Rowing club says reckless boating caught on video put young athletes at risk
By Caleb Califano
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PALM CITY, Florida (WPBF) — Rowing coaches in Martin County say a group of teenage boaters put their young athletes in danger this week after circling their boats, creating large wakes and shouting obscenities during a training session.
The Treasure Coast Rowing Club tells WPBF 25 News its teenage girls’ team was out for routine practice when a boat full of teens repeatedly sped by. One of the coaches captured video showing the teens’ boat driving away moments after another pass.
“They circled around and waked us and then continued to wake us several times, shouting obscenities, filming videos, giving us the finger,” coach Shaun Ingles said. “It was pretty dangerous.”
Coaches say the girls on the rowing crew were young teenagers, and the sudden wakes caused them to panic. The club emphasized how vulnerable the athletes were inside their narrow racing shells, which sit low on the water and can flip with only a small amount of water inside.
“All it would take is that boat to have clipped or for the oar, which is made out of carbon fiber, to impale an arm or a leg or a sternum or a neck,” coach Stefanie Falkner said. “Then we have a much bigger disaster on the river.”
The club says a sheriff’s deputy responded to their boathouse, where they filed a report. They say they also submitted reports to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Coaches tell WPBF 25 News the video posted by the boaters themselves helped them identify a boat registration number. They say what they want now is accountability and safer boating around rowers.
“We want that to be investigated. We want them to understand there’s consequences,” Falkner said. “We don’t want it swept under the rug.”
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