Everybody screws up at one time or another. The captain really did screw up but what if the conditions he had endured caused him to make a fatal mistake in judgement? How do you unravel that? I guess, that high premium I pay includes a bit of judgement error for a captain that makes a bad decision causing something like that.

I'm all for licensing anyone that is in charge of a boat that has more than just one person on board. Even as a solo it should be necessary for that person to have at least liability insurance.

For me, if a guy destroys my boat in a collision and has no insurance I should be able to shoot him and tae what's left of his boat.

Sad story any time someone is lost due to someone making such a grossly stupid decision.