I was fortunate to speak to the owner of the sailboat. He was not sailing; he was motoring. He says that the pontoon boat was up on plane, and that he could see the possibility of collision, but that the pontoon boat had the most options for getting out of the way, not the least of which is the fact that his boat was designed for motoring and maneuvered with great ease under power (and especially at that speed). By the time the sailor realized (he had only 20 seconds total before he was hit) the guy was going to hit him, all he could do was turn his boat. He was hoping for a glancing blow, but ... that didn't happen.
The waters of the southern end of Boca Ciega Bay are crowded both with moving boats and with moored or anchored boats. It's not the place to operate a boat at high speed.
Oh, by the way -- there were TWO people on the pontoon boat, but they both chose to leave the pontoon on a plane while they BOTH searched for the cell phone.
The owner of the sailboat reports that the owner of the boat who hit him was well insured. Thank goodness, but don't count on it. I know of one large marina in the area that no longer requires the boats in its slips to carry insurance. Make sure you have insurance unless you're willing to say "Oh well, no more boat" some day.
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