Because it is a lot cheaper than having one yourself???
In all seriousness, much can be said for reading about what has happened to others on the water. For me personally, I begin to visualize the chain of events that led up to the accident, the decision making involved (whether good or bad), and can see where, had one of these events been removed from the chain, the accident may have been avoided.
Remember, the common sense decision process as well as situational awareness begins long before you step aboard your boat.
Please note: many of these files are quite large and will require substantial time to download over a dial up connection.
During the early morning hours of December 29, 1997, the 34-foot recreational sailing vessel Morning Dew struck the rock jetty on the north side of the shipping channel into the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. The owner/operator of the vessel and his three passengers, all members of the same family, died as a result of the accident.
On Wednesday, July 7, 2010, the empty 250-foot-long sludge barge The Resource, being towed alongside the 78.9-foot-long tugboat Caribbean Sea, collided with the anchored 33-foot-long amphibious passenger vehicle DUKW 34 in the Delaware River at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. DUKW 34 carried 35 passengers and 2 crewmembers. On board the Caribbean Sea were five crewmembers. As a result of the collision, DUKW 34 sank in about 55 feet of water. Two passengers were fatally injured, and 26 passengers suffered minor injuries. No one on the Caribbean Sea was injured. Damage to DUKW 34 totaled $130,470. Damage to the barge was minimal; no repairs were made.
On June 14, 2003, the small passenger vessel Taki-Tooo, a U.S. charter fishing vessel with 2 crewmen and 17 passengers on board, was en route from the marina to the ocean for a day of fishing. A small craft advisory was in effect. The U.S. Coast Guard had activated the rough bar warning signs based on their assessments of existing hazardous conditions. At the inlet, the Taki-Tooo operator waited in the channel for an opening in the ocean swells so that he could cross the bar. After the Taki-Tooo exited the inlet and turned northward around the north jetty, a wave struck and capsized the vessel. As a result of this accident, 11 people died; 8 people sustained minor injuries. The vessel, which had a replacement value of $180,000, was declared a total loss.
On the afternoon of October 2, 2005, the New York State-certificated public vessel Ethan Allen, with a New York State-licensed operator and 47 passengers on board, departed the marina at Lake George, New York, for a cruise of the lake. The vessel proceeded northbound along the western side of the lake at an estimated speed of 8 mph. As it neared Cramer Point, the operator began a turn to the right. At the same time, the Ethan Allen encountered a wave or waves generated by one or more vessels on its starboard side. Within a few seconds, the Ethan Allen rolled to port and overturned. It began to sink about 15 minutes later. Operators of recreational vessels nearby observed the accident, proceeded immediately to the site, and began rescuing survivors. Twenty passengers died, three received serious injuries, and six received minor injuries in the accident. The operator and 18 passengers survived without injury. The resulting damage to the vessel and its components was estimated at $21,000.
About 0125 on July 3, 1999, a 27-foot Advantage recreational motorboat (Advantage) with three men on board and a 22-foot Bayliner recreational motorboat (Bayliner) with two men on board collided on the St. Croix River near Bayport, Minnesota. No one witnessed the accident; however, the damage path across the top of the Bayliner indicated that the Advantage struck the starboard side of the Bayliner, forward of the windshield, and passed over the motorboat. All five occupants of the two motorboats died as a result of the collision. The three occupants of the Advantage died from drowning. The two occupants of the Bayliner died from blunt force trauma.
About 2013 on January 12, 2002, the 24-foot Coast Guard patrol boat CG242513, with two crewmembers on board, was on a routine recreational boating safety and manatee-zone patrol in Biscayne Bay, Florida, when it collided with the small passenger vessel Bayside Blaster, carrying 2 crewmembers and 53 passengers. Both Coast Guard crewmembers were ejected from their boat. The patrol boat continued running, circled to port, and struck the Bayside Blaster again. The unmanned Coast Guard patrol boat continued to circle for 10 to 15 minutes, striking a moored recreational boat two times and pilings near the shore. Five passengers who reported being injured were taken to the Coast Guard Station, where they were triaged. The two Coast Guard crewmembers were triaged by paramedics on Palm Island, taken to a nearby hospital for further examination.
About 1915 eastern daylight time on Sunday, April 12, 2009, an unnamed 22.5-foot recreational boat carrying 14 persons allided with the Little Man II, a 25.9-foot push boat (a type of towboat) moored near Ponte Vedra Beach in St. Johns County, Florida. An hour earlier, the recreational boat had departed a marina/restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida, and was northbound in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to a marina in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, a distance of about 30 miles (figure 1). Five persons on the boat died at the accident scene. The remaining nine persons were injured, seven seriously.