Bad Kitty - FAIL!!

[DaveS007]

Maybe a little Love City sprinkled in; when you are crossing the street at Caps and a "local" is coming along obvious that you are there, do you step back on the curb, or do you hold your ground. The Capt has backed to that beach 100's of times. It's nothing new to have swimmers there that just mosey over a bit. I've done it. Or you can ... ( i edited for your blessed civility )

[toes in the sand]

There is only one account here of what happened in White Bay that day. It sounds as if the captain of bad kitty should have hailed the swimmers and asked permission for him to drop off his passengers. There is no reason to point your live propellers at a swimmer and expect him to move.
BUT....
If you are the father of that brave young man who stood his ground against a tank in Tianamen Square in 1989 do you sit back and watch with pride or move in as swiftly as you can and push him out of harms way?
As a parent my first thoughts are wih my childs safety. It is still possible to be proud of a healthy kid and a lesson can be learned to just let it go.

A small strip of sand is not worth putting my childs life in danger.

[Connie]

Great idea, Connie. I nominate you. Give them a call and report back with what they have to say.

Bad Kitty is a 49' catamaran. If I'm in the water and see a 49' catamaran heading for me, I'll get out of its way. If my child is in the water and I see a 49' catamaran bearing down on him (and for whatever reason, he's not getting out of the way), I will get him out of the way. I won't try to stop the boat (who knows what they're thinking?) and I won't wait until it's FOUR FEET away from him. It's not a dinghy, it's a 49' catamaran. Pretty black and white. Get him to safety, get myself to safety. After that, there's a lot of different ways that it could go, but seeing that my child and I are safe is the only thing that really matters.

Hey.. Took you up on your nomination and wrote a very respectable email it the Company. If they want to comment, fine. If they dont't, fine. Up to them for their take on wha happened.

[Exit Zero]

Cleveland Dave - What was the result of your call to the Marine Safety Officer at USCG STT?

[Lex]

It's common sense to get out of the way. If I see a child (my child or somebody else's child) in a potentially dangerous situation, the most human response is to intervene to insure their safety. This is crisis intervention, details get sorted our later. Blame gets assigned, lawyers appear. Good Samaritan laws provide some protection.

Actually, the most interesting aspect of this is the number of views this thread has had. Way more than any other thread. I'm uncertain what to make of that but I have a feeling it's not flattering.

[stj4me]

We saw a similar occurrence at White Bay three Sundays ago. The knucklehead captain of Lion in da Sun threw his anchor very, very close to a couple of people standing in the water with their drinks. Yes, he threw the anchor right at them instead of getting out of the boat and placing it by hand. The people were pretty pissed off and I think rightfully so. Water even splashed into their drinks. The captain even had the nerve to ask those people if they would sink the anchor for him since it didn't stick when he threw it! Needless to say, they were less than willing to assist him.

[ClevelandDave]

Cleveland Dave - What was the result of your call to the Marine Safety Officer at USCG STT?

They advised from the start that since the incident took place outside of their jurisdiction, they would not be able to initiate any enforcement action.

I suggested that their licensing purview was an appropriate jurisdictional arena for possible action and that vessel/captain safety incidents were trans-jurisdictional. I then proceeded to describe the incident.

At the end of the day, this may well just be deposited in the Bad Kitty File, maybe not.

I do have faith that the BVI's concerns regarding treatment of visitors to their country may win out. Remember, they are not obligated to allow Bad Kitty into the BVI.

I want to thank all of you who have expressed concern regarding my son's well being on that day. Base parental instincts can be easily aroused.

Regardless of anyone's impressions of my worth as a parent, I would hope that the central issue of Bad Kitty's actions would not be lost.

Bottom-line...Bad Kitty is undeserving of your patronage or recommendation.

[PA Girl]

I know nothing about boating "rules of the road" but from a public perception/reputation standpoint, I think the captain behaved poorly by getting so close to a person in the water whether by accident or on purpose (which seems to be the case in the described incident)

I have been to White Bay at least 5 times on a charter and never did the boat get close enough to walk to shore, let alone just get my feet/lower legs wet. We always had to swim in (considerable distances 2x) and were taken on on a dingy twice. The swimming times included very weak swimmers that needed to be "noodled" to shore and back.

Is it common for people to expect to be dropped off right at the waters edge?

[Florida Girl]

I have been to White Bay at least 5 times on a charter and never did the boat get close enough to walk to shore, let alone just get my feet/lower legs wet. We always had to swim in

And that's how the Soggy Dollar Bar got its name!

[mnfun2bme]

Interesting topic.... Interesting comments.... Lots of views.

This forum is about sharing experiences. Cleveland Dave did just that... he posted his experience.

It may not have been a great experience or one that people necessarily want to hear, but, nonetheless, he took the time to share it and let forumites determine if they want to continue to support a company that allegedly put someone in danger.

I will say though, it has kept me entertained reading replies for the last 20 minutes and that has been WAY more entertaining than the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics!

Thanks for the entertainment. Glad everyone is safe.