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Weekend tragedy illustrates danger on busy waters

 
This is what’s left of one of the boats involved in Friday night’s crash in Bayboro Harbor, which killed a man and injured two others. It is unknown whether alcohol played a factor.
This is what’s left of one of the boats involved in Friday night’s crash in Bayboro Harbor, which killed a man and injured two others. It is unknown whether alcohol played a factor.
Published May 30, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG — Memorial Day weekend was just kicking off Friday night when, authorities said, a motorboat cut through Bayboro Harbor, hitting another vessel before it rammed into the seawall and spun out of control.

The accident killed a 38-year-old man and left two hurt, signaling a troubling start to a holiday weekend that sees more boats out than usual and, with them, a higher risk of accidents.

"Memorial Day is a day you'd be likely to see people who are not on their boats as much, people who only take it out a few times a year," said Shawn Dudley, dock master at Harborage Marina on Bayboro Harbor. "They might be rusty. They might be out of practice with reading their navigation signals, with handling their boat."

It is unclear what caused the crash Friday night, according to authorities. About 9:30 p.m., a 23-foot Parker motorboat with three passengers on board was crawling east out of the harbor, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report.

It had just left the slow speed zone when a 21-foot Tidewater motorboat carrying Philip C. Stock and Matthew P. Mann, both of St. Petersburg, came up from the south and hit the back right side of the Parker. The Tidewater ran into the seawall at the U.S. Coast Guard station, then spun out of control and hit the wall again.

Stock died at the scene. Mann and Chad E. Angell, a passenger on the Parker, were taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg for treatment. The other passengers on the Parker were not hurt.

Calls to the boaters and their families went mostly unreturned. A woman who answered a phone number listed for Stock's wife said she had no comment. Angell's wife, Mary Beth, said her husband was doing fine. She declined to comment further.

The commission initially reported the crash as alcohol-related but later backtracked, saying it was unknown if alcohol was a factor. Spokesman Gary Morse attributed the change to the preliminary investigation, which sometimes can include inaccurate information.

Two other people were injured this weekend in a water scooter collision south of the Dunedin Causeway on Saturday evening. One was flown to Tampa General Hospital with a head injury, and the other was treated for an arm injury at Mease Countryside Hospital.

The FWC is also investigating that crash.

Florida leads the nation in registered vessels and, last year, the number of accidents, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Overall, boating accidents spike in the summer months. Nationally last year, for example, 19 deaths were recorded in January versus 78 in May, 95 in June and 102 in July.

The FWC tallied 55 boating deaths last year. Of the boat operators involved in fatal crashes, 72 percent had no formal boater education, a factor Morse said is critical to be as safe as possible on the water. The state doesn't administer boating licenses but instead requires operators born after a certain date to take a safety course.

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"People should endeavor to become educated," he said. "Some formal training is recommended, particularly when it comes to the nautical rules of the road."

David Leto, a master deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and boat captain, echoed the need for education and experience. While patrolling the waters Sunday afternoon near the Williams Park boat ramp, he said he'd seen more boats out over the weekend than ever before, many of them so new they didn't yet have their registration numbers attached.

"This is the first time these people have had these boats on the water," he said. "We've done mostly education."

He added that the risks of hitting boats, sandbars and other obstacles is heightened when it's dark outside, as was the case with Friday's deadly crash.

At the marina, Dudley saw the accident as a learning experience.

"It's a terrible thing for this community when someone dies," he said. "Boating is such a joy. But this is a good reminder."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Contact Kathryn Varn at (727) 893-8913 or kvarn@tampabay.com.