Author George Day

Last Saturday night at about 10:25 pm, a 22-foot Bayliner bow rider with 14 people aboard capsized near Liberty Island in New York Harbor. All passengers were tossed into the water and two tragically lost their lives. The boat operator, Manuel Hernandez, 46, has been arrested and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment.  The Coast Guard is working with the NYPD to “determine whether the boat in question was engaged in an illegal charter operation.” When the capsize happened, a nearby boater called 911 and rescue teams from New Jersey and New York were quickly on the scene and…

Italian builder Invictus recently launched their new ST550 which is now the builder’s flagship. Designed by Christian Grande, the new Invictus has the brand’s unique “half-reverse” bow and the styling and aggressive lines that are unmistakably Invictus. The ST550 emphasizes living space –the S in ST stands for “space”– and being close to nature with a huge sunning lounge and sitting area forward and a large cockpit with sun beds and sofas on the aft deck that can be expanded with the fold down platforms on both sides. The side decks from cockpit to bow have high bulwarks that will…

In 1918, the USS Cyclops enroute across the Atlantic disappeared in the region south of Bermuda now known as the Bermuda Triangle without a trace. Her crew were all lost with no survivors and no bodies to recover. In 1921, the sailing ship the Carroll A. Deeriing, a five-masted trading schooner, made a voyage through the triangle from Barbados to Bermuda.  Reported missing, the ship was later found on a reef with all crew missing. All that remained aboard were three cats. In 1945, a flight of Navy  bombers known as Flight 19 took off from Ft. Lauderdale for Europe,…

On Tuesday this week, Michael Simpson, 51, was arrested by Miami police and charged with second degree attempted murder. He was brought before a judge to hear the chage and then released on a $10,000 bond. Authorities allege that at 530 am on July 29 two men were anchored in a well known lobstering spot when Simpson arrived in his own boat. An argument ensued between the original boat owner and Simpson, who accused the man and his friend of lobstering in “Simpson’s spot.” While this was going on, one of the two men was in the water diving for…

Last week’s On Watch column on the recent report from the World Shipping Organziation on the number of containers lost at sea during the year, noted that some 1478 containers went over the side. This is up markedly fron 2025, large because one ship lost 649 containers in one incident. Our old friend Seibe Nordze of Newport, RI, runs the marine gear and equipment dealership Euro Marine Trading in Newport, RI. In his previous career, he was in the marine shipping business and has run and managed many container ships. Here are his insights into the real hazards provided by…