[Paddlewise] Sp*ns*ns a side issue

It's a darn shame that Timmy has to muddy the waters with all the spam
about sponsons, and cause the USCG to waste precious resources (if, in
fact, that's the case) with such a pointless investigation.

The simple fact of the matter is that in the big view, boating accidents
where sponsons might or might not be useful are a pipsqueak issue in the
larger frame of things. Consider the following report, taken from today's
National Park Service Morning Report (and therefore in the public domain,
and no copyright issues pertain):

"Additional information has been received on the fatal boating accidents
first reported in the October 22 Morning Report and on other incidents that
occurred during the annual "party on the bay" (as it^Òs come to be known) on
Columbus Day weekend. This year, there were several boat collisions and
near misses as people left the area on Saturday night. One occurred when a
good Samaritan stopped to help a boater who was having engine problems. As
he began towing the second boat, a third boat hit it from behind. This
caused the second boat to go airborne and land on the stern of the first.
The boat also landed on a  passenger in the rear of the boat, who died as a
result of severe trauma. Three others sustained serious injuries, and
several more had to be pulled from the water after their boat capsized.
Later that evening, a 28-foot Donzi "go-fast" boat hit a number of other
boats while crossing the bay. The Coast Guard received a call from the
captain of one of them, who said that his boat had been hit by the Donzi,
that he^Òd been knocked into the water, and that the Donzi had kept on
going. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission received a call from a
visitor reporting that the Donzi had hit their boat with a glancing blow,
then kept going. On Sunday morning, the Donzi was found onshore in a dense
grove of mangroves. It had created a 100-foot-long path through the shallow
bay bottom, then cut a 70-foot swath through the mangroves. The body of one
man was found on board, pinned under the console. Evidence indicated that
he^Òd tried to push the console off him. The identifications for several
other people were found on board, but only one other body was located.
Another was found in the middle of the bay on Monday. It^Òs believed that
the driver of the Donzi was ejected into the bay in the first collision and
subsequently drowned. The boat then  continued on, as the passengers on
board were unable to stop it. It then hit the second boat before running
full speed into the mangroves. Also occurring during the weekend were 17
arrests for boating under the influence, five stolen vessels (one of them
recovered), two arrests for assault with a deadly  weapon, five other
incidents involving weapons, one sinking, a boat fire in which 30 people
had to be rescued from the water, two assaults, 13 major vessel groundings
with related damage to seagrass beds, three search and rescue operations,
one incident involving lewd and lascivious behavior, three EMS incidents
(including a woman who was run over by a boat and cut by its propeller),
100 boating safety violations, and one pursuit of a vessel that was
smuggling 25 Cubans into the U.S. The latter required the use of pepper
spray to subdue three of the people on board. The park continues to move
this event toward traditional national park activities. To that end, a
visitor contact barge was introduced, staffed by  interpreters. It proved
to be a rallying point for lost swimmers. Maintenance staff marked the
Featherbeds,  a shallow seagrass nursery, with 25 pencil buoys to keep
visitors out of the shallow areas; they also provided on-scene marine
mechanical assistance. Resource management and administrative staff guarded
the Featherbeds to help prevent damage to the area. Along with this
concerted effort by all park staff, Biscayne received help from rangers
from Everglades, Big Cypress, Glen Canyon, Yosemite, Gulf Islands,
Christiansted, Shenandoah and Assateague Island; they were also helped by
Miami-Dade PD, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, Florida Fish and Wildlife, the Coast
Guard, Customs, and staff from area
marinas. The event is an excellent example of a park working cooperatively
and successfully with other NPS units and area partners."

Note that the NPS had to bring in assistance from as far away as California
to deal with this nuthouse! I hope anyone in a kayak had the good sense to
stay far away.

The primary reasons for boating accidents are not sponsons or the lack
thereof, but alcohol, inexperience, and a combination of the two. 

-- Wes
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