes they are wrong but it was blowing pretty hard the last few days. My condolences to the families as well.