The following boat accident occured on August 1, 2010, at approximately 0805 hours.

The operator of Vessel I was traveling in an easterly direction on his way out to spend the day fishing.  He observed a target on his radar that he thought was a buoy.  However, in actuality the target was Vessel II, a commercial vessel that was drifting as the occupants hauled in lobster traps.  The operator of Vessel I claimed that his vessel was on autopilot, and that as soon as he saw Vessel II, he hit the "dodge" button and attempted to put the vessel in reverse, but that the autopilot function stuck and that one of his engines stalled out.  The operator of Vessel II attempted to put his drifting vessel into gear in hopes of moving out of the way once he saw Vessel I approaching, but was too late to get out of the way.  The bow of Vessel I struck the port side of Vessel II, causing over $2,000 in damage to each vessel.  The operator of Vessel I claims that heavy fog at the time of the collision was the primary contributing factor to the crash, but the operator of Vessel II maintains that the mornng fog had lifted and that the weather was clear by the time his boat was struck by Vessel I.  The operator of Vessel I also stated that Vessel II made a sharp turn to the starboard side just before the collision, and that if the operator of Vessel II had not done so, the vessels would have passed port-to-port without making contact; however, the operator of Vessel II stated that he was only able to put his vessel into gear as Vessel I hit.  There are also discrepancies between the estimated speed of Vessel I. The operator of Vessel I states that he was traveling at about 12 knots, while the operator of Vessel II estimates that Vessel I was traveling at about 25 knots.  A nearby fisherman who did not witness the collision stated that Vessel II drove past him just prior to the collision at an estimated speed of 20-25 knots.
Rye                           