Contender crash

[DJWILLIAMS]

http://www.wptv.com/content/news/martin/st...oPqDx7kC_w.cspx

[CATEGORY 5]

It was over the labor day weekend, crazy. I went out that intlet all three days and i didn't see any of that. I guess it's all about timing.

[kingair]

It was over the labor day weekend, crazy. I went out that intlet all three days and i didn't see any of that. I guess it's all about timing.

STUART, FL -- Jeremy Glass was enjoying the holiday weekend on the water with friends when he spotted a small boat tearing through the St. Lucie Inlet at 30 mph with no one at the wheel.

"The boat was headed right toward us so it was definitely a moment of panic," he recalls.

Martin County Sheriff's deputies say three people were riding on that 23 foot Contender when a large swell knocked them overboard. The boat kept going.

Jeremy’s father watched it happen. He said another boat fished the three people out of the water, so he turned his attention to the runaway boat.

"We decided to follow the boat make sure it didn’t run over anybody," said Virgil Glass.

The shoreline was packed with recreational boaters and fishermen. The boat could have hit anything or anyone.

"There were people on the north side of the rocks, people on the south side of the rocks fishing and they had absolutely no clue," said Jeremy.

Jeremy started shooting video of the chase, which he later posted on YouTube.

In the video, you can see the runaway boat veers 180 degrees and heads right for a rocky jetty along the inlet. The boat crashes into the rocks and flies 3 to 4 feet in the air before landing on the other side of the jetty.

Jeremy and his friends drove to the other side of the jetty, then jumped in the water to turn off the motors on the runaway boat.

"It had some holes in it and the motor was smoking pretty bad," said Virgil Glass.

Save one small injury, deputies say the three people ejected from that boat were OK, but add they could have avoided the whole episode if the captain had worn a lanyard on his wrist, tied to the kill switch on the boat.

"It was a freak accident but it’s good it played out like it did," said Jeremy Glass

Edited September 9, 2009 by Kingair

[wiley]

WOW!

Contenders are fast!

I keep waiting for the day I see that here like if someone falls asleep with the auto-pilot on etc.

[Trollnheel]

Truly an AWESOME video

[eliteftlaud]

Contender offers a lifetime hull warranty right?

[one4water]

OK so here is a question for this one. The guys that chased the boat down and shut it off, can they now claim salvage rights to the boat and get paid to tow it in or work a deal for repair or release with the insurance company?

[Cracker Larry]

OK so here is a question for this one. The guys that chased the boat down and shut it off, can they now claim salvage rights to the boat and get paid to tow it in or work a deal for repair or release with the insurance company?

Yes

[davepen]

So, if I were able to come alongside and take control of this boat, would it be mine?

[one4water]

I don't know about ownership transfer but it looks like salvage rights at least. You could charge recovery, towing and storage fees if I understand things correctly. I guess at some point you could try to get ownership by trying to charge a huge fee but that we be a negotiation between you and insurance and any lien holders. May not be actually worth it and I would hope there would be a law against it. Otherwise people could go out grab a boat after it mysteriously broke from its mooring and say they want a half a million dollars for salvage on a boat worth 50k and take the title in exchange for the cash. Then they have a boat to sell for an easy 50k.

Now I wonder how it would differ between claiming salvage rights it after it hit the rocks and say you did jump onto it and stop it before any damage was done. Now you saved the insurance company from unknown damages and liabilities. I wonder what would the settlement would be for that compared to a towing and repair bill.

Not that I plan to go out and rake someone over the coals in a similar situation but just curious as to how the whole salvage thing works.