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It was June 14, 2002,
and I stood at the Hudson Anglers Shark Tournament captain’s meeting
in Freeport, New York, my foul-weather gear soaked like a sea sponge.
The northeasterly 15- to 20-knot winds made the cold, early evening rain
even more painful. I called my crew and said, “We’re not sailing
tomorrow even if the tournament’s a go.” I didn’t like
what Mother Nature was dishing out. It had been blowing the entire day
and appeared there was no immediate prospect of it lying down. I told
my guys there would be other trips, and they readily agreed.
The next morning—under
a Small Craft Advisory—the $25,000 tournament went on after the assigned
weather boat reported conditions to be rough but fishable. Four experienced
Long Island offshore anglers, Robert Wright, Robert Hammond Sr., Robert
Hammond Jr., and Peter Quinn, broke the inlet in Eleni II, a 25-footer,
looking for a winning fish. The four never came home. A brief and garbled
Mayday is all that gave any indication that the vessel and crew were in
distress. The bodies of some of the fishermen were found a couple of weeks
later.
The yearlong finger-pointing
maelstrom among anglers and victims’ family members that came in
the wake of these tragic deaths was equal in rage to the tempest that
took these fathers and husbands. Lawsuits were filed, and everyone wondered
why the tournament hadn’t been postponed, especially when there was
an appointed weather day. As a result of the finger-pointing and litigation,
the Legislature of Nassau County (the area where the tournament was headquartered)
has proposed a local bill that requires tournaments to be postponed if
there is a Small Craft Advisory on tournament day. It defines a Small
Craft Advisory as “sustained wind of 25 to 33 knots and/or seas with
waves five feet in height or more within 12 hours.”
Is this legislation
needed? Legislator Michael Zapson (D-Long Beach), who sponsored the bill,
said in a July 2003 interview with Newsday, “We’re looking to
take the decision-making out of the individuals’ hands.” That’s
strong talk, especially to many anglers who pride themselves on prudent
seamanship. Although the events of June 15, 2002 were tragic and any offshore
angler’s worst nightmare, many PMY readers who voted in a
recent online poll regarding this bill’s necessity are against the
legislation.
“As a private pilot,
I am responsible for the go/no decision that must be made prior to every
flight,” says reader Bruce Silver. “I would hope that the people
that operate boats, whether or not it is related to a fishing tournament,
would be held to the same self standards.”
An angler who goes by
the handle Weekend Fishaholic e-mailed us, “Boat owners must know
the limits of their craft and experience. If I am interested in entering
a fishing tournament, I enter the day of the tournament, which gives me
a chance to verify the weather.” Added reader Tom Mason, “There
is still some freedom left in this country; let’s not take the rest
of it away.”
Next page >
Part 2: Tournament Legislation > Page 1, 2
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