RDP #51: DUCK
Normally, I would happily just post pictures of ducks and rivers and stuff, but yesterday a duck boat sank killing 17 people on board on a lake in Missouri.
We have duck boats in Boston that tour the city then ride down a ramp behind the Science Museum and take a trip down the Charles River. We’ve done it with Kaity when she was little.
I’m still at a loss to understand why a duck boat was out in that kind of terrible weather — especially since it was expected. Many of the people who died were members of one single family.
That’s not the kind of “duck” I had in mind.
A very sad tragedy!
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And completely avoidable. They should NOT have been out in that weather. Those boats are not meant for heavy weather.
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NO. They aren’t. We have seen a few up north. They are very very cautious about weather and have disappointed whale watchers if the weather was rough. Rain, they can handle, but that’s it! It’s a tragedy that never had to happen. Sadly, the people on board counted on the “captain’s” knowledge and awareness and in this case, that let them down.
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I read that somewere in the online news, tragic. I had never heard of a duck boat. Lovely photo of your family.
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They were trucks on the land, then they tuck up their wheels and become boats. Used a lot in WW 2 to move people and supplies from ships to land. The ones in Boston were originally WW 2 models that had been restored, but eventually, someone decided to make new ones that look just like the old ones. They are all over the place now. Wherever there are cities that have lakes and rivers (at least in the U.S.), you find “duck tours.” But I’ve never even HEARD of a major accident before. They won’t go out if the weather isn’t right. I don’t know why this one was even ON the river.
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from what I read, the man running the boat sounded arrogant and incompetent. “won’t need those life jackets, nope’…
I remember as a kid riding the swan boats on the Charles, those were great fun, and it was a spring thing to do…but no, I have never heard of duckboats until this week. Damn shame.
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The duck boat tours have been popular in Boston for at least the past 30 years that I’ve lived here, though I think probably more now that ever since they have more boats. But why they were on the water in that kind of weather is mind-boggling and so stupid.
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My heart goes out to all the families and friends – this boat should never have sailed in this weather, it is so very sad
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I really don’t understand why they went out and why they didn’t insist everyone wear a life vest.
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That story is truly tragic, truly horrifying. And yes, shouldn’t have happened. So sad.
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Our Boston boats won’t go out in anything but clear, warm weather. These boats are not designed to deal with heavy seas. So many lost for nothing.
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Very sad. Best wishes to all–
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One woman survived but lost her husband and all her children. That was the family that lost 9 members. The only ones left are that woman and her nephew. All the others drowned. How awful is THAT!
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What a terrible thing.
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How do you recover from that?
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I guess the person goes on or doesn’t. With luck, they may have some loss of memory or dissociation to help them along, but I certainly wish them the best.
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It sounds really emotionally rough.
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I agree. Poor everybody.
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What a terrible tragedy but of course they should not have been out there in that weather but worse was telling people they wouldn’t need the life jackets. I think that there are few places in northern Australia where they do Duck tours.
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They are very popular in any town that has a big river going through it or a big lake. I’m still baffled about WHY they were out in that weather. Those boats are not designed for heavy weather.
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They are not, they are more land vehicles that can float than boats really. It sounds as if there was more than one of them out there so it could have been an even worse tragedy.
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Oh no.
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