Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
Here's what the SeaTow guy said:
"Hi AngelaThis boat sank 3 weeks ago off of Port St. Joe FL approximately 53 miles offshore. The new owner was taken her home to north Florida when they hit A buoy at early AM before daylight. If you Google (55 Hatteras reel TNT) it will give you all the boats info, and if I can be of any further assistance please let me know. Thanks,Captain Dennis Douglas."
Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
Sure enough '87 55' I owe you a beer Jack. I still think those years with the backwards slanted windows didnt look very Hatt.
Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Angela
Here's what the SeaTow guy said:
"Hi AngelaThis boat sank 3 weeks ago off of Port St. Joe FL approximately 53 miles offshore. The new owner was taken her home to north Florida when they hit A buoy at early AM before daylight. If you Google (55 Hatteras reel TNT) it will give you all the boats info, and if I can be of any further assistance please let me know. Thanks,Captain Dennis Douglas."
Interesting that Google shows the boat belonged to HOF'er Robert S. Cowdrey who never posted. Would be interesting to hear some details. Must have been a big buoy. Would have thought a 55C would have been buoy-proof.
Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
SPOOOOOOOOOL 'EM UP!!! Probably had 3 radars running with a giant chart plotter/GPS and the guy didnt know how to read the stuff, AND, no paper charts. Most excellent. Didnt have a problem locking in on the SIRIUS (sp) radio blasting some deff row record crud... ws
http://i56.tinypic.com/2vjojk6.jpg
wouldnt wanna hit one, PERIOD!
Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
A buoy 53 miles out?
Uh, what SORT of buoy? That sounds like it was one of the weather "buoys" - that ain't no buoy, it's a floating semi-truck-sized "thing" with more in the water than out.
You hit one of those, you're in BIG trouble.
They're fairly hard to hit too in that they're very visible and show up like a sore thumb on radar.
There's nothing ~50 miles offshore Pt. St. Joe though on the WX buoy map. The closest is the Tyndall buoy and it's ~20 miles out. Hmmm... gonna have to go look at my charts on the boat later and see if I can figure out what he pranged.
Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
I've seen a number of bouys that have broken loose and are drifting around offshore.
Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rsmith
I've seen a number of bouys that have broken loose and are drifting around offshore.
Wouldn't think a free-range buoy would take out a 55C unless it was a really BIG one. The anchored ones don't give up as easily and do all sorts of nasty things to your running gear.
I'll never forget my dad clobbering one on the river when I was a kid. We had a 16' Norris Craft v-bottom bowrider and my brother and I were riding up front when a local raceboater passed us by. Dad decided he'd give him a run for his money and dropped the hammer on the Merc 1000 inline six.
We obviously had his view blocked and there wasn't enough time to yell at him as we hit that buoy at about 45MPH. The boat was only a month or two old, and it took out a section of rubrail and half the skeg on the outboard. I do believe that was the last time anybody rode up front. Took dad a long time to get over that one. :D
Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
More boat drivers are fixed staring at the color screens than looking ahead at where the boats going. Guy on my dock hit a buoy 2 weeks ago. He was quite embarrassed and admitted that upon impact he was not paying attention to anything but the damned plotter. The fancy nav stuff will deliver you safely - right to the scene of the accident.
Re: 55' Hatt sunk 53 miles off of Port St. Joe
Given they were running before sunrise, I would hope the operator was staring at a radar screen. Obviously not.