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Comment by bburrito | Hacker News Reader

And just like when the same thing that happened off of San Diego and killed a few people... nothing will happen to the negligent crew of the yacht. Fuck the environment!

At least nobody died this time.

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It's actually kind of insane how negligent super-yacht crews are. I've had a number of close calls sailing in the summer around the Hudson / in the ocean right outside of Manhattan. Many crews also have no clue how to handle currents or operate a vessel in close proximity.

Never had issues with huge tankers, police boats etc - but I can count a handful of times super yacht (a boat longer than 40m) captains have been drunk, high or just absent when a vessel is in motion.

Asking as a non-boater: does the Coast Guard take seriously allegations of such seamanship?

Basically I'm curious if sea captains are held to similar standards as airplane pilots, or if poor boat piloting is only penalized when actual mishaps occur.

They take drinking really seriously, it's way easier to get a DUI on a boat than a car.

Most of my experience has been in the Boston Harbor, which depending on who you talk to is more dangerous than the hudson, but in my experience most of what they dislike on the hudson is erratic lateral movement. Basically, you're not supposed to meander or transit laterally unless you're a sailboat or a ferry. Police boats / coast guard will approach vessels quickly if it looks like they aren't aware of these rules.

That said, maritime rules are pretty vague. Basically, boats going one direction stay to the right, the opposing direction stays to the left. Situational awareness is important to avoid other slower / faster / larger vessels. "Share the road y'all" is the most succinct way to explain boating in a nutshell haha.

> boats going one direction stay to the right, the opposing direction stays to the left.

Wouldn’t that put them head-on? If a southbound boat stays to the right (west side) of a channel and an opposite direction boat stays left (also west side), that seems worse than everyone staying right.

Everyone stays to the right

Well put, this is way easier to follow than what I wrote ;)

You're flipping the frame of reference for each case which is what makes it confusing. Staring up or down a waterway, opposing traffic are on opposite sides (left or right). From each boats perspective, they are on the right side.

If you have a captains license, it is not good if people complain about you. They do investigate.

For a fun time on the Hudson, when the UN is in session, watch how many small/medium powerboats aren't paying attention to news and USCG notices before heading out.

They try to go full speed down the west side of Roosevelt Island and are always stopped and turned back by a pair of NYPD small gunboats.

https://homeport.uscg.mil/Lists/Content/Attachments/1924/CGA...

Especially when idiotic protesters wade out into the hudson to try to "block shipping lanes" or "protest police" in February. Basically a death wish.

"Turned back"? Maybe they should be impounded. (Or just sunk?) That might get their attention.

Much as the NYPD might have a reputation for being trigger happy, it's probably a good thing they don't arbitrarily open fire with the pintle mounted M2 or M249 on the front of those gunboats.

What do you sail in the area? I'm a member of KYC.

I'm a member at one of the community sailing docs on the west-side highway. I work in tech not finance, so unfortunately I still can't afford a boat of my own :(

That's ok! Having your own boat can be a nightmare sometimes. You gotta love it.

Is there something to be angry about here?

Rich, negligent assholes?

Maybe? Someone driving a super-yacht was incredibly negligent, running another ship hard enough to sink it (!), then letting someone else rescue the crew of the ship they sank (!!). By doing so, they caused the release of a bunch of gasoline, aviation gas, and LPG at the bottom of the ocean, with the attendant environmental issues.

Yes, there might be things to be angry about in that...

I’m with you on most of your points, but do we know it was negligent? Isn’t it normal to wait for an investigation before jumping to conclusions?

I think the vessel owner and crew are getting an unfair wrap because of money. If it’s true this is good news, as someone can pay for the cleanup.

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