Idiots caught on cam
 

Over the years many boats have hit the granite ledge of Black Cat Shoals. It had always been marked with a red buoy south of the ledge. About 15 years ago they installed a black marker just east of the ledge, after which boaters started going between them. They installed FL #83 next to the red marker - more crashes still. The ultimate irony is that the number of crashes has gone up even more since the start of the boater safety certificates. Not long ago we started seeing jet skis crash.

Among the jetski crashes last year: A kid went over the handlebars and headfirst into about 3 feet of water. The rider actually re-mounted and drove away. A man about 40 hit while carrying a 4 or 5 year old girl on the back. She fell off and lay in the water screaming. He responded by angrily yelling at her to get back on, yanked her out of the water, and sped away.

In the last 5 years, jet-skis (and a few boats) have begun to speed between the rocks and the island, not seeming to care at all about the swimmers, moorings, rafts, and docks just 20 feet away (Nor the granite ledge, for that matter.)

What's up with this trend? The latest was just caught on Cam.

I can't imagine that anyone is intentionally doing it (maybe teens) but who knows. Perhaps the best thing about your post is you're educating people to the dangers out there....

That Jet-Ski followed another boat through there, judging by the prop wash.

Silver Duck is right on..
 

Member "Silver Duck" coined the phrase "Captain Bonehead'.

I was on the lake today going from Lake Shore Park to Mink.. What amazes me is the shear number of Captain Boneheads.

Two big old 30' plus crusiers totally ingnored the 150 rule. One came so close it's wake swamped my pontoon after I had to come to a complete stop to avoid a 150' violation... when he was the giveway boat.. and didn't. Didn't even glance in outr direction!!!! The Mount doesn't put up a wake as big as this Captain Bonehead did. (Someone needs to explain the concept of plane and trim..)

He ignored the "crossing rules' as I was the starboard vessel

http://www.boat-ed.com/nh/course/p3-...singSituations

When we got to Mink.. Sitting with our friends I was amazed to sit and watch the Jet Skiers and power boats towing tubes ignoring not only 150", but simple common sense.

Too close to shore, too close to markers, too close to other boats... it was bedlam out there. One guy flipped his "towies" and didn't see them in the water for a solid 2 mins. They almost got hit by a jet skiers on full throttle even tho the jetski was well within the 150' to the tow boat.

I'm coming down on the side of 'it's not the size or speed capabilities of the boat.. it's ALL about getting Captain Bonehead off the water... "

BTW... as a real solid "Live Free or Die" sorta guy.. it pains me to have to suggest we need more rules and or more enforcement.

150' rule qualified
 

The 150' rule does NOT apply to MARKERS or ROCKS. You can go as close to them as you would like without slowing to headway. They are not covered by the 150' rule. If the marker is less than 150' from shore of course you have to keep 150' from the shore (but not the marker). The fact that it is a marker or navigation aid is not a reason to slow to headway. There are exceptions like mooring field markers which are included in the 150' rule. It might be good advice for new boaters to drop to headway within 150' of anything, but it's not in the rules that way (regardless of what it says on the Duncan Press web site).

Best example: I pass by Flashing Light 46 up on plane. I can be 20 feet from it or whatever distance I choose. The Flashing light (marker) sits on an exposed rock by Round Island.

Also, under the right circumstances, water ski tow boats can start closer than 150' from shore. Just another perceived Bonehead move that can be legal and appropriate.

I agree with you and Silver (and others). Everyone can make a mistake but there are too many boaters who just don't understand what's going on. Weekends seem to bring out even more Capt Boneheads.

BTW, where were the observers on the boat that flipped the towies? Did they have them?

Map of area?
 

Does anyone have a map of the area to be avoided? I know the rules and so do my children, but....

Thanks.

The 150' rule seems to be the most frequently abused law on the lake judging from what we see and from what we read here. Today we took a ride up to Green's Basin and the MP had their THREE jet skis up by Suissevale and were stopping people left and right. No one knew the jet skis were MP. They are silver and black. (There also was one of the boats they have always had. It was close but not really in sight when the jet skis were stopping people.) So now we know for sure, they have at least three jet skis and one jet boat.

Skipper
 

Yes... the boat that flipped the two kids on the tube did have an observer..... but she seemed to be slow to spot the problem... I watched as she kept trying to point the driver to the spot the kids were floating in... they were real little kids.. low in the water...lots of chop.. my concern was the speed and direction of the approaching jet skiers.

Thanks for clearing up the rules... I have no problem with admitting that the 150' rule is confusing. I decide to err on the side of caution. I also fully accept the "weaknesses" of my pontoon. (Not a great boat to have on the "Broads' when there is a ton of Boat Chop... so we are careful when we go out.)... it just seems to me that there are too many folks that pay no attention to the effects the wakes their boats create. Way too many folks that ignore the "rules of the road" (Crossing, passing, 150' ect).

I'm sticking with the Captain Bonehead theory. The guy that swamped me was not paying any attention to anything other than where he wanted to go..

It is the area between light #83 and Black Cat Island (three miles southeast of Center Harbor).

In my mind, this is a prime location for a daymark. (Here's what they look like)
http://www.bizer.com/lwother/daymark6.jpg

Maybe if there were TWO spotters!!!
 

Like they are REQUIRED to have instead of just the one woman - they would have seen the KIDS sooner! One spotter for each person being towed behind the boat!

UGH! Pains me to hear stories like this! Especially when kids are involved!! Can anyone say - ROLEMODEL! :rolleye1:

I guess I don't understand - how they lost these kids in the chop!?! If I am driving - I am keeping my eye on the skier/tuber as well as ahead of me and to the port and starboard as well - so when they drop I spin around and do a big loop to guard them from any boaters. Besides that there is the Arms up rule my kids and any of my guests use when they go down!

Simple rules - really people - simple rules!

Captain Bone head seems to have been all over today. I was on plane in the rough chop this afternoon when the captain in his 30 foot cruiser was overtaking me from behind and when I saw him to the side at about 60 feet I stopped. We would have collided if I had not stopped. I observed in horror as the back of his boat passed and I saw he had a kid in tow that no one was watching. This genius was going to drag the kid into my boat if I did not stop. While waiting for him to get far enough away for me to move, the captain's sister passed me at about the same distance from the other direction. We plan to keep a camera at the ready for the next Bone Head Festival.

Maybe if the MP's get enough reports on these true dangers to our safety they will do something about them instead of intentionally closing on random boats to do safety checks.

Attitude
 

This captures the heart of the growing problem: Bonehead + attitude. When I was little I remember plenty of boneheads on the lake. We used to rescue them from the rocks and usually we'd feel bad for them because they usually seemed like generally nice people. The thing is in the last 5 years we've noticed an attitude from them - like "Who put those rocks in MY way during MY vacation?" It's left us on several occasions wishing these people would get swallowed by Winni the Lake Monster.

We always used to be able to swim near the dock without thinking about getting hit by boats but lately we've had several boats & PWC's pass 20 feet from the dock going at plane or faster. Shouting out to them and waving at them to slow down usually results in a less-than-friendly glare with body language that says "What's your problem?" It doesn't seem to matter the age of the operator - we've gotten the same responses from teens on PWCs as well as from 30 and 40-somethings with young kids in their boats.

MP does NOT stop boats for safety checks! They check every boat they stop and every boat stopped is for a valid reason.

The next time you get stopped, why not pay attention to what the officer says when you are first stopped? If you are not clear, ask the officer why you were stopped. It is your right to know.

We went to Winnisquam yesterday. Now just being new boaters I don't know if it's because it's all fresh in our heads or not but many many many boats and PWC's well inside the 150 with huge wake being thrown. Every violation you can imagine was there yesterday, not giving way was another huge one.

Then we saw the stupidest thing EVER!! (being new that's not saying much) 3 PWC's two of which the drivers were sitting on the front yes the FRONT of the PWC facing back wards at very fast speeds, oh and yes they were not 150 from shore either :eek: .

The lake started to get fairly busy so we anchored up just behind Three Islands and spent a lovely day there. At the end of the day we took a cruise back to the sand bar to have a look and holy moley!! There had to be at least 30 to 40 boats on that little sand bar!

CandleLady

30 to 40 atthe sandbar is normal for weekends!
 

BUT - I would have loved to have seen the PWC's with backward facing riders...I cannot even picture in my mind what that looks like let alone how it could be done safely and effectively!:eek:

Oh well - its mid summer at the lakes region - let the horror stories of boating mishaps and boondoggles continue!

Believe me, all three of us had to do a double then triple take on what we were seeing. Why this idiodic idea would come into anyone's head is beyond me.

CandleLady

They are out there in full force now!
 

I've noticed a big increase in Captain Boneheads the last few weeks.It coincides with the increase in boat traffic in that period.I watched 2 bass boats go between LI and FL77(across form Sandy Isl) on Sunday.I know there is a set of rocks right near where they passed.I watched waiting for the bang but they missed.They were shortcutting myself and another boat that I was slowing for at the marker so I was actually hoping they had a little scare.

Many areas of the lake require"local" knowledge.If I knew where the shoals were,wouldn't it be ok to navigate between them and Blackcat Isl ?

Two cringe-worthy events, one wrong side of the marker , one shattered my belief in common sense.

Last Sunday, a twenty something bowrider with at least 6 people on board, on full plane, traveling 35-40 MPH, crossed the Witches just north of the southernmost red markers. It sure looked like they saw the marker and just misread it. I gave them five or ten blasts but they just waved. Thankfully they didn't hit anything.

Yesterday we're heading towards Glendale south of Welch, when a large blue express crusier, 35'+ crosses us 75' off to our port bow. That's bad enough but not that unusual.

BUT on the bow of their boat are at least two kids, lying on their stomachs, Superman-style on the bow cushions, they're holding on to the short cushion rails literally for their lives. Every bump sends their bodies flying up into the air. I'm still kicking myself for not calling the MP, but all I could have said was a big blue boat with kids on the bow.

Sorry to Stereotype
 

But I just have to VENT!!!! WHY is it that 80% of the Bass Boat drivers on this lake have absolutely NO CLUE what the rules of the lake are. I am convinced this year more than ever that Bass Boats are the absolute worst offenders of the R.O.W. and 150 foot rule. I apologize to the less than 20% of Bass Boat drivers who actually have a clue.

3 MAJOR incidents with Bass boats this week alone. I had my twin 3 year old boys in our small boat (13 foot Whaler). I was slowing down due to Traffic as three boats were coming together at the same point. I was giving way to the boat coming from my right (he was coming out of the Graveyard, I was coming from 19 mile bay). There was another boat coming from the direction of the Barbers pole (on my left). All of a sudden a Bass boat coming from the direction of Long Island at almost full speed zig-zags around those two and zips across my bow about 10-15 FEET off my bow. I stopped my boat and raised my arms he starts to actually WAVE at me then he sees me and just shrugs. That is just one of the incidents.

Phew that feels good getting that off my chest.

ummmm sure!! :)

Capt. Bonehead
 

Saw another one on Sunday Morning. This one was in a twenty something foot bow rider with at least 5 people on board, all standing. They were coming out from the graveyard/nineteen mile bay area, and heading toward the Long Island Bridge. We had come by the Barber's pole and were heading in the same direction. I was well ahead of them and headed between the six sticks off Hurricane/pleasant islands. I looked over my right shoulder and here they come about halfway between the red markers and Hurricane island. I know its pretty shallow between the markers, nevermind where they were, so I slowed and tried to wave them around behind me and make them aware of the markers. It didn't work, I awaited a crunch, but they lucked out this time. :rolleye1:

Boneheads
 

Were in abundant last weekend. I saw an Anchor marine rental boat roar up to the Meredith docks Saturday. When he found the docks full, he roared back out. WOW! This guy has a lot of brass!

Then there as a Thurston Marine pontoon boat that cut across my bow at speed heading toward the West Alton sandbar. I was heading out of the WAM channel before the last channel markers!

I have seen very little of the Marine Patrol this weekend. Where were they?????????????? :eek:

Local Knowledge OK
 

Absolultely. That's what people on the south tip of Black Cat have to do when leaving or entering dock. The entire area between the hittable rocks and the island is less than 90 or 100 feet of the shoreline, so "No Wake" definitely applies, but you can navigate through there. We never had a problem with people doing that, because they always stuck to No-Wake and kept an eye out for swimmers, canoers, kayakers, etc. which are frequently there (along with a few submerged boulders here and there.) If we were in the water we often exchanged friendly waves with the boaters and occasionally they'd stop for a minute to chat. In the last few years we've seen less of that and more ignorance/rudeness, and many are acting like we're the ones who are out of line for swimming and paddling in their way.

Here's an idea... why don't we all start making a point of bringing digital camera and/or camcorder on boat rides, and start posting these pics/videos either on this thread or in a special Capt. Bonehead Gallery. Or maybe start a "Captain Bonehead's Winni Wall of Shame" on YouTube.

Welllllllll...between tending to the diver who dove off a boat while on a sandbar and broke his neck...and the boat collision off Bear Island, the marine Patrol was a bit busy it seems.

Boneheads Bonanza!
 

Sit at the Glendale docks on a weekend day, and you get your fill of entertainment for the year!!!:laugh:

Or any Gas docks
 

Very entertaining. Better than reality TV!

Boat Collision???
 

I missed that one, is there a thread I missed or does anyone have any more information about this? :(

license to kill
 

I got my on-line boating license on December 25th last year ( needed to do it in 2010), just so I could operate a boat if I had to. I have no interest in using this license if I can avoid it. This lake is too crazy for me. Are you listening MP? A:rolleye2: and more importantly NH Legislature?

boat collision story
 

localrealtor, here is the story from the Citizen:

Monday, July 23, 2007 Boats collide off Bear Island

MEREDITH —No one was injured Saturday afternoon when two boats collided off of Jerry Point on Bear Island.

The N.H. Marine Patrol said Paul Parisi, 45, of Milton, Mass. was headed east around 4:50 p.m. when his power boat collided with one driven by Greg Chandonnet, 23, of Rutland, Mass.

The collision caused a hole in the side of Chandonnet boat. There were no arrests.


c. 2007 George J. Foster Co.

I had an encounter with a truly world class Captain Bonehead this weekend. :rolleye1: I was cruising at dead slow about 75 ft from shore, trying to stay out of the way of the tubers/skiers/wakeboarders using the area, and one idiot cut between me and shore pulling a slalom skier. :eek: Absolutely unbelievable.

I'd suggest that the MP put out a whole lot more 150 ft. markers, but they'd probably just get run over...:rolleye2:

By the way, I can't take credit for the expression Captain Bonehead - but it seems appropriate so I use it (on a family forum - I have other names for him in private!)

Silver Duck

had the same thing happened, I was on my PWC with my son so I was less than happy.

We've actually been pleasantly surprised this season with regards to boaters actually giving-way when they are the give-way boat. I used to estimate that 2/3 of the time someone was supposed to give-way to us, they didn't. But this year, it's probably been 75% or more accurrate compliance. :cool:

The 150ft rule, however, is a different story! :eek:

Dangerous and negligent
 

What I find of even greater concern is those that tow their kids on tubes or knee boards thought the greatest areas of congestion. It seems to me that they are exposing their kids to significant risk. Further, they often are ignoring the 150' regulation whipping the tubes within 50 ft of other boats at on plane speeds. I just can't understand it. An adult risking themselves I kind of get, even though I think they are being fools. But to risk their kids??? :eek:

When we go tubing or skiing we seek out a quiet cove or out of the way place. I just don't get it. Are these people truly that thoughtless? :(

CLP,didn't realize that the shoals were only 100 ft from shore.I'd be more than a little mad if I had boats buzzing through there like your photo shows.

I couldn't agree more. :eek: Kind like the adults that push their children in a stroller out into traffic to make the point they like to cross the road. :rolleye1:

Yup
 

Never mind 100 feet, we've had them buzz the dock at 20 feet away, where people often swim. They've buzzed the neighbor's swim raft at about the same distance. They're not just teenagers, they're often 30-somethings with young kids with them.

I wonder if these are the same people I often see weaving in and out of traffic on the highway, going 90 mph while making conference-calls on their cell phones.

boaters education
 

It seems to me that the boater education has not worked. With all the violations of the 150' rule. Perhaps it has helped in some areas, but not in the most important area and that is the safety of all concerned. Another safety item is a removable key link. I am told that the jet skies have them, but I read about the accident in Old Saybrook CT where the driver drunk fell out of his boat, and the boat kept going ran over a sailboat that had four people aboard and killed one of them. The Towboat service had a heck of a time stopping this boat. I tried to pull my key out of my boat his weekend and it would not work. Me thinks that this would be a wise thing to have in a boat. Of coarse if this guy was not sitting on the gunwale, he perhaps would not have fallen in.

I haven't seen a I/O or outboard powered boat built in the last 10+ years that did not have a kill switch and lanyard as a standard item. Problem is, if the lanyard is not connected to the operator, it makes no difference. I must confess that I never connect mine to me on the lake, but I have a very deep cockpit, and a good sized boat for Winnipesaukee conditions. I do connect it on the ocean.

You can't fix stupid
 

I'm just shaking my head at all the Captain Bonehead stories. But it's only a couple more weeks before they all start heading home. May and October are the most wonderful months to be on the Lake... Although I do enjoy the July and August swims.

I read the stories about near-collisions while folks are under way, but we were almost run over while anchored! A 30+ foot cruiser at ~20 MPH and maximum wake potential went 30 feet off our bow and I could have sworn he didn't see us. But I could see both he and his passenger, so they clearly had to be able to see me. I was on the horn for 15 seconds as they were approaching and finally the passenger turns and... the wave. Yeah, I just wanted to throw out a friendly hello before you swamped me. Did he get his boating certificate online?

And to cross threads a little bit, I'm not in favor of more buoys, larger navaids for the visually impaired or giant floating rings around the witches. Sure, on dark days or in glaring sun they can be hard to spot. But that's why the throttle control includes Neutral. In my opinion, the pursuit of safer navigation is why charts were created. If you can't read a chart, you're at a disadvantage. I don't want the lake to change into some forest of oversized "colored sticks" in some ill-advised attempt to try and fill the gap created by folks lacking the personal responsibility to navigate the lake safely.

What next? Those big orange crash barriers like they use on the highway in the event you blow by the buoys, run over the yellow ring, and still hit the witches?

About 20 years ago we were on the water and moving along quickly on a calm but overcast day when we missed the southern-most buoy on the witches. BANG!!!! We all jump, the outboard hinges all the way forward and we see the buoy about 75 yards to our left. Scared the cr*p out of me as someone exclaimed, "We're in the witches!" But that was our bad. We didn't need more buoys. We needed to keep better track of where we were. Luckily there was no major damage and no one got hurt. But being in an area of what appears to be clear and deep water with the primary and visible witches far far off to our right, and not knowing what else is hiding right below the surface is an ugly feeling that still sticks with me today.

I keep waiting for someone to ask why we don't blast all the shoals that impede our ability to boat with reckless abandon... And why hasn't Marine Patrol already started doing that? :laugh:

I saw that Cap'n Bonehead, too. He also passed so close to us that his wake broke over our bow and drenched me, my son, and his friend. (My wife was sitting on one of the stern seats, so she missed all of the wash.) I was the stand on vessel, making about 8 knots (too rough to go up on plane - we weren't in a hurry and felt no need to beat ourselves black and blue), when he passed all of 40 feet in front of us, his kids hanging on for dear life.

Damn, where's my .50-cal when I need it?

Lots of action now
 

If you look quick you can see lots of action on the Black Cat Weather Cam time lapse and past images starting at about 5:20 PM tonight. http://www.blackcatnh.com/archive.html

Lake Darwinism in its purist form!

Not unlike the dopes who ignore charts and go over the Bizer Rock.

How about this, the next time some genius runs up on the Witches or other similar nav hazard, leave the boat there (ok, drain the oil and other fluids, remove the foam that could choke duckies, ect.) as a warning to others? I bet a boat lodged on a rock would be a highly visible warning! :D

Better yet, after scrubbing and leaving it there a little while as a warning, tow it somewhere and sink it so we have some more recent wrecks to find. Love to have one of those summa-humma/boats-that-don't-belong-on-Winni monsters to dive on.

And as an added bonus, its a new habitat for fishies. Of course the second we pull it off the rocks someone will want bigger buoys to warn them.

More Boneheads
 

We were in Moultonboro this weekend, in a bay (won't say which one, but near 19 Mile). We anchored not too close to shore, because I don't want to be in the face of homeowners... it's rude. So we were probably 200 feet offshore. We had a boater (driven by kid, coulldn't tell age) towing a skier (the parent). The boat came between us and the shore, and between us and another boat, way too close.... we honked and shouted and gesticulated. Later the boater came over to our boat and asked basically what was our problem. My husband cited the 150 rule, the boater said "I know the law" ... but when told he was too close, he advised us that we had anchored too far into the bay and made it difficult for him to ski. I guess he must own the lake, and we just didn't know. What a turkey.

You can have a spotter face backward very safely on a Jet Ski. My SeaDoo had a very substantial grab handle int he rear just for this. It's really no big deal. Plus if you are towing someone you are generaly doing gradual turns and going reasonable slow.

There was no one being towed...just the operator alone..sitting on the front of the sled (hood)....two of them doing this on seperate sleds...Are you allowed to tow with a jet ski? I mean sure if someone your with has an engine problem but are you allowed to two a skier or tube? Stupid question but what the heck, I'm new... :coolsm:

We pull a skier with the jetski's all the time. You have to have a spotter who is physically able to rescue the person being towed in case he or she becomes incapacitated, have a seat available on the jet ski to be able to put that person on and finally the spotter needs to be looking at the person being towed and the only way to do this is to sit backwards on the jetski. Our jetski also has a large grab bar for the spotter to hold onto as 4Fun mentioned. Our boat is a little too big and throws out too much of a wake for novice water skiiers so this is a great alternative!

Yup, Jetski tow
 

We have towed tubes with our jetski. However, you are limited to to a single tube because a spotter is required for each tuber or skier. So no double rider tubes. The spotter rides "backwards" and holds on to the grab bar. Actually, I feel more secure hanging on to the grab bar because it is solid molded plastic where when I face forward the easiest thing to hold onto is either the driver or a thin strap. You never go that fast while towing anyway.

It truly amazes me that some people don't use their charts. Except for going to shore or to the other end of the island - trips I make almost everyday - I look at my chart everytime I go out (just a quick 20 second peek), to be absolutely sure that I know what markers I'm looking for and on what side I should pass them. Charts take all the guess work out of navigating the lake. Well . . . maybe not. When I have R.O.W. I have to guess whether the other boater is going to give it to me, and then be ready in case he/she doesn't.:eek:

A picture is worth one thousand words:
http://www.bizer.com/lwautumn/bizer_rk_0291047.jpg

I agree with you 100 %. My guess is that we have so many people :look: from out of state that come for short term vacations that don't bother to purchase a chart. I think we have plenty in state boaters that also follow suit as well.
In a perfect world, everyboater would further their boater education by taking more advanced classes such as piloting and seamanship. As they say..."the more you know..."

Just maybe....
 

Just maybe an up to date chart of the lake should be required.. even if only on rented boats. Heck we rightly have to have all sorts of other stuff on our boats.... why not a chart? :confused:

Sometimes even having a chart isn't enough. This past weekend, a family pulled into an empty slip on the cruiser dock at Sheps, chart in hand, asking where they were. Seems they were trying for the east side of Long Island, and wound up at Sheps! :eek:

If you don't know the lake, it's pretty easy to get mixed up unless you actually pay careful attention to where you are. Better yet, use a marker to manually draw a "bread crumb" trail on the map a la GPS! :rolleye1:

Silver Duck

Why require a map?
 

Don't require the purchase of a map. If you do, all these ill informed boaters won't leave something that our intrepid divers can recover! It's probably one of the things that makes diving interesting.:laugh:

No doubt - have done that myself - and not worth my post...re-read the quote!
 

Then we saw the stupidest thing EVER!! (being new that's not saying much) 3 PWC's two of which the drivers were sitting on the front yes the FRONT of the PWC facing back wards at very fast speeds, oh and yes they were not 150 from shore either .

Driver facing backwards - NOT the spotters!!:cool:

Ya Know, I hate to say it but ...
 

This is natures way of eliminating the weak and sickly,,,the ones who should not breed ... unfortunately ,the kids end up paying the price in some cases . So sad to have " know- it - all parents"
Back in the 1950's and '60's things were so much easier on the lake...

In the Virgin Islands where I like to spend a few weeks each winter, they make sure that there is always a small sailboat on display for "newbies" . Right now and for the past 2-3 years ,there is a small hunter ,around 40 feet, lying on her side on some shoals ....the belongers there have pretty much stripped her of anything made of metal, but even the most cautious captain gets a slight "jolt" when passing this boat . 5-6 years ago it was a 43 foot cat ,one reef over ! ...not too many boats go down in the British Virgin Islands anymore ,,,,at least not to running aground. Now misuse of propane grills...that's a "whole 'nother story".Lots of melted plastic sitting at the bottom of the Sir Francis Drake Channel !
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