How Crowded Was Boat in Fatal Accident?

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL -- Pleasure boats have a Coast Guard plate mounted near the helm listing the maximum weight and the maximum number of people that can safely be on board.

But the operator of the Jacksonville Boat Club says that information can be misleading.

"They have a safety label and a tag on each and every one of the boats, and it's rated for weight," said Ryan Walker.

"There is a capacity on there, but it's based on a 120-to-140 pound person. And as you know, most people getting on the boats are a little heavier than that, unless they have kids, and that kind of stuff."

Walker demonstrated that point with thirteen adults and one infant boarding a boat similar to the one that had fourteen aboard when it crashed in Palm Valley, killing five people.

"The legal capacity of the boat sometimes far exceeds what's common sense-wise," said Walker, pointing out the demonstration of fourteen people on his 23-foot boat.

"There were far too many people on that vessel. Everybody's kind of jostling for a position. There's not enough seating on board and it's very dangerous."

Looking at how full Walker's boat was, it was easy to see just how crowded the boat that crashed on Easter Sunday must have been. It reportedly left a different marina with 12 adults on board, adding two more riders while docked at a waterfront bar in St. Augustine.

Walker says, in the name of safety, the Jacksonville Boat Club would never allow a member to leave the dock with that kind of load.

"It's also very hazardous in this case that we demonstrated just now there were people blocking the operator's view."

The operator's view and the number of passengers aboard are among key questions still unanswered as state and federal investigators continue their probe into the cause of that fatal Easter Sunday crash.

And Ryan Walker is confident that his club's rules and procedures would never allow an overloaded boat to leave the dock.

"Making sure that we can monitor the proper weight limits on each one of the boats. And we do that on each and every outing."

©2009 First Coast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.