This was a good day out despite the stupidity of the actions of a lone Sandy Hook Pilot Boat Captain.

The weather and conditions for whale watching have been near perfect here in NYC for over a month now. Flat conditions with light variable winds and warm temps have been the norm. We started out with a full boat and some news coverage from the NY Post (that’s good news). We saw leaping Atlantic Sturgeon, 1000’s...YES I said…THOUSANDS of Cownose Rays, 3 Humpbacks and 200+ Dolphins. This was a good day, a very good day, but it could have been much worse, I would say a catastrophe if things did go wrong.

180 people on the AP watching whales on this day. The Whale watching boat is in Raritan Bay, there are boats and ships everywhere. On each side, attached to the whale watching boat, are big signs “WHALE WATCHING AND FERRY.” We stand out as a whale watching vessel not a fishing charter boat!

At 3:47pm a Sandy Hook Pilot Boat named “AMERICA” is racing into Raritan bay, off South East Annandale in NY waters, not slowing down. I think to myself that they are going way too fast with whales in the area, but they are away from the boat and the whales. Yes, they should be going slower but that’s the way it is.

It is now 4:26pm and we are off Great Kills Park in Lower NY Harbor on a Humpback with other small boats, the whale watching area is tight. We are watching a humpback whale on our Starboard right-hand side, 100ft from the whale watching boat and we are out-of-gear. I look back and see the Sandy Hook Pilot Boat “AMERICA” charging back out of Raritan bay. The vessel is full speed, not slowing down or turning. The Pilot boat is behind the whale watching boat and speeding straight into the area and path where an active humpback whale is. 180 whale watchers/witnesses at this point start frantically waving their hands and screaming "slow down!" The screams and waving to the captain of the pilot boat were not the friendly boat-to-boat waving, it clearly was screams of an emergency and an aware Captain would have seen this! The Pilot boat Captain approaches from the back and is passing our vessel on the starboard side of the whale watching vessel at high speed, 25-35+mph, disregarding everyone’s safety as well as the whale's. The Captain of the Pilot boat did not indicate he was passing/overtaking the whale watching boat on the right-hand side with “two short blasts of his horns.” Nor did the Pilot Captain hail the Captain of the Whale watching boat on the radio telling him he is being passed. If he did, the captain would have told him there was a whale in his path and not to pass on starboard side, but to slow down and pass on the port side. BUT NO…Here comes the pilot boat at full speed, passing a commercial vessel 40-50 feet away and throwing a very large wake and running right over a Humpback Whale that just took a dive and endangering 180 people’s lives on a whale watching vessel.

This incident is incredibly disconcerting, and nothing…NOTHING will ever come of this! WHY? The Sandy Hook Pilots Association can basically do what they want, when they want. From what I was told, they are above the law with many turning their eye from stuff like this. Ironically, on the Pilot Boat's website they boast "We value a rich and historic tradition committed to professional collaboration, integrity and respect." 180 witnesses today saw nothing of the sort. Good news, a NY POST beat writer was on board doing a story on Whales in NYC and this situation might get some attention? Maybe the story should be about Whales in NYC and how safe they are around commercial boat traffic?