Majestic Cruise Ships in Key West and the Costa Concordia...

I'd be stating the obvious if I were to tell ya'll that running aground is an inherent peril of boating... unless of course you were to be sailing a catamaran with little draft or gawd forbid, operating a power-boat.

For ya see, boats of any relevance all have a mast and they all have a keel... at least as far as I am concerned.

Unfortunately it is the keel that is to sure get a real sailor in trouble 'cause invariably that keel is sure to get stuck in the wrong place and at the wrong time thereby causing a lot of anguish.

And it is an anguish that is somewhat akin to getting one's "business" snagged in one's pants zipper. So no, avoid snagging your keel and even more importantly avoid snagging your "business".

In any event I find it incomprehensible that given modern sophisticated navigation technology, that a cruise ship of all things, can stray off course and run aground.

One would only think that the maritime industry would have the equivalent of air-traffic controllers monitoring every ship as it made its approach into treacherous waters.

An Unfortunate Incident Out at Sea...

While perusing through my Picasa Web photo albums the other day I happened to come across a photo that reminded me that mishaps at sea can and do happen.

And although the image shown above was taken from aboard a cruise ship, it was by no means one that your average tourist might cheerfully snap while frolicking about up on deck.... and I can distinctly recall taking this picture with a small measure of trepidation for the picture was of the scene of a tragic accident the previous night.

Sometime during the previous night, with the sailing vessel cruising on autopilot, the captain had fallen overboard while still tethered to the boat. It wasn't until daybreak that his crew mate, who had been blissfully asleep below in a berth all night long, noticed the captain's lifeless body trailing behind the boat.

It goes without saying that activities aboard the cruise ship later that day seemed somewhat subdued.

(location: approximately 80 miles north of the Dominican Republic coastline.)