Bad luck on boats

On May 25th, Bruce Rudeforth of Broome, Kimberley, Australia, was on a fishing trip with friends. He was baiting up his hook for barramundi when a 2.5m saltwater crocodile leapt into his dinghy and clamped its jaws around his upper chest (1st image, with apologies to squeamish readers). The victim (2nd image, being treated on scene by his brother-in-law) describes, "Out of the corner of my eye, this thing came at me. It bit into my shoulder and I stood up and gave it one in the throat with my free elbow. I presume that's what made it let go. It was a bit touch-and-go as to whether it went back into the water or came into the dinghy with us. Things were a bit tense." Even after the crocodile slid back into the water, Rudeforth and his fishing mate had to beat it with an oar to drive it off. With the puncture wounds from the animal's teeth stitched up, Rudeforth found no reason to cut short the week-long fishing trip, a planned vacation away from his practice...as a dentist.

In early June, Mark Wilkinson of Birmingham, U.K., took his newly acquired cabin cruiser out for its 1st spin. Unfortunately, the 16' second-hand vessel sank stern-first after he returned from a successful fishing trip in Lyme Bay. Due to a 6" hole in the fiberglass hull, the boat began taking on water faster than the bilge pump could pump it out. Witnesses described a big guy desperately holding on to the wheel before abandoning ship and clinging to the hull, which was still afloat due to an air pocket in the cabin. Wilkinson was rescued by the harbor master of West Bay, Dorset, and his boat had to be towed after its maiden voyage. He admits, "It's all a bit embarrassing and I got pretty fed up with people asking me if I had hit an iceberg." Why the teasing? The name of the boat was Titanic II.