Collision! Knuckleheads at Sea.

So we were just about at Swansboro, I called Casper's marina and Mrs. Casper came back and gave us  instructions to turn to port after a small red nun.  A guy in a C&C was behind and gaining.  I was on the right hand side of the channel and a small Jon boat was ahead of us.  They were fishing for spot, probably shouldn't have been in the ICW, but were.  Not a big issue, I turned to the port side and the knucklehead in the C&C suddenly must have seen the Jon boat and came up hard.  He put the wheel hard down to port and drove straight into the back of us.  His two anchors on bow rollers hit our dinghy on the davits, and powered us 180 degrees around before we got untangled.  I was watching the Jon boat and was hard in reverse.  Both boats narrowly missed the Jon boat and after a dictionary full of choice adjectives we separated.  I drove us out of the ICW and toward Casper's.  The other boat yelled that they would be heading to Mile Hammock.  I insisted that they drop a hook or tie up at Casper's to no avail.  Windquest (of Wilmington, DE) plowed on ahead.  I called the USCG and reported the collision and the fact that  Windquest  was leaving the scene.

Long story longer....The CG scrambled a boat, they met us at Casper's, took a statement from us and the owner of Casper's who watched the whole incident and then shot off to go grab Windquest (henceforth, the knuckleheads....).  The commander was a great guy from Everett, MA and he was back shortly with all of the information from the driver and the owner.  He informed us that the North Carolina Wildlife folks handled accidents and would be down shortly if the damage was thought to be over $2000.

We certainly have over $2000 in damage and the Wildlife guy came along within the half hour.  He took an accident report and interviewed the owner of Casper's as well.  He then went South to find the knuckleheads.  I heard the Coast Guard hailing Windquest three hours after the incident and would guess that the wildlife fellow didn't catch up with him.  The Coast Guard informed us that he would be getting a $1000 fine for leaving the scene and would be responsible for the damage to Zusammen.

Following SAIL Magazine's format of at sea disaster stories...
What We did Right -
1. Zusammen followed all "rules of the road" and adhered to radio protocol throughout the incident as well as prior and post indecent.
2. We tied up and communicated to authorities quickly
3. We avoided hitting the fishing boat.

What we did Wrong -
1. The captain of Zusammen used foul language during the incident, directed at the "Knuckleheads" aboard Windquest
2.  Zusammen could have initiated radio contact with the knuckleheads as we watched them approach from behind.  This wasn't required as the burden rests on the boat intending to pass.  We realize now, that some folks don't know the rules and don't follow them.  We are now aggressively proactive.
3.  We didn't open fire.  (just kidding - so much military around here, it's hard not to joke)
4.  If I had been quicker on the the throttle when I saw knucklehead put his wheel down, he might have missed me.  This one is hard as I keep replaying the incident - I was a touch frozen in dis-belief that this guy is driving into my stern!


All is going to be OK - Progressive Insurance (knucklehead's insurance company) will be paying for all repairs.  We are going to have them done at City Marina in Charleston, NC when we get there.  No problems that money can't fix.  No one got hurt and I hope knucklehead learned a lesson.