Typically, days spent lounging around in the sun will make me a bit fatigued, whether I've had drinks or not. Standing at the helm for extended period will fatigue my back, so this year I tried the new Sperry (ASV) anti-shock-vibration gimmick shoe. So far, after a week, my back feels much more relaxed after days on hard surfaces.
Many people know what it's like to be so tired, the lines on the road seem to be your only focus. It's very hard to concentrate on what's up ahead at that stage. Can't say I've ever felt that in a boat, the air usually makes me alert.
But I doubt fatigue played much of a part in this case, who knows? In rain and limited visibility, anything can happen. She couldn't see anything, but thought she was ok due to one reading. It wasn't a great choice. Personally, I've never, ever been sick or dizzy on a lake in a boat, driving or not. And I'm quite sure that I would never take a reading of 70' of water as an indication of being safe. Anyone that's ever boated on any lake knows that 70' can become deeper, or shallower, real quick. We have a spot out front here by a reef, it goes from almost 350' to 8' inside of a quarter mile.
All we can do now is take it all in, and realize that we're not as good as our minds think we are. We were told that as HS kids, again in college, and by adult age, everyone just hopes most of us listened. But in the end Ex, as an adult, I know that neither fatigue, nor alcohol was to blame here. Those two items are choices and actions made by the operator. Accidents can, and will, happen to even the most careful skipper. But each situation is different.
Everyone has their own common sense, or even sympathetic sense, of what this accident entailed. The details of the start to finish trip have all been laid out during the trial for all to see. All I can say after all of this is that the last picture I saw from court was a little disturbing, although many predicted it.
For the rest of us, we all know there are very serious responsibilities that come with piloting a boat of any kind. Nobody's perfect, but at least we try to take these things seriously.
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