All those buzzboaters had better be on the look out now!!

A fisherman who says he was terrified by a freighter that narrowly missed his boat and fatally struck another fishing vessel in a heavy fog off Point Reyes is entitled to sue the ship's owner for emotional distress, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/30/BAF61E6QQ9.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0sLmZU6gs

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In other words, no more taking this $hit lying down.  Next time one of us gets buzzed, straight to court!   

OMFG, what a damn waste!!


Fishing in a shipping lane is equivalent to playing in the street, you see a car coming and gtf outta the way.  That guys seen it a mile off and expects them to move.....wouldn't common sense dictate that it'd take a alot more effort for a freakin freighter to turn than it would for this guy to reel in and move.....especially when its only a mile out.

Anyone else wanna go play catch on the freeway with me....cha-ching cha-ching $$$$$   

I think as Martin pointed out this is better for us that get intentionally buzzed by wakeboarders. However fishing in shipping or boating lanes is retarded and as Art says....DUMB~!

Totally agree with Art a few years ago I ran my Skip up to Point Reyes following the fleet to a hot salmon bite that didn't happen on the way back it was pretty bumpy inside so I decided to run out to the shipping lanes and come through the middle grounds instead of skirting the north side of the patch. Just outside the entrance buoy we graphed a huge school of bait with a lotta birds and flippers we trolled just outside the lanes and took quality limits in like 45 mins or so. The next day we ran to the same spot and it was patchy fog and the fish were right next to the buoy I was pretty uncomfortable and told my buddy that we shouldn't be fishing here due to all the ship traffic he said naw they can see us(radar) and they won't come that close to the buoy. It was pretty freaky watching the ships then having them disappear in the fog. I was getting ready to tell him to get us outta here when I see a big freighter headed for the buoy so we pull outside a little and watch as the ship runs right over the buoy like it was a crab float those buoys are huge and it was super loud as it bounced down the side of the ship, the dude whose boat it was turned white so I took the helm and got us way outside the lanes.

Martin are you taking these cases Pro bono I was terrified one time by 2 hobies blowing by me in the fog at Fort Ross

lol, I got that part of it.


Of course, if I was a water district or parks and rec operating a lake and a bunch of my patrons were getting sued by yakers then I'd simplify it by kicking yaks off the water  

The last time I got buzzed in the bay I was actually IN THE BAY.  http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,20497.0.html  That "rocket boat" did a couple passes by us that left me choking on wake during a gnarly training swim.  Luckily I had pisciform as a kayak pilot/escort.  Otherwise, I get the feeling Rocketboat might have tried something real stupid, just to show the onboard tourists that there was some nutjob swimming in the bay. 

And true, for that swim we did have to traverse the shipping lane b/t TI and SF so there was a high degree of assumption of risk.  But the general maritime trend appears to favor the less able vessel or those in distress.  I'm not saying that a freighter would have had to divert course to avoid me.  Just that if a boat saw me, they've gotta take some kind of action, and can't head straight at me. 

I haven't read the appellate opinion yet, so not sure what it REALLY says.  But if the news blurb is accurate, all its saying is that you have to take due care while in the water to avoid "scaring" someone.  No buzzing people and make them $hit their wetsuit.

What are you thinking, art?  Does the ruling create practical issues, like now nobody will bother to move outta the lanes?

here's the opinion

Fishing in a shipping lane is equivalent to playing in the street, you see a car coming and gtf outta the way. 

Pedestrians always have the right of way though, right?

OMFG, what a damn waste!!

A total b---- a$$ move for Brian Stacy to sue the skipper, under any other circumstances.  If the skipper had not later run over and killed that other guy, I'm thinking Brian Stacy would have little or no chance.  But since skipper killed a dude, Brian Stacy's gonna piggy back off the wrongful death of the other boater.   

Pedestrians always have the right of way though, right?

Probably not.  But a motorist having the right of way isn't relieved of obligation to avoid injuring someone if can reasonably do so.  You can't step on the gas just cuz some a-hole is standing in the middle of the street.  Boy, I've wanted to many times in SF with all the crazy panhandlers near 10th street on ramp.

What are you thinking, art?  Does the ruling create practical issues, like now nobody will bother to move outta the lanes?

No effect on me at all other than the general frustration of potentially rewarding people for making bad decisions. I'm not saying people should not fish in shipping lanes but they gotta know there is some risk involved, especially in thick fog.  I think this is the way most people operate and will continue to do so.


On kooks on the bay v. nutjobs in the bay.....hand gestures to boatload of tourists and their cameras, photos to the boat operator letting them know you're out there swimming and they came a bit too close for comfort or directly to the Coast Guard if they really are too close.  

Fishing in a shipping lane is equivalent to playing in the street, you see a car coming and gtf outta the way. 

Pedestrians always have the right of way though, right?

lol, but when your dead there's really no point in debating cause you already lost 

forget the buzzboaters ....they'll do what they want until they get caught...and the only "police" we have out there is us.


I'm more concerned about Capt. Hitlers like these....from what I've gathered, they like to sneak up to Kayak Sturgeon fisherman and do the sprinkler head dance on 'em

I thought Art was just trying out a "primitive lure" in that shot, kinda like a snapping turtle...

I guess I may need to bring an umbrella to the paddle on the 17th.

You can't step on the gas just cuz some a-hole is standing in the middle of the street. 

What? When did this happen? Now I'll have to change my whole style of driving in downtown SC!

Quote from: yakuza on Today at 10:44:28 am
You can't step on the gas just cuz some a-hole is standing in the middle of the street. 

What? When did this happen? Now I'll have to change my whole style of driving in downtown SC!
Posted on: Today at 11:07:40 am