Modern boating safety: technology helps, but good seamanship still matters

Two fatal accidents — one on New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee and another crossing Nantucket Sound — underscore that even experienced operators can suffer tragic consequences when basic safety and sound judgment are ignored. These incidents highlight how crucial situational awareness, proper safety gear, and conservative decision-making are on the water, especially at night or in poor conditions.

In one case, 36-year-old Erica Blizzard was convicted of negligent homicide after her 37-foot powerboat struck an island on a rainy night. Her passenger, a close friend, died in the 2008 crash. In a separate event, 36-year-old Jonathan Hemingway fell from his 23-foot powerboat while making a cross-sound passage; he was lost overboard during a late-winter night crossing and did not survive. Both tragedies demonstrate the fragile margin for error when safety practices are not followed.

“We all have lapses in judgment or accept risks we think are acceptable — sometimes we get away with it, other times we don’t,” says Chuck Hawley, a nationally recognized marine safety speaker and moderator of US Sailing’s Safety at Sea Seminars. Hawley, who is also a West Marine executive, emphasizes that experience alone does not guarantee safe habits.

Hemingway reportedly was alone on deck, not wearing a kill-switch lanyard that would stop the engine if he fell away from the helm. His wife and two young children were asleep below in the cuddy cabin of the outboard-powered Maritime Patriot 23. Tom Rau, a retired Coast Guard senior chief and recreational boating safety authority, stresses that a simple “what if” assessment can make the difference: what happens if I fall overboard? If the operator becomes incapacitated, can the vessel stop or recover safely? If not, the operator should be secured to the helm with an engine cut-off device and wear a life jacket with a personal locator beacon when appropriate.

Rau notes that Hemingway was crossing cold, 38-degree water on a clear late-winter night. Under those conditions, using an engine cut-off lanyard and personal flotation with locator capability are prudent precautions. He also points boaters to safety education resources, such as the boat safety guidance available from established boating-safety organizations and training programs.

Experts caution that long hours at the helm can breed complacency. “There are many people with lots of time at the helm who still have bad habits,” Hawley says. “Some operators have been fortunate so far, others simply never developed solid seamanship.” Coast Guard accident investigator Augusto “Kiko” Villalon concurs, attributing the Nantucket Sound incident to overconfidence rather than a regulatory violation: “It looks like Hemingway was a capable boater, but this incident reflects a lapse in seamanship.”

Speed and lookout: factors in preventable crashes

The Lake Winnipesaukee collision involved additional legal findings: prosecutors alleged Blizzard operated under the influence and failed to maintain a proper lookout, and she faced aggravated driving-while-intoxicated charges. The jury ultimately convicted her of negligent homicide for not posting an adequate lookout. Prosecutors maintained the boat was traveling at high speed; the defense disputed the level of impairment and offered a lower speed estimate. Because no GPS data was available, speed estimates relied on witness and expert interpretation of the wreckage and scene.

Nighttime navigation requires special caution. “You can’t assume anything when operating at night,” Rau warns. Even in seemingly sparse traffic, visibility can hide other hazards — small craft, drifting boats, or nearby shorelines and islands. In poor visibility, he says, slowing to a safe speed or anchoring until conditions improve are sensible options. On large inland waters like Winnipesaukee, which has extensive shoreline and islands, staying conservative at night can prevent catastrophic mistakes.

Hawley points to the severe bow damage in the Formula accident as consistent with excessive speed. “If a boat can’t stop in time to avoid a fixed object, that’s excessive speed for the conditions,” he says.

Night vision and lighting: practical tips for safer night passages

Operating after dark is a “whole different world,” experts say. Weather, rain, and artificial lighting make identifying hazards more difficult. White interior lighting, helm lights, improperly placed navigation lights, spreader lights, or bright spotlights can all ruin night vision and make it harder to detect navigation aids or shoreline outlines. Even a small amount of white light reflecting off fiberglass or chrome trim can be distracting.

Best practices to preserve night vision include using low-intensity or red backlighting at the helm, keeping interior lights dim, avoiding unnecessary spotlights, and using peripheral vision rather than staring directly at lights or markers. Boaters who rely heavily on interior white lights at night risk becoming effectively night-blind and may lean on radar or other electronics rather than good lookout and conservative speed.

Training, routine safety checks, and modest, purposeful gear choices — engine cut-off devices, life jackets with PLBs, and appropriate lighting — help reduce risk. Above all, maintaining situational awareness, thinking ahead, and adopting conservative seamanship habits are the most effective ways to prevent incidents on the water.

Related articles and resources

– “So simple, so easy, yet so devastating”

– “Crash highlights perils of night boating”

This article originally appeared in the June 2010 issue.