Don't Drink and Dive!
Here is your warning. I am getting out my soapbox on this one; so, bear with me…
My tirade may seem like a no brainer, but why… Why does this continue to happen!
This past week we had another useless and preventable fatality. This latest event happened in my backyard, and literally minutes after I left the island to return home after bringing the caretakers some much needed provisions. I am so irritated that I didn’t stay a little while longer; perhaps my irritation of not staying is driven from ego or perhaps I am suffering from some Monday Morning Quarterbacking; that being said, I have been in similar situations with very different results.
Last Thursday at approximately 4:30 PM, a 50-foot yacht anchored just off the island’s beach. The yacht’s aft was facing towards the beach in clam waters using both a bow and stern anchor. This anchorage was a good choice given the beach elevation and contour. At low tide, there is about 3 to 5 feet of slight downward slope to a cliff-like drop off into 16-20 feet depth that extends 40 feet outward making this ideal for a boat this size. Anchoring in this location as opposed to anchoring away from the island and tendering passengers tells me the Captain was familiar with the island and associated water depths.
As the Captain backed in, he dropped anchors and secured the vessel. The music continued to play, and the passengers continued to dance; everyone was having a great time. Even a layperson on the beach could tell that the passengers were celebrating something; and, that they had been celebrating for hours. It didn’t take long for the passengers to disembarked; some exited via the aft swim deck and others jumped off the bow (front).
And that’s when it happened…
The birthday boy (about to turn 23) jumped off the pulpit straight into the water and never came up.
An hour and half later, a rescue swimmer found the body at the bottom; right where the victim jumped in. While there were many unfortunates that day, some of the unfortunates were the water’s extreme murkiness, the lack of direct sunlight, and the depth of the water when the victim jumped in.
In Florida, alcohol consumption is a generally accepted practice for those who enjoy a day out on the water. As a boat owner/operator or a charter Captain, you have a duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone that boards your boat. You know, there is credence and perhaps legality to the phrase “permission to come aboard.”
Now, let me stop here for a moment and talk about Captain’s liability on a charter. While I am not a lawyer, judge or jury, it is my understanding that the Captain would be liable or liable (in part) in cases where injury occurred as a result of operating and navigating the vessel, failure to provide passengers safety information and for making sure the vessel is not overloaded.
Captains! You have a duty to instruct your passengers on the responsibilities of consuming alcohol (and illegal substances) while on board. Every passenger safety briefing should have the drugs and alcohol speech. With every charter, I ask my passengers if they plan to consume alcohol while on the boat. 99% respond with “hell ya Cap!” I then find a way (typically through humor or anecdote) to learn how much they plan on consuming while on board and who are my “drinkers.” It is very important to know who your drinkers are. And “yes;” one could argue that you are not their significant other, mother or spouse. But in the court of public opinion and reputation you have a duty to know who you need to keep an eye on or provide information to someone that will. In fact, during my safety briefing, I always ask if there is anyone in the party that is planning on getting in the water. If anyone one says “yes;” heck, I don’t care if they all say no, I ask them about their swimming capabilities; and regardless of their answers, I instruct them that I have life jackets on board that they can use at any time for any reason. I sometimes add that it is better to be alive then to have their ego bruised or be fashionably compromised with wearing a PFD while they swim.
I had a recently had close call about a month and a half ago where passengers came aboard the yacht directly from a party bus; meaning, some of the passengers were already visually impaired. During the safety speech, I was obvious and direct about the dangers of swimming while drinking. I was asked by some in the group if they (the passengers) could jump off the boat. I told them “once the boat is anchored and secured, I will provide the depth and sea conditions to everyone. Only then, will anyone be allowed to jump off.
As we headed to our anchor destination, I had one of the passengers come to me several times asking if it was okay to jump off the front of the boat. Clearly, he didn’t remember my briefing nor the last couple times he asked me the same question. The point I am making… He was visibly drunk and not in any condition to retain important safety information.
As we made our final approach to anchor, I had my crewman remind the passengers to stay seated until we anchored and secured the boat. The crewman told the passengers that when we completed anchoring, the Captain would give them the water’s depth and informed them if it was safe to jump off the bow of boat.
Once anchoring and securing was complete, I notice the drunk passenger making his way to the starboard side railing. I left the bridge and grabbed a life jack and headed to the bow of the boat where the passenger was located. When I arrived, I asked for his and everyone else’s attention, I informed them of the water’s depth (10 feet), water’s temp and general sea conditions (slight wind and current); meaning, they should not allow themselves to get very far from the vessel without a life jacket or risk floating away. I also reminded all my weaker swimmers that I highly recommend wearing a life jacket given the sea conditions. I then turned towards my drunk passenger and told him to put on this life jacket. He said “No! I don’t need a life jacket…I know how to swim.” I reminded him that he had been drinking and if he wanted to jump in the water, he needed to have a vest on. He said “no!” This conversation was repeated at least three times and going nowhere.
Once I knew I was not going to get compliance, I turned towards the group and asked… “Hey, who’s responsible for this one!” A girl sitting close to me raised her hand and said, “I am; he’s my boyfriend.” I handed her the life jacket and told her. “Your boyfriend should be wearing this if he is going to get in the water! He has been drinking and as soon as he hits that water, he is going to struggle. He is not listening to me and I need you to convince him to put this on. Will you please do that for me.” In a slightly embarrassed tone, she apologized and told me she would take care of it. I then, in a raised voice told the crowd that if “he” or anyone jumps in the water, make sure you keep an eye on him as I was heading back to deploy some water toys for the group.
As I headed aft to assist my crew mate, I stopped at the bridge for a quick second to grab something. As I came from the bridge, I looked in the water and there was my drunk; floating in the water, wearing an unfastened life jacket, eyes closed, labored breathing, spread eagle, drifting towards the back of the boat. I walked back up to the front of the boat and the girlfriend told me that he didn’t listen to her either, jumped in, and within seconds he yelled for the lifejacket, which the girlfriend threw to him.
It could have been worse… It could have resulted in what happened a few days ago where the passenger went in and straight to the bottom.
The point I want to make to all boat operators and charter Captains is… Do not allow anyone drinking alcohol, tipsy or visibly drunk to jump off your boat or swim drunk or “swunk.” And do your due diligence and strengthen your safety briefings on the effects of alcohol and swimming; especially if your passengers plan to swim and brought booze on board.
So, who is liable? Well, that really depends. Potentially liability can fall to the boat owner, the bare boat charterer, the boat charter broker and the captain and or crew. Technically, swimming, jumping off the boat, drinking responsibly, PFD usage etc. are apart of boating safety operations, there is some liability that the captain "could" be held liable. That is why it is some important to have robust and documented safety briefings.
I am following a case filed in Pinellas County, Florida regarding a bare-boat charter where another instance of a passenger was jumping from a boat and the current and weather conditions swept the victim and a crew member who went in after him out to sea. Case Number 17-007026-CI in Pinellas County Court.
UPDATE 2022-12-13
A few months ago, I was checking go on the status of the court case and saw some court proceeding that didn't make since. After a little digging, I found a news article about the captain.
It seems that the Captain (back in 2019) was a flats boat fisherman and on the return of one of his fishing excursions, apparently hit head first into a navigational aid piling on his way back to his boat ramp. Unfortunately, the captain was killed almost instantly. His death, explain the unusual activity regarding the court case I was following.
UPDATE NUMBER 2
HOT OFF THE PRESS!
A verdict has been delivered!
Rather than me writing about it, let me give you the website that can provide you more details.
Regardless of the liability, as a responsible and safety-minded Captain, you should always over communicate the dangers of alcohol consumption and swimming/jumping off boats, someone’s life may just depend on it.
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