On July 4th, I delivered a nice Bic Bamba 370 courseboard setup to a friend of mine who lives on a lake well west of the Cities. Bill had learned on an old Mistral rig and wanted to upgrade. The Bic longboard was ideal for him. We spent the holiday weekend giving it a good workout.
A couple days ago he called me and said that he was out sailing at midnight under the light of a full moon, when a fisherman puttered up to within hailing distance. Bill thought It was a friend coming over to talk to him, so he didn't bother to signal with his flashlight. When he was 20 yds away, the fisherman opened up his motor to full throtle - too late for Bill to grab his flashlight and signal. In seconds, the motor boat cut the sailboard in two!
Fortunately, Bill escaped injury. I told him that it reminded me of JFK and the story of the PT 109. Except he didn't have to swim to an island.
I posted this for two reasons: 1.) we learn from stories. We ought to be able to tell these stories to one another without fear of embarassment in the hope that someone else will learn. and, 2.) I need to find another longboard for my friend. I have an identical Bic that I could give him, but I would like to replace it with a nice Mistral Equipe, Evolution, Fanatic Cat or something comparable. Please call me with any leads (Tom 651.698.8764)
Here's a discussion question: My friend feels totally responsible, but how do you think a court would rule if a serious injury had happened? Neither vessle had lights.
Moonlight sailing and close encounters
Moderator: MK
J.N. P.S: See Paul F. on page 3 from sept. 10th.Since neither craft had lights, the non-motorized craft probably has right of way. That is little consolation in such a situation though - both craft weren't being very smart.
Speaking of not being very smart, I've had some awesome (unlit) late-night sessions on WBL... Full-planing 5-7.0 kinf od stuff.
-Coach
Speaking of not being very smart, I've had some awesome (unlit) late-night sessions on WBL... Full-planing 5-7.0 kinf od stuff.
-Coach