A Cautionary Tale

Last Wednesday, a 61-foot Weaver sunk in six feet of water in Alabama’s Perdido Pass. The Tar Baby, as she was known, was en route to the Orange Beach Billfish Classic when her operator ignored a marked channel, opting instead to enter the Pass between the jetties and beach. In doing so, she ran into submerged rocks and ultimately sank in the shallow waters.

Tar Baby’s operator was arrested for boating under the influence, though it remains unclear whether he or a dockhand was running the boat. Fortunately, no injuries were sustained, save (of course) for the boat’s.

Marine Police Public Information officer Rick Miller told the Orange Beach Community Web site, “No one who has been drinking should drive a boat because the water is very unforgiving. And if you are going to drink, you've got to have a operator who is licensed to operate the vessel." Certainly, these photos serve as a good reminder for us all.

A $500 Million Haul

An exploration and salvage company based in Tampa, Florida, just hit the jackpot. Odyssey Marine Exploration uncovered a Colonial-period shipwreck containing more than 500,000 silver coins weighing over 17 tons. The coins are expected to fetch approximately $1,000 each when sold at auction. Not much is being disclosed about the location of the wreck for security reasons, but rumors place it off the coast of Cornwall in SW England.

Not surprisingly, Odyssey's stock price jumped up more than $3.00 after announcement was made this morning.