Costa Concordia vs. the Rocks

[canetoad]

This is pretty well to scale; Costa Concordia is 290m in length with a beam of 36m. Draft is 8m.

[canetoad]

1. Cruise ship captain accused of showing off

Apologies for self-kicking this thread. It was posted when most Americans were asleep.

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/cruise-ship-captain-accused-of-showing-off-20120116-1q29g.html
Maritime authorities, passengers and mounting evidence point the finger of blame towards the captain of a cruise liner that ran aground and capsized off the Tuscan coast, with accusations that he was showing off when he steered the vessel far too close to shore and abandoned ship before everyone was safely evacuated.

Divers searching the partially submerged Costa Concordia found the bodies of two elderly men still in their life jackets, bringing the confirmed death toll to five. At least 15 people were still missing. All Australian passengers have been accounted for.

[Suich]

2. Man, that's really close to land!

I thought I read somewhere that after he first ran into the rock, the Captain headed for the island, so he could be closer to land for rescue.