Navigational Hazards

TowBoatUS And The Case Of The Wayward Weather Buoy

After a seven-hour hunt, Captains Trey Tuggle and Jeremy Larson of TowBoatUS St. Augustine retrieve an errant weather buoy with a sea turtle attached.

Oh-Oh... What to Do if Your Sailboat Goes Aground

The grim instant a boat's keel bumps bottom could signal the beginning of a catastrophe with the typical grounding is somewhere in between.

Close Call: Boats Collide

The skipper of a 35-foot sailboat is lucky to be alive after a 37-foot charter fishing boat struck his boat at speed.

What Happens When You Run Aground And How To Avoid It

A longtime marine accident investigator shares tales of damage from his casebook — and tips on how to avoid being that guy stuck on the sandbar.

What To Do If Your Vessel Strikes A Submerged Object

Struck submerged object claims can be costly. If you can't avoid it, know what do if you hit something in the water.

Striking A Submerged Object Claims Analysis

BoatUS Marine Insurance analysis of claims from boaters who've hit submerged objects offers good lessons.

Avoiding the Video-Game Syndrome

Relinquishing ongoing decision-making to a bunch of microprocessors can lead to an embarrassing grounding — or worse.

Navigational Hazards or a Hazard to Navigation?

An experienced marine-accident investigator who has seen it all explains how it's easier to probe a case involving a hazard to navigation than one where the skipper is the primary navigational hazard.

Keeping A Proper Lookout

Rule 5 of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) expressly requires that every vessel maintain a proper lookout by every means available in order to reduce conditions for catastrophe.