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Tragedy in the Shoals
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Location: Blogs Christy Martin, Publisher and Riverrat |
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| Posted by: christy@lifeonthewater.org |
4/1/2008 5:47 PM |
I woke up on Friday morning to an e-mail from Capt. Jay Martin of Florence, AL...he was making LOTW aware of a boating accident the night before. Around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday night, he heard the call on the VHF radio from the boat captain of the POTOMAC...he had hit a recreational boater.
The TV news was incorrect. They said it was a 65 foot boat...it was a 32 foot Marinette. They said it was from Turtle Point Yacht Club. It was from Marina Mar. They said there were 2 people onboard. There were 4.
We know from a boater who wants to remain anonymous that the owner bought the boat last fall. He had terminal cancer...and had a list of things he wanted to experience. Boating was one of them. He had never owned a boat but wanted to enjoy the Tennessee River...in fact, he wanted to take his boat to the Gulf Coast.
I was not on the boat. I am not a first-hand observer. But I know that this incident calls for better boater education. In conversation today with Rick Terry of the Port of Decatur, a loaded tow can take up to 1/2 mile to stop. Just like recreational boats, they do not have brakes. Powered by twin 1500 horsepower engines, the undertow from a barge could send a personal watercraft to the sticky bottom of the Tennessee River in no time flat...and you're stuck there. Weighing several tons...as much as 35 feet wide...and 20 feet high or more if they're loaded, they're big...really big moving structures on the water. Stay clear. The channel is marked by red buoys and green cans. The ol' 'red right returning' saying helps all of us know upriver or downriver. They are fitted with spotlights that could light up a small city and scan the river to find the channel markers, certainly locating rec boats in the path. Don't anchor or float or sit idly in the channel. It would be like having a picnic in the middle of the interstate. You just don't do it. And never...never try to beat a barge to cross the river.
The Summer 08 issue will promote more education via an enlightening conversation with new boaters as well as the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary about 'Rules of the River'.
My heart...and LIFE ON THE WATER's readers' hearts...go out to the families. My father-in-law has stage 4 cancer...he's gone through chemo and radiation and blood transfusions and...I've always said I want to 'transition' by getting hit by a barge...just meaning that I want to be on the Tennessee River when I have to go...I adore it. I'll change that request now in honor of William Hill, Mary Hood, Ray Peters, and Patti Jo Manley. May your spirit rest in the waters that Shoals' author Tom Hendrix calls the 'Singing River'. |
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Re: Tragedy in the Shoals |
By christy@lifeonthewater.org on
4/4/2008 7:07 AM |
e-mailed from Lynn Miles, Public Affairs Officer for USCG Auxiliary, Guntersville, AL DSO-PA 082
Why We Volunteer...
As I finished writing my district public affairs report, an email came across from Sandra Merlo, our Division Captain of Division 24. She is informing our division that there was a terrible accident on the Tennessee River over near Florence, AL on Wilson Lake. A commercial barge and a pleasure cruiser collided around 8:10 pm March 28th. The cruiser was hit and sunk immediately. One man’s body was immediately recovered from the water.
There was no Float Plan filed with family or friends that would suggest how many were on board, so the rescue teams had no idea how many were on board. This was one of the reasons that the river was temporarily closed by the Coast Guard. Over the next two days, more information came to light that there were two couples on board before the accident. Three victims now have been found with one still missing. The cruiser has been pulled from 80 feet of water and is now being inspected for clues that might explain why the cruiser was not moving in the middle of the river channel.
As an auxiliarist, this is such a strong reminder on how important it is to reach our boating community and offer them our free vessel safety checks.
This is such a strong reminder on how important it is to teach Boating Safety Classes to the public.
Lately I have felt like I am spinning my wheels, going in circles, trying to get events planned, activities scheduled, phone calls made, emails and reports written on a timely manner. Then this happens, and in a flash I am thinking about this man and the other couple, whose bodies have just been pulled from the water. Missing is his girlfriend of 3 years. I then think about the volunteer rescuers who are hard at work looking for this woman. Then I think about the families that are left behind.
I ponder on those thoughts and then wonder - if only…..
If only one of them had stopped by a Public Affairs booth for safety information or taken a boating safety course.
If only one of them had received a free Vessel Safety Check done to their boat or if just one of them had picked up some boating safety literature that we have left in information boxes found all around the Tennessee Valley. Maybe, just maybe, they would have avoided the collision with the barge.
Of course no one will ever know the true story behind this accident. There will only be possible theories. No one is left to tell the story.
As time moves on, we can only hope that all of our efforts and time spent volunteering will help the next boater to prevent getting into this situation by learning valuable information from our experienced volunteers.
I know that we cannot reach all boaters, but for every life that we save through educating about boating safety – our hard work and time spent is PRICELESS!
Lynn Miles
DSO-PA 082 |
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About Daymarker Enterprises, LLC
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Daymarker Enterprises, LLC
P. O. Box 12171
Huntsville, AL 35815
3225 Riley Road
Huntsville, AL 35801
877-274-0767 toll free
888-633-7050 toll free
256-882-7809 fax visit www.yachtsouth.com or e-mail us cbmartin@yachtsouth.com
visit www.lifeonthewater.com or e-mail us christy@lifeonthewater.com
This isn’t really about us, it’s more about the river and what it can do for all of us.
Our company is Daymarker Enterprises, LLC, established in 2000. Captain Billy Martin is President and wife, Christy Martin is Vice-President. We are proud sponsors of
--America's Great Loop Cruisers Association, a group of amazing boaters that travel the eastern half of the United States, epitomizing the sense of adventure we hope to promote in boating.
--The North Alabama Marina Association, established for better communication and better enhancements to our marinas for customers. --North Alabama Boaters Association, dedicated to educating business and political leaders of the economic impact of boating and outdoor recreation on our region.  We own YachtSouth, a yacht brokerage company based in Huntsville, Alabama. As an affiliate of the MLS and YachtWorld, the largest collection of yachts for sale in the world, our customer base is world-wide. We are Florida-licensed brokers networking with more than 2600 brokers in the United States and around the world. Captain Billy Martin is a U.S.C.G. 100-ton Master, currently working on an upgrade to 500 ton. He ransports inland as well as East Coast, Atlantic and Gulf Coast waters. We offer education and training after the sale to insure safety and comfort behind the wheel or on the bow.
Life on the Water Magazine and www.lifeonthewater.com is our mission to bring more people to the water, exploring the Tennessee River, the Tennessee Tombigbee and surrounding waterways. The print magazine covers the people, places and things to do in the 4 state region of the Deep South, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. Publisher, Christy Martin has served on the Huntsville/Madison County Marina and Port Authority and lead their effort in obtaining more than half a million in U.S. Fish and Wildlife grants for enhancements to the marina. Christy is dedicated to women and kids education on the water. Organizing events such as Cruise for the Cure, a boating 101 course for women that raised money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure with Rambo Marine, Boys' and Girls' Club Fishing Rodeos, boating badge seminars for Boy Scouts, and Boating for Women with Pickwick Yacht Club.
 
Daymarker Enterprises, LLC is a family business. You're just as likely to see our 12-year-old son, Cole, washing boats as you are to see our 10-year-old son, Jake, taking photographs for the magazine. You'll find us on the Tennessee River every weekend. We've seen firsthand that 'life on the water' makes you better...a better couple, a better family.
Turn off the TV news and video games...go to the river as fast as you can.
Daymarker Enterprises, LLC. We'll take you to the river.
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photo by Ellen Hudson, The Huntsville Times
in an October 7, 2007 article for ENJOY! Magazine
'Christy Martin's Life on the Water'
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