Bridge comment on Florida East Coast Railroad Bridge, Stuart

Comment by: David Pimentel, Sun Goddess , on Mar 18, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 50'

Be very careful with this bridge because even if it’s unmanned and automatic often times they manually activate the bridge for some reason despite the fact that no train is coming. On 03/17/2021 at 12:00 while the draw bridge was open and traffic going thru suddenly and without warning this bridge was brought down as I was passing by on my sailboat. Obviously the mast could not clear the opening anymore and got caught in the lowering bridge snapping the mast in half and bringing all the rigging down. Luckily for me my boat had a hard bimini and a solar panels arch that took all the force of the impact of the mast when it fell down, otherwise I am sure it would have fallen right on top of my head. Our boat has sustained very extensive and serious damage that requires us to take it off the water immediately. Been full time liveaboards this will add up to aftermath of the accident. Another important fact to consider is that the draw bridge which is manned has no communication or control whatsoever of the railroad bridge. That means that even if the draw bridge opens and has give you the authorization to go thru, the railroad bridge can still be activated and brought down which is exactly what happened in my case.

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