Looks to me like the two guys in the back were not paying attention, or something. One appears to jump ship just before the boat goes hard to port. Maybe they were down below for something. One guy seems to be facing aft as perhaps to just be coming up. Odd (very) that the bowman just sits there. I’d sure like to know more on this one. I’ll go searching.
As for Meds “right of way“. It’s not a sailboat when motoring. Even under sail, he must yield to the (much) larger ship. I’m willing to bet the charts there state yield to ferry traffic. Especially in an inland water way, as that appears to be in. Then there’s the yield to starboard issue here. This guy had to be distracted beyond comprehension. That, or just really...
“What we see there is obviously the ill-conceived decision of the helmsman, and no one else.” I agree. But it does appear that he jumps
prior to the hard to port. He’s certainly heading up on the rail prior. I can’t really see a boat of that size equipped with a tiller or auto pilot rig that he could be pulling with him going over.
Also - Perhaps Hatts comment on death was just meant in a “Hope he’s not in any gene pool “ context. I might have to agree there.
