Could there have been a safer way for the engineers to conduct the bridge inspection? Some Police presence perhaps? Let us know your thoughts. 👍

I myself was watching the diver climb aboard using the ladder, next to an idling motor, while the boat operator is continually putting his hand on the shift lever.

The Coast Guard, Florida wildlife, and local police marine units need to start zero tolerance enforcement here. Inspect every vessel for every violation when you have cause to stop them. Make arrests for boating while drunk. A few months of that and this inlet will be a completely different place.

The bridge looks in better condition than the boat they were using.

“Idle Speed, No Wake” permanently attached to the bridge protection…in plain sight. 🤔

Really surprised there wasn't any law enforcement involved. Especially with divers in the water.

Where is a Police escort boat? I've seen 10 show up for the smallest of things before.

An engineering crew dead in the water with divers down and no police escort? This is as crazy as it gets.

Police or CG controlling both sides of the bridge.

I bet they were the cheapest diving crew 😂

I’m surprised they didn’t have police on either side of the bridge to slow voters down

Three guys in a boat trying to yell over the noise of the water, the cars and the boats. That’s real smart!! Trying to blame all those cracks that were already there on that boat! 😂

They could have made themselves slightly more conspicuous, perhaps using a more official looking boat than something that looks like it was taken off a trailer where it's been sitting in a parking lot for years (one equipped with VHF radio might have been useful), and some flashing beacons or something, but the name of the yacht (Jamaican flag 🇯🇲 it seems) is clearly visible at1:58in case the Coastguard or anyone might want to have a chat

law enforcement with a flashing blue light and a security call every 15 minutes on 16 and 13

All the law enforcement around with boats and no one could help these guys?

No cops? wtf?

Was it Monty python clip that said ITS BUT A SCRATCH 😂

Amatuer hour dive crew. No flashing lights. No support boats. No nothing.

Were there no announcements on channel 16? What about guard boats?

Definitely needed a police boat presence. At least 2. In my opinion one small boat with one small flag is woefully inadequate!

So, no radio to talk to the captain? On a diverent note, have a nice easter!!

First off in the defense of the person runnning the inbound yacht. The USCG or marine police should have issues a notice to all mariners of the inspection and dive activities near the bridge and proceed with caution. Secondly I have been in the commercial marine industry for 30 years, the last 18 holding a 500 ton offshore masters lisence. I have never seen a boat engaged in diving activities without being amchored or ties off to a stationary object, with a trailer line affixed to a poly ball, with a high flyer displaying the dive flag atop of it. Seeing that little boat not anchored or tied to the bridge, I would not have suspected them having divers in the water. The personell on the boat clearly have no clue of proper aids to navigation, and proper protocol when engaged in certain activities such as diving. The current there could have swept that diver far away if he had issues, with the boat in motion and no weighted tag line or anchor line to follow up, they could have been another unfortunate casualty due to blatant stupidity. Now the captain should have made a secutriy call on 16 stating they were inbound at the inlet. If they did so, the uscg or police sould have alerted them of the activity and procced with caution. Regardless of the diver situation, to see a small boat drifting and approaching a bridge with that much heat is crazy. There was no reason not to cut back as they would have had total control and not possibly swampes the little boat. Remember just because someone has a captains lisence, even a 100 ton master does not mean they know how to operate a large vessel. I have met many over the years qith 100 ton master, and oh do they talk a good game. Come to find out they never ran a boat over 35 foot. Talk is cheap, a piece of paper, just like a college degree is just a piece of paper that says you are supposed to be a professional. Always ask for references and proof of insurance. If hiring a captain amd they get insulted if asked for references, DO NOT HIRE THEM!!!! The industry is full of what we older commercial guys call;"papered a**holes."

Nice classic design on blue boat ... Like to see more out there cruising!

Hey, I think this is the first time I have seen this. Vessel at 7:30 mark kept over to the side of the inlet and as he moved past the end of the rock wall, turned to port into calm water, why do skippers go out in middle of where it's the roughest. Also, the girls did very well, but did have a child up in the bow area.

They should have closed that entire entire section before they began. This is actually on them. Those divers could’ve been hurt.

Marlin Engineering should consider a new, larger vessel with an additional flag for visibility while diving.

Captain went as slow as he could due to out tide. See 2:27

Police should have been present to protect the divers.

I like the two Ladies on the Cobia. They dont need the show, like the testo-bombers!

Yes an extra warning vessel on both sides slowing traffic would've been a good idea!

And was the motor running and the propeller turning when the diver was trying to clamber in over the stern? 🙈

They should have a Police boat like when you are on the highway and you see construction.

That yacht Capt. must of gotten his Capt. license at 7-11.

2:16... Marine law states that you have to be wary and careful of people that have Flags like this up and stay clear of them if I remember correctly what I read

As I have said before I am really surprised there is not a 5mph rule for the inlets. It seems crazy that any boat much less a 90' yacht can proceed at speed through an inlet. Here in California most all inlets are 5mph.

Needs 2 escort "Safety" Midnight Express for guard.. 😉

The MJM is probably the best rough water boat in its class! The hull is designed for big water and speed.

Those "engineers" are a bunch of clowns. They should have called for a police over watch to control the traffic and speed while they were working. Plus call out on channel 16 to any approaching vessels.

Traffic should be stopped completely when divers are underwater!😤

looks like that was there first boating trip!.. engineers were enjoin it!

If the blue hulled yacht was following the normal speed limitations of the area, I'd be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they simply didn't see the tiny engineering boat and low dive flag. I mean, if you are that concerned about your divers then you need to have radio and at least another boat providing some flanking protection and warning other boats coming in. That's a high volume area that no one is going to be expecting to see divers at on any sort of common basis.

It's a good thing that "idle speed no wakes" sign is there. 🙄🙄🙄

I've seen more yacht collisions than anything else. Who is operating these expensive vessels? Beginners? 🤔🌹⚓

Had big boy so mad he pulled up his pants!

yes the captaion is at fault. It is their watch and they need to keep their eyes open for things like flaged diving operations. Evn if there might be extenuating circumstances they should be fined. They could have injured or killed someone.

Flashing lights on the engineers boat might help.

Love the MJM Down Easter Style boats.

Why would you not have flashing blue lights to warn boat traffic!

Should be a navigation warning out for a bridge inspection and to observe the divers down flag

Thinking of all those Man Hours and who's going to be paying for those plus some.Before any expensive repairs even begin to get started.✌️💙⛵⚓🐰🐰

What diver climbs a ladder next to an idling Outboard? That's crazy, you can see the boat being knocked around all it takes it one slip to go into gear

5:41 Yep a newbie just showing off to his rich friends

My son and I dive offshore in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. I use two dive flags 36"x 60" that are way bigger than regulation. Still, boats from anywhere come racing right up to us. People don't know or care about boating rules or the safety of others.

That comes under,, Your Fired!

I assume that the bridge inspection was simply a scheduled inspection and unrelated to a boat that had a scuff mark from the bridge pier protection.

3:13 They're Mad because the boat 150 feet away could possibly hurt the divers. Never mind the spinning propeller that was 1 foot away from the divers boarding their own boat

they need to enforce if no wake and idle speed

Pretty mediocre display of signal flags. Alpha flag should be in the vessel on a pole or radio antenna up high where it can be seen. Red/White diver flag should be on a pole on a float on a line behind the boat.

After the Key bridge... Surprised traffic was allowed over or under the bridge!

Oh my word! 😮

It's the reflective vest twins!

First off, I'd like to know why the azimut captain is on that side of the inlet fender... he's not even inside the channel at the beginning 😅

Use something other than a postage size flag hidden behind a barrier.

The level to which boat prices are artificially inflated never ceases to amaze me. In no reality should that dinghy of a catamaran cost a million dollars. The boat market is the greatest scam on all the semi affluent.

0:38 That's going to take a few buckets of Bondo. 2:00 Even their beards look angry.

Those guys are like highway workers. Everyone needs to slow down a bit.

Need more presence of Marine Police and USCG while inspecting bridges over water ways. Can’t expect Captains with multi million dollar vessel’s to use their brains 🙄

Should have had marine police unit there with lights on like they do on roadways. You have to assume that most boaters have limited experience.

A police boat telling people to go slow shoulda been there. But I noticed the dive boat guys did not even have a VHF. Just waving their arms.

Set up speed cameras at the bridge. Use A.I. to see who generates waves and issue tickets to boat owners.

The yacht captain should be cited, but the operations crew should have had PD on site with lights going to draw more attention to the fact that something was going on at the site that was outside of normal operating conditions.

You sign off on a bridge which later collapses - make sure to be under it.

They met the (bare minimum) safety requirements. They didn't meet the job site safety requirements. Those tiny dive flags are like fixing a pothole on a highway with a single traffic cone.

There's no way the Harbor Master didn't know there would be divers in the channel on the bridge. The question is, did he contact harbor patrol to be present at the bridge to enforce a no/low wake zone? Do they have a dive flag banner to hang on the bridge? Do they have gyrating lights to hang off the bridge? It's just stupid. The yacht has a marine radio too, so do patrol vessels. FAIL [BTW, it's serious - industrial divers make BIG $ b/c they have a high degree of skills sets in an IDLH environment.]

Maybe some bright orange buoys and bright orange boat while blocking off that section of the bridge with that bright orange boat and bright orange buoys. Idk

Question about the captain of the vessel? Just because you can afford the boat doesn’t make you automatically a captain!

Visibility for the dive boat was questionable at best given the size of many boats coming in and out. That said, the yacht pilot was clearly ignoring the No Wake zone which is the greater issue here.

I'm confused... After hitting the bridge right in front of the police, everybody just goes on their way like nothing happened..??? Are you allowed to hit bridges when ever you want, no problem ??

What was hit, and what they are inspecting , has nothing to do with the integrity of the bridge, it's a wake block, protecting the bridge.

Speeding skipper was definitely negligent but did not see crew on divers tender using handheld VHF to warn speeding skipper! Were “Securitay” messages broadcast to all stations on VHF16 before the divers entered the water? And yes, Police or work boats with hazard lights stationed on both approaches would have made the work scene safer.

Damn right they have the right to be mad. Law states vessels MUST stay away 150' when a dive flag is flown. Though it would have been a wise move to have police presence while the inspection was underway, especially in such a high traffic area.

That little boat could have a way bigger diver down flag

0:20 No worries those scratches will buff out easily!

8:00 very nice design

Do the ones in the boat not need to be wearing any form of flotation device?

The alpha flag (blue/white) carries alot of significance. There are strict rules if you're within a certain distance of it in a vessel.

Little boat should have had a required noise making device. Yacht should have slowed

Another bridge crashed into? It’s becoming a common thing in the last couple days

Relax ..that wasn't a bridge collapse size of a boat. That was a beer can collapse of a boat 😅🫣🚣🏼

Don't worry it will buff right out,

Do they have a Harbour Master?

Other vessels blocking would have been advisable

Maybe a few warning lights to slow or stop boats.

What is that pocket sized diver flag? Lol

Did the inspection crew notify the CG to broadcast a warning to all traffic there was going to be divers conducting an inspection, also should have been a LEO boat on the east & west approaches to the bridge channel. If this inspection crew just dropped into the water without prior & proper notification, they are looking for OSHA / maritime violations for their divers. With that said it is totally the boat captain's responsibility to conduct a safe passage, but this is a crazy inlet with drunks & sightseers, etc.

The inspectors should have brought law enforcement with them and there wouldn't have been a problem

Maybe y'all got this whole thing wrong. Maybe these guys were looking for a good place to scuttle that boat up against the pylon for support.

Where was a marine radio?

The current looks like its ripping

The dive crew has to conduct their inspection at the slowest tide. I'm not sure when that is at failover, but where I live it goes dead stop. The capt. is suppose to know what each flag means and is suppose to slow down. From what is seen, the tide is going out their core the capt. could have slowed almost to a stop. He should have been chased down and find by the Marine police or Coast Guard. Those people in those yauhts think they don't have to obey the laws. They need to crack down at failover anyway.