As a QM, there should have been more than enough information to know where you are in shallow waters that close to land. The bearing takers (if there were any) should have been marking positions every 3 minutes, and if the QM was unsure where they were, he has all the power to have the CO come to "all-stop" until he/she is sure. Tides are also taken into account. With the number of QMs on a ship that size, there should have been no excuse. I find it hard to believe that a chart cold have been wrong... and even they must be updated before leaving port for any reason.
Ironically, the ship I was on, the CGC Gallatin, ran aground leaving drydock in 1983 in Curtis Bay, Md. Fortunately, it was just before I got stationed on her.
__________________
No one is completely useless. They can always be used as a bad example.
|