Captain Rande

Editorial: Boat crash - Choppy Waters at best.

A speed limit might prevent replay of Clear Lake collision

We can’t say we were surprised that a Lake County jury quickly acquitted a man who was arrested after his sailboat was rammed by a speedboat driven by an off-duty deputy sheriff. A passenger in the sailboat died in the April 29, 2006 crash on Clear Lake.

Bismarck Dinius of Carmichael was charged with manslaughter and three counts of boating while intoxicated in a prosecution that seemed to be headed into choppy water from the start.

Dinius, 41, was at the helm of a 27-foot sailboat that was hit by a speedboat driven by Russell Perdock, a Lake County sheriff’s captain. Witnesses estimated that Perdock’s boat was traveling as fast as 55 mph, and it hit with such force that it was thrust over the top of the sailboat, shearing off its mast.

Prosecutors said Dinius was responsible because he was drunk at the helm and sailing without running lights on a nearly moonless night.

But some witnesses disputed accounts that the sailboat wasn’t illuminated, and expert witnesses disagreed about whether its lights were on or off at the time of impact. Boating advocates took up Dinius’ cause and pointed out that, under navigation rules, speedboats are responsible for avoiding sailboats, which are less maneuverable.

Prosecutors dropped the manslaughter charge during jury selection. On Thursday, jurors acquitted Dinius on two alcohol-related counts and deadlocked 11-1 on the third. Prosecutors dropped that charge.

One surprise was that there is no fixed speed limit on Clear Lake, just an admonition to be safe. Changing that might prevent a future tragedy.