Hey Steve,

The owner has posted his account of the incident on the Cruising Sailor's Forum, I've copied it below...

Looks like he was lucky the boat was a fractional rig - had it been a masthead rig, the whole thing may have come down, but they caught the bridge just above the top of the forestay...

Obviously, plenty of blame to be shared between both parties, seems like an astonishing degree of absence of communication between the two... What really surprises me, however, is that the tow boat operator chose to go through the channel between Singer Island and Peanut Island, rather than taking the longer way around Peanut Island, and then up the ICW channel towards the bridge. The route he chose is quite narrow and involves two right angle turns, the second of which is just a stone's throw south of the bridge - which does lend some credence to the owner's contention that he couldn't see the clearance boards until it was too late... Had they been approaching from the ICW channel, they would have been able to see the clearance boards from a long way off...

Every time I go that route behind Singer Island, it's a bit nerve-wracking, it can be a real zoo though there... I've stopped a lot at the Sailfish Marina fuel docks, and when the tide is running strong through there, it can be a real challenge in a bigger sailboat, very little room to maneuver... you're passing very close to the docks of Sailfish Marina and Cannonsport, there's a popular jetski rental outlet there and a very busy set of fuel and restaurant docks, it's very common to have someone pop out right in front of you from those rows of docks. The Cigarette boat crowd loves to cruise back and forth though there, the water taxis crossing the channel taking day-trippers out to Peanut Island crossing the channel, and especially given the fact this happened on a Sunday, there is no way I would have chosen to tow a sailboat of that size through there, as opposed to going the longer way around Singer Island...

Having said that, however, IMHO the owner is still ultimately responsible, and some of his comments don't really add up, for me... His boat (looks like a Bavaria, perhaps) only makes 3-4 knots under power, for example???

[quote]

My sincere apologies for not doing update posts. I joined when I saw my boat on Google.

Tow-BoatUS did not file an incident report as required with US Coast Guard and I have been busy doing this.

US Coast Guard is now doing a full investigation of this incident.

My boat height above water line is 64' and the published Blue Heron Bridge clearance is 65'.

The Tow-BoatUS Captain shortened the tow line to less than my boat length when entering Palm Beach inlet and the Tow-BoatUS Captain asked me to take the helm and follow directly behind them as one of the tow lines attached had broken. This took my total concentration as boats were passing in the narrow channel we entered.

The Tow-BoatUS captain only asked my draft and never asked my mast height.

When turning into bridge from NW channel I only saw the bridge water mark at the last few seconds, it was between 62' and 63'. I only had time to start to say a prayer. The Tow-BoatUS Captain told me after the collision that the higher tide was the result of the Moon. The US Coast Guard have told me that Sunday 20th March 2011 was the highest tide in 18 years.

Tow-BoatUS was towing at 5+ knots. My sailboat speed under power is only 3 to 4 knots and if I was in control and going under a bridge I would have been doing 1 knot. I would have had plenty of time to notice the bridge clearance height if I was in control. I am a sailor with 40+ years of experience with Ocean crossings. The reason for the call for assistance was engine failure.

My wife (crew) was injured and boat damage is estimated at about $105,000.00. The boat is totally disabled and we are stranded in Florida.

From information and documents seen I believe that charges could be laid against Tow-BoatUS and the captain by the US Coast Guard.

I think that Tow-BoatUS Palm Beach might not have a valid insurance. They have lied to me and my attorney regarding reporting this to the US Coast Guard and have refused to provide a copy of their insurance.

Tow-BoatUS immediately after the incident admitted being responsible and liable for all repair costs and subsequential expenses. They have now gone back on that promise and deny any liability for the accident.

I have not met a single person yet who says that they are not liable.

Can anyone advise why Tow-BoatUS would not be liable?

If any members have any photos of this incident they should contact US Coast Guard Palm Beach.

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best regards,

Jon