By: Capt. Tim Ramsey
By now we’ve all seen the incident that took place up in Punta Gorda between “the best charter captain in the world” and a kid fishing by himself under the Byron Collier Bridge. A bunch of thoughts are running around old Tim’s head. Here they are in no particular order.
What sort of irrational, ignorant, backwoods is boat rage? If you’re wound so tight you snap while out on your boat, you have no business being on it. Stay home, sit alone in your garage with the door closed and the lights off, and save the rest of us from dealing with your idiotic behavior. Out on the water you need to be rational, safe, and present an image of capability, cooperation, and safety to others. Period. Besides, your goal is to have fun, not to deliver any knuckle sandwiches.
Claiming to work three hundred days a year on the water doesn’t sound like something coming from someone 100% disabled. The news reported this individual suffered brain injuries while in the service and is considered completely disabled. The question becomes is his disability mental? Was his brain injured to the extent he is not safe to be around? Does the injury cause his temper to go from simmer to boil in an instant like we all saw? Does it cause aggression and irrational behavior? Is that why he boarded that kid’s boat with the intent to either harm the kid or scare him half to death? Should he be allowed to take strangers out on a boat thus isolating them from a way of egress if his aggression turns toward them or his mind completely cracks?
Does that hopefully former captain understand his act of what I consider piracy? He boarded another vessel at sea with hostile intent. Does he understand that by doing so he also abandoned his own boat and the paying passengers that were his responsibility? It’s not like they were any great humanitarians or helpful in any way. As “Captain Composure” flew into a ridiculously prolonged rant followed by a rage-induced stunt, the people on his boat sat with their thumbs, in military terms, up their “fourth point of contact.” I watched the video in stunned silence and realized they did the same thing, only they were there and failed to intervene. If all of them were combat vets as the captain proclaimed, they should have some experience with evaluating a threat and “escalation of force” and should have said something. Did they forget the term “de-escalation?” One of them even works in emergency services, but he sat there completely useless without saying even so much as “hey, calm down.” How safe does that make you feel?
How did this dude get in the service in the first place? The news explained his prior history as a law-breaking knucklehead with impulse control, so how did he manage to join the army? What does being a combat vet have to do with fishing under a bridge in Florida? I’m a combat vet and I don’t think I ever told anybody about it while out fishing.
Who said this guy wasn’t the best charter captain in the world? Why was he absolutely convinced the kid was lying and didn’t take even five seconds to consider what the kid said was true? Would he have been so tough in a one-on-one situation? Would he have been so animated if he didn’t have the audience on his boat? The terms “unhinged” and “deranged” come to mind. Does he realize that his actions put an unfair stink on other charter captains? And aren’t they supposed to know the rules? The guy claimed he didn’t have to slow down to go through the bridge, but that is not the law.
Sure, the guy’s lawyer says he apologized. Right. That sort of apology is about as weak as Will Smith apologizing to Chris Rock on Twitter after slapping him at the Oscars, rather than facing him in person, humble and contrite, explaining his actions and apologizing to him. In my book, someone else apologizing for you is not an apology. Further, the lawyer wants people to consider his disability status as an excuse. Nonsense. All that does is make people wonder if a guy considered 100% disabled because of brain injuries should be around other people and responsible for their safety.
The kid on the other boat was caught unaware, but I bet he learned a valuable lesson. Never let someone with hostile intent close enough to board your boat. Why did he let “Captain Calm Cool and Collected” get close enough to board? A little distance between boats would have helped. Ironically, while I hate the fact that today’s younger generation is so lost to narcissism that every experience is worthless unless uploaded to the internet for clicks and other forms of anonymous validation, this time I’m glad the kid recorded the entire unfortunate event and put it on social media.
The charter captain is lucky he didn’t pull that stunt down in the 10K Islands or on an adult who likes to exercise their constitutional rights. Several people I know arm themselves for “just in case” situations down in the Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades National Park. I’ve had a CCP for years and Mr. Glock loves to spend time in the comfort of my leaning post.
In the end, I don’t wish any ill will toward that man, but I do believe actions have consequences. They should reevaluate his disability status. I know many servicemen totally disabled and they can’t even leave their houses let alone jump from one boat to another in an inappropriate fit of rage. If he has mental issues he should get treatment. However, I think this is another episode in a pattern of misconduct that should not go unpunished, including for all the threats he made. Call it the “law of unintended consequences.”
I think another charter captain said the coldest, yet most honest comment on YouTube about the whole situation. In referring to the “best charter captain in the world,” he looked calmly into the camera and said “dude, you’re not one of us.” Shunned by his contemporaries. That’s brutal.
Well, that’s my two cents on boat rage. Maybe more like a dollar. See you out there!