The mysterious disappearance of a charter boat crew has docks and marinas filled with unease, with some captains promising to more thoroughly vet clients and others thinking of carrying a gun.It all started Sept. 22, when the Coast Guard found two men in a life boat and the 47-foot fishing charter adrift miles away—with no sign of its four crew
members.“What happened is kind of scary,” said David Ide, who charters a 41-foot Hatteras from Fort Lauderdale. “It’s going to change a lot of people in the business.”
Some South Florida captains wondered if they’d have taken the fare. The men paid $4,000 cash—high, but not unreasonable a two-day trip. Raising suspicion, it was a one-way journey from Miami to Bimini that involved no fishing.
“I think that captains will research their parties a little bit more now,” said Tom Williams, captain of a 38-foot Rampage based in North Palm Beach.Bart Sherwood, a friend of the missing skipper and captain of a 43-foot Merritt out of Miami, said he was thinking of carrying a gun.Ide said he was too—in addition to searches of the backpacks and coolers clients bring aboard.“We’re going to have to screen them,” he said. “We’ll definitely search their bags.”
Source: WTVJ
Filed under: Bimini, Citadel, Ghost boat, captain, charter boat, crew, disappearance, marinas
