21
the accident:
http://www.tbo.com/south-shore/boat-crashes-into-ruskin-restaurant-20150223/.
Don’t let this happen to you. If you have electronic navigation aids, use them…but remember
they’re no guarantee that there are unknown objects that you can’t see. Slow down and give
yourself time to make adjustments.
Sea Conditions
Know the seas you are operating in and slow your rate
of speed to stay in control at all times. Never operate
any boat during a small craft advisory…ever. If you
have an inshore boat, it is not intended for operation in
greater than 1’ seas or 3 kt winds, or more than 1.5
miles from shore. Obey
the maximum sea and
wind
limitations
described
at
the
beginning of this manual.
The
term
“sea
conditions' doesn’t refer only to open water. It covers the weather
and the location where the boat is operated, including in a
pass/inlet or along a beach. Some of the most difficult water to
navigate can be an inlet or pass due to the deep water, cross
winds and excessive waves. This is a link to a video showing just
how difficult it can be to operate a boat in those conditions:
https://www.google.com/search?q=google&ie=&oe=#q=inlet&tbm=vid
.
No
boat
is
intended for operation in the surf. This is a photo of a boat that capsized near shore because it
was operated in the surf. This is a link to alarming video of another boat doing the same thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjsnqh49KDc
.
Using Your Boat At Night
Nighttime operation is exceptionally dangerous. At
night it is IMPOSSIBLE to see hazards and your
depth perception is severely altered. Your boat is
intended for daytime recreational use only…NOT
nighttime operation of any kind. Numerous hazards,
such
as
unmarked
boats, aids to
navigation and
floating debris,
put you and your passengers at risk. To operate a boat
safely in the dark requires extensive training, sophisticated
equipment (e.g., chart plotters, radar, satellite navigation
and night vision cameras), a thorough knowledge of the
water being navigated, a slow rate of speed and multiple
persons serving as look outs. People die and are severely
injured in nighttime accidents. This article describes a
nighttime accident that led to the premature death of two
promising pitchers in the Cleveland Indians organization:
http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2013/03/a_look_back_indians_pitchers_k.html
. By law,
boats operating between sunset and sunrise must use navigation lights, so we equip your boat
with them….but we do not authorize or condone the operation of your boat at night. If you
