I’ll be the first to admit dear readers that I have been in a bit of a rut in regard to writing a new post. It’s not that I don’t enjoy writing because I actually find it quite cathartic. It’s more like I have not been inspired or had that proverbial fire lit that would stoke my literary desires.

   There has however been a somewhat of a resolution to a story that has unfolded in a courtroom in Stuart, Florida. that has got me riled up.  On the 9th of January 2009 scuba diver Robert Murphy was run over by a boat operated by Dr. Roger Nicosia.  Mr. Murphy had both of his legs severed and almost died as a result of the loss of blood, shock, etc.  It is a miracle that he survived at all but he was there in the courtroom sitting in his wheelchair as the criminal case against Dr. Nicosia played out.

  It was never in dispute that he was run over by Dr. Nicosia’s boat but the good doctor played the “don’t blame me” card and refused to accept any responsibility for the accident and in my opinion after hearing the testimony I don’t believe it was an accident. Allow me to explain. Dr. Nicosia’s boat, a 38-foot boat named  “Master Plan” approached a 41-foot boat from a distance of four miles. No other boats were around but his boat is on a steady course for the only other boat in the area. At this point let me say that it did not matter how fast or slow he was going as he approached what turned out to be a dive boat. It could have been any boat, any size. The reason for the approach? Nothing more than his boat was on autopilot and he did not disengage the autopilot until he was 1/2 mile or 2,640 feet away. Stupid. Let’s assume that a boat is cruising at 28mph. That calculates out to 147,840 feet per hour or 2,640 feet per minute! 

   According to his testimony he was four miles away when he first spotted the other boat which appeared to be drifting. Drifting to me conveys a sense that the engines were either off or running but not in gear. If that was the case he then came to within a half mile of a boat that was adrift  before he disengaged the autopilot and made a course correction and ran right over Mr. Murphy.

   This was no accident and I am not saying that he did it on purpose but you don’t navigate your 38-foot boat to within a half mile of another vessel, drifting or not. Bad things happen when boats get too close in situations like this. A dive flag was displayed on the dive boat although there is some question as to whether it was properly displayed, but it was visible. There were dive buoys floating on the water but depending on the action of the ocean they may have been hard to see. According to his own testimony he thought he had hit a turtle but a passenger on his boat yelled “dive flag” after the impact. If the flag was visible after being run over it sure seems likely that it would have been visible before the strike.

    But as I wrote earlier it shouldn’t matter whether this was a dive boat or not. When I instruct new boaters I tell them that they need to know and follow the regulations governing boat operations on navigable waters especially as it pertains to approaching another vessel. I tell them that if they are ever in doubt they should reduce their speed and steer clear.  Boats don’t have brakes but they do have reverse and that is what the Doctor should have done. Put his boat in reverse and backed away, slowly.

   Fittingly Judge Kathleen Roberts found Dr. Nicosia guilty…….of a second degree misdemeanor(!) and sentenced him to six months of probation and fined him a staggering $250.00! Yep $125.00 a leg as I see it.  According to press reports Dr. Nicosia showed no emotion and was allowed to leave the courthouse in such a way as to avoid the media.

   So, what’s next? A civil suit of course and although I feel at times that there are frivilous lawsuits filed such as getting burned by hot coffee or getting the wrong pants from your drycleaner(a judge filed that one) I hope Mr. Murphy is succesful in taking Dr. Nicosia for everything he is worth, now and in the future.

   It isn’t justice but its a start.

                                         Capt. Patrick

Whew! Got the blood pumping with that one so why not  cool down a bit with another one of Captain Patrick’s “Hidden In Plain Sight” bonus features!

This one should definitely make you laugh as Bill demonstrates the “Shark Attack Screaming Technique”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fvsnqUcES8