luvhoops34
10-12-2007, 10:47 AM
oops....somebody wasn't paying attention
Boat hits Port A ferry, sinks
Passengers on ferry throw boat riders life preservers
By Mike Baird (Contact)
Originally published 08:15 a.m., October 12, 2007
Updated 09:18 a.m., October 12, 2007
PORT ARANSAS — An about 20-foot center console bay boat collided with the Port Aransas R.E. Stotzer Jr. Ferry Boat about 7:15 a.m. Three men in the recreational boat were ejected into the water, and ferry passengers threw them life preserver rings and life jackets as their craft capsized and current carried it several hundred feet toward the gulf before sinking.
“They were going extremely too fast,” said Kevin King, 35, a passenger on the ferry at the time of the accident. “The driver tried to bank right, but a spray of water shot onto the front end of the ferry and they were thrown into the channel.
“It woke me up better than coffee,” said the Victoria hardware store manager on his way to a Port Aransas job site.
All of the men were safely pulled from the water, while the harbormaster stopped ferry traffic. Once safe, operations resumed, with three ferries operating
The bow of the boat was still accessible, and the U.S. Coast Guard is towing it to the Port Aransas' marina for the owners, Coast Guard officials said.
The three men suffered only scrapes. There was no damage to the ferry.
It’s the first accident involving a ferry boat in the six years Howard Gillespie has been ferry operations manager.
“People can expect delays this morning,” Gillespie said. “We are down one boat from our usual morning operation while a marine safety officer inspects the Stotzer.”
An electronic warning sign is operating to warn incoming traffic about the possible delays, he said.
http://www.caller.com/news/2007/oct/12/boat-hits-port-ferry-sinks/
Boat hits Port A ferry, sinks
Passengers on ferry throw boat riders life preservers
By Mike Baird (Contact)
Originally published 08:15 a.m., October 12, 2007
Updated 09:18 a.m., October 12, 2007
PORT ARANSAS — An about 20-foot center console bay boat collided with the Port Aransas R.E. Stotzer Jr. Ferry Boat about 7:15 a.m. Three men in the recreational boat were ejected into the water, and ferry passengers threw them life preserver rings and life jackets as their craft capsized and current carried it several hundred feet toward the gulf before sinking.
“They were going extremely too fast,” said Kevin King, 35, a passenger on the ferry at the time of the accident. “The driver tried to bank right, but a spray of water shot onto the front end of the ferry and they were thrown into the channel.
“It woke me up better than coffee,” said the Victoria hardware store manager on his way to a Port Aransas job site.
All of the men were safely pulled from the water, while the harbormaster stopped ferry traffic. Once safe, operations resumed, with three ferries operating
The bow of the boat was still accessible, and the U.S. Coast Guard is towing it to the Port Aransas' marina for the owners, Coast Guard officials said.
The three men suffered only scrapes. There was no damage to the ferry.
It’s the first accident involving a ferry boat in the six years Howard Gillespie has been ferry operations manager.
“People can expect delays this morning,” Gillespie said. “We are down one boat from our usual morning operation while a marine safety officer inspects the Stotzer.”
An electronic warning sign is operating to warn incoming traffic about the possible delays, he said.
http://www.caller.com/news/2007/oct/12/boat-hits-port-ferry-sinks/