South Carolina Accident Report On Boating

ntsb.gov, Feb 07, 2006

During the early morning hours of December 29, 1997, the 34-foot recreational sailing vessel Morning Dew struck the rock jetty on the north side of the shipping channel into the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. The boat was later found about 15 yards south of the jetty, submerged in about 12 feet of water. The owner/operator of the vessel and his three passengers, all members of the same family, died as a result of the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the sinking of the Morning Dew was the operator’s failure to adequately assess, prepare for, and respond to the known risks of the journey into the open ocean that culminated in the vessel’s
allision with the jetty at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. Contributing to the loss of life in this accident was the substandard performance of U.S. Coast Guard Group Charleston in initiating a search and rescue response to the accident.

The investigation of this accident revealed, in several instances, a lack of coordination between the Coast Guard and South Carolina agencies and individuals charged with boating safety responsibilities. Under the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971, recreational boating safety became a shared responsibility of the Coast Guard and the States. The responsibilities of each party were typically spelled out in negotiated and periodically updated agreements between each Coast Guard district and each of the States within the district’s area of responsibility. In the case of South Carolina, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Seventh Coast Guard District and the State was signed in 1984 and reviewed in 1994.

The Boat Safety Act was enacted, in part, to foster cooperation between State and Federal governments in reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage from recreational boating accidents. The act specified cooperative agreements of the type in place between South Carolina and the Coast Guard as one method of ensuring the desired coordination.