Long Island

Nassau

Oyster Bay capsized boat story gallery

A lawyer has kicked off the anticipated legal battle over the July Fourth 2012 Oyster Bay boat accident by trying to limit liability against the owner of the vessel in which three children drowned. 
 Even though no lawsuits against his client have been filed, James E. Mercante, the New York maritime attorney for Kandi Won owner Kevin Treanor of Dix Hills, submitted papers last Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn as a pre-emptive move. He seeks a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York that any claims against Treanor be heard in that court under admiralty law. 
 "This is clearly an admiralty case," Mercante said in an interview, and attorneys cannot legally challenge the jurisdiction of that court if a judge approves his motion. Under admiralty law, attorneys can only contest the claim for limited liability or the value of the vessel after the accident or try to prove negligence on the part of the owner, Mercante and other maritime attorneys said. 
 If the liability limit is not successfully challenged by attorneys for anyone suing Treanor, his monetary liability would be limited to the cash value of the 34-foot Silverton cabin cruiser after it sank. Mercante included an appraisal from a marine surveyor stating the recovered hull is now worth only $1,500. 
 The liability limit can be exceeded if it is shown in court that the owner was aware of a problem with the boat or was otherwise negligent, maritime attorneys said. If families of those who died want to sue other parties they could still do that, they added. 
 Attorney Michael Della, who represents Paul and Lisa Gaines, whose daughter Victoria died in the accident, said he had no comment. 
 Admiralty law and the limit-of-liability language dates to 1851 and has been used in many celebrated nautical disasters, including the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, in which liability was limited to the value of its lifeboats. 
 Often in these cases, the owner was not on the vessel at the time, which makes it more likely the limit of liability will be imposed, maritime experts said. In the Kandi Won case, Treanor was on board, although he was not steering the boat. 
 The Nassau County district attorney's office issued a report in July stating that overloading with 27 people aboard was the primary cause of the accident.

LIBOAT10

Boat owner in fatal accident seeks limit on liability

liFBIOysterBay- boat salvage cropped

A statue in a town park garden dedicated to Oyster Bay boating victim Victoria Gaines was damaged this week. 
 Victoria's uncle and aunt, Mike and Dana Block of Patchogue, noticed the damage when they visited the garden Thursday -- the first anniversary of their young niece's death -- after spending about an hour at her grave nearby. 
 The statue of a little girl was installed in Huntington's Heckscher Park on Tuesday. The following day, four butterflies -- Victoria's favorite -- were attached. But by Thursday the butterfly affixed to the girl's hand was gone, Mike Block said. 
 "It is disgusting . . . that no one can leave anything alone regardless what it is for," Block said Friday, sitting in the garden. 
 Two days shy of her 8th birthday, Victoria Gaines of Huntington Station was trapped in the cabin of a capsized boat in Oyster Bay after a July Fourth fireworks display last year. David Aureliano, 12, and Harlie Treanor, 11, daughter of the boat's owner, also were trapped and died. 
 The 34-foot cabin cruiser had 27 people onboard, 15 of them children. Overloading was the primary cause of the boating accident, an investigation by the Nassau County district attorney's office found this week. 
 Block said he had to tell his sister, Victoria's mother, Lisa Gaines, about the damage on Thursday, because she was out of town. "Yesterday was not a good day to be telling her anything like that," he said. 
 Suffolk County Police and Town of Huntington officials were notified, and Friday officers and town employees met Mike Block at the garden. 
 While there, one of the town employees was told that the town's public safety office had the missing butterfly, which was found by a town worker at the foot of the statue Wednesday night and was returned Friday. 
 "It is a relief finding it," Block said. 
 "We are unaware of the circumstances that caused this, whether it was intentional or accidental," town spokesman A.J. Carter said. "We are aware of the anguish that this may be causing the Gaines family and we will work with them, helping getting the statue repaired." 
 Suffolk police said they are investigating the incident.

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Statue of boating victim Victoria Gaines, 7, damaged

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Overloading was the primary cause of the boating accident last July Fourth in Oyster Bay in which three children drowned, an investigation by the Nassau County district attorney's office has found. 
 With 27 people aboard the 34-foot Silverton cabin cruiser, the Kandi Won was barely stable in calm water, according to a 53-page report released Wednesday. 
 A stability analysis conducted as part of the yearlong investigation determined that a wave or boat wake 2 feet high, striking the vessel from the side, would cause it to capsize. 
 That's what happened that night, after a fireworks display, as the crowded boat was returning to Huntington amid hundreds of other vessels, the DA's report concluded. 
 "The Kandi Won capsized and sank as a result of being overloaded and apparently encountering a 90-degree wave" -- one perpendicular to its direction of travel, the report obtained by Newsday states. "The combination of the weight, its distribution and the angle of the incoming wave each contributed to making the capsizing of the Kandi Won inevitable." 
 Despite the overloading, District Attorney Kathleen Rice in January ruled out criminal charges against the owner and operator. Rice then cited gaping holes in the maritime regulatory system and contributory design flaws in the vessel. The county did not state the cause of the accident until now. 
 The report quotes Guy Denigris -- a friend of boat owner Kevin Treanor, who steered the boat from Huntington to the fireworks display -- as saying the boat did not handle properly. 
 Denigris told a police officer: "He thought the vessel had water in its bilge, or, as an afterthought now, maybe a lot of weight on board, because the vessel had been listing back and forth." 
 According to the DA's findings, an examination of the boat by the Nassau County Police Marine Bureau ruled out the Kandi Won taking on water before the accident. 
 The report, however, cites some design flaws that contributed to the tragedy. The sliding door to the cabin locked when slammed shut during the capsizing, and furniture in the cabin, not attached to floor, could have shifted and made the boat even more unstable. 
 Suspicions confirmed 
 Rice's office recommends changes in federal and state laws to require that boats display capacity limit information and powerboat operators in New York pass a boating safety course. 
 The report also calls for better coordination of marine enforcement agencies to speed their response to accidents and for dive gear and trained divers to be more readily available in emergencies. 
 "An exhaustive investigation utilizing nationally recognized experts found that a unique combination of circumstances caused this tragedy," Rice said in a statement. 
 "Prosecutors from my office have collaborated with experts to examine the gaping holes in the maritime regulatory system. We prepared the attached report detailing the findings of the Nassau County Police Department’s investigation and our comprehensive reform recommendations to improve boating safety at the federal, state, and local levels." 
 "The report confirms what we already knew -- that boat was overcrowded," said Michael Della, the Ronkonkoma attorney for Paul and Lisa Gaines, whose daughter died on the boat. "It also reinforces the importance of capacity limits and safety training." 
 Joy Treanor, whose daughter died on the Kandi Won, said, "There needs to be more cooperation and organization between agencies," especially since the Coast Guard and some enforcement agencies have cut their patrols. 
 "Long Island needs to be better equipped for communication and organization during special events and emergencies," she added. 
 James Mercante, the attorney for the owner who contends the boat wasn't overcrowded, said there were "contributing factors" not cited by the DA that can be explored in expected civil litigation. A design flaw in the bilge of the boat, he said, could allow water to be trapped on one side, making the vessel unstable. 
 "There can be more than one cause of a marine accident," he said. 
 Neil Gallagher, a marine engineering professor at the Webb Institute in Glen Cove, performed the stability analysis on the water last October. 
 According to the report, he found that "the boat as loaded at the time of the incident had marginal stability in flat water. However, in beam [90-degree] waves of only two feet, the boat had inadequate stability to remain upright and was likely to capsize." 
 Push for tougher rules 
 Boating experts had suspected that overcrowding caused the accident. 
 "Too many people onboard," Dave Gerr, director of the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology, said Monday. 
 Gerr had conducted his own stability analysis of the Kandi Won based on simulations. "Too many people -- too much weight -- high up," he said. 
 When the Kandi Won capsized, it spilled most of the 27 people on board -- a dozen adults and 15 children and teenagers -- into the water. The three who died -- cousins David Aureliano, 12, of Kings Park, and Harlie Treanor, 11, of Huntington Station, and family friend Victoria Gaines, 7, of Huntington -- were trapped in the cabin with David's parents, who managed to escape. 
 Harlie's father, Kevin Treanor, owned the boat. Sal Aureliano, David's uncle, was steering the boat for his brother-in-law when he said it hit a large wake. 
 There were four adults and three children up on the flying bridge, a steering station on top of the cabin. 
 The Oyster Bay tragedy received national attention, spurring action by legislators and boating safety groups. 
 New laws, more boaters taking safety classes and added enforcement at large maritime events have made Long Island waters safer since the accident, experts and officials said. 
 Over the past year, besides raising consciousness about the need for training and safer boating, the sinking of the Kandi Won has produced tangible results. 
 Suffolk County last fall passed a law requiring adults operating powerboats to take a boating safety class. The State Legislature two weeks ago passed a less stringent mandatory education law that would supersede the Suffolk law if signed by the governor. It would require anyone born after 1996 to take a course to operate a powerboat starting next May. 
 Boating safety experts agree with the DA's report that the new law isn't strong enough. "It takes way too long to phase in," Huntington senior harbormaster Harry Acker said last week. 
 On the town level, Huntington passed a law allowing temporary 5 mph speed zones to be imposed in areas where there are events that attract many boaters. This July Fourth will be the second time the town has implemented the restriction. 
 The Coast Guard only sets maximum capacities for boats smaller than 20 feet. After the accident, the industry standards group, the nonprofit American Boat and Yacht Council, considered voluntarily increasing its threshold from the current 26 feet but decided there were not enough accidents on larger pleasure boats to warrant the change. 
 Last fall, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation to require the Coast Guard to set capacity limits for larger pleasure boats. The bill has not been voted out of committee. 
 The Suffolk law and the publicity over the accident has boosted attendance at safe boating classes given by safety groups such as the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and U.S. Power Squadrons. 
 The Bay Constable Benevolent Association used grant money to buy underwater rescue gear that it is donating to Hempstead, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Huntington to speed up the recovery of people trapped in overturned or sunken boats.

LIBOAT03

DA on boat that sank: Too many people were aboard

The Nassau County district attorney's office has ruled out criminal charges in the Oyster Bay boating accident last July Fourth that killed three children. 
 <a href="/topics//John_Byrne">John Byrne</a>, spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice, said a county police investigation uncovered a "unique combination of circumstances" that led to the capsizing of the 34-foot cabin cruiser. 
 A report on the accident and recommendations will be issued later, <a href="/topics//John_Byrne">Byrne</a> said Thursday. 
 While no evidence of criminal wrongdoing was found, the investigation uncovered "gaping holes in the maritime regulatory system and contributory design flaws in the vessel," according to <a href="/topics//John_Byrne">Byrne</a>, who declined to elaborate. 
 Preliminary findings had the vessel meeting basic safety standards, including the number of life jackets. 
 But investigators have since determined that the vessel's design made it unstable in certain conditions, a source familiar with the probe said Thursday. 
 The 1984 Silverton cruiser, Kandi Won, had 27 people onboard, at least 10 of them children, when it capsized and sank about 10 p.m. near the mouth of Oyster Bay. The boat was heading back to Huntington after a fireworks display. 
 The operator of the boat, Sal Aureliano, said the vessel was struck by a large wake that he couldn't see in the dark. 
 Aureliano said last summer that he saw lightning shortly before the accident, but the <a href="/topics//National_Weather_Service">National Weather Service</a> said a thunderstorm moved through the area later that night and winds never exceeded 10 to 15 mph. 
 Three children trapped in the cabin when the boat capsized died: cousins David Aureliano, 12, and Harlie Treanor, 11; and family friend Victoria Gaines, 7. 
 Victoria's father, Paul Gaines of Huntington, said he hopes the final report sheds more light on the accident. 
 "There were dangerous conditions on the water that night, and I'm committed to finding out where the responsibilities lie," he said. "No matter what the report says, it is clear that boating safety laws, rules and regulations need to be examined and some changed." 
 Gaines said he has been working with federal and state officials to draft legislation that improves maritime safety. 
 Kevin Treanor of Huntington, the owner of the boat who lost his daughter in the accident, was relieved to hear that there would be no charges filed, according to his attorney, James Mercante of Manhattan. 
 But "his only solace in today's news is that he can continue to grieve somewhat in peace with his family," Mercante said. "The memory of that tragic accident . . . will never be erased." 
 Mercante has insisted that Kandi Won was not dangerously overloaded, pinning the cause of the tragedy on the surprise wake. 
 The attorney for Aureliano, Anthony La Pinta of <a href="/topics//Hauppauge,_NY">Hauppauge</a>, said, "Thankfully, the families involved in this terrible tragedy will now be able to move forward and hopefully piece their lives back together." 
 La Pinta said he anticipates civil lawsuits will be filed in the case, however. 
 Boating safety experts have said that although the cabin cruiser was severely overloaded, the vessel has no federal, industry or manufacturer's occupancy limits. A recent study by a <a href="/topics//Maine">Maine</a> marine-design academy determined the maximum safe capacity of such a boat is 16 people. 
 The Coast Guard currently only sets maximum occupancy limits for boats 20 feet or smaller, and an industry group only rates those that are 26 feet or smaller. The Gaines family and others are pushing to require the Coast Guard to set limits for larger boats. 
 The accident has spurred proposed legislation in <a href="/topics//Albany,_NY">Albany</a> and Washington that would require all operators to take a safety course and mandate occupancy limits for recreational boats larger than 20 feet. 
 <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> County approved a law last year that requires boat operators to take a safety course. It takes effect in November. 
 The aftermath 
 July 4, 2012. A 34-foot cabin cruiser capsizes, spilling 24 people into waters off Oyster Bay and killing three children trapped in the cabin.&nbsp; 
 July 11. The cabin cruiser is lifted from the bottom of Oyster Bay. 
 Aug. 7. The boat that capsized appears on preliminary inspection to have been mechanically and structurally sound, a source with knowledge of the investigation said. There also were enough life jackets on board for all the passengers, the source said. 
 Sept. 12. Sen. <a href="/topics//Chuck_Schumer">Charles Schumer</a> introduces a bill that would require the U.S. Coast Guard to mandate that recreational boats longer than 20 feet have capacity limits, and that the limits are posted visibly onboard. The bill is still pending. 
 Sept. 13. The <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> County Legislature unanimously passes a bill requiring county boaters to take a safety course, or risk hefty fines and even jail time.

LIBOAT18

No charges in fatal Oyster Bay boating accident

A cabin cruiser that capsized July 4, killing three children on board, appears on preliminary inspection to have been mechanically and structurally sound, a source with knowledge of the investigation said. 
 There also were enough life jackets on board for all the passengers, the source said this week. 
 The finding is the first to become known since the investigation began more than a month ago. The source said further testing on the boat is still needed. Investigators continue to interview witnesses, and are waiting for more complete information on the boat and the events leading up to the tragedy, the source said. 
 Lawyers for both the boat owner and the boat's driver have said that their clients had yet to be interviewed by police since the night of the tragedy. 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> County District Attorney <a href="/topics//Kathleen_Rice">Kathleen Rice</a> and Nassau police both declined to comment, except to say the investigation is ongoing. 
 Last month, investigators said initial interviews appeared to indicate there was a strong possibility that the vessel did not have the legally required number of life jackets aboard, a police spokesman said at the time. 
 Nassau police indicated that the main focus of their investigation was whether the boat was overcrowded when vessels were departing the area after a fireworks show had concluded. 
 Officials said they are trying to determine if wakes from other boats, stormy weather or mechanical failure also played a role. 
 The 34-foot Silverton cruiser, named Kandi Won, had 27 people onboard, at least 10 of them children, when it capsized near the mouth of <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> on the way back to Huntington after a fireworks display. 
 Three children trapped in the cabin died: cousins David Aureliano, 12, and Harlie Treanor, 11, and family friend Victoria Gaines, 7. 
 Sal Aureliano, David's uncle, has said he was steering the boat when it hit a large wake that he did not see. 
 Many marine-safety experts and other boaters have speculated that the cause of the accident was overcrowding, a charge that James Mercante, a Manhattan lawyer for the boat's owner, Kevin Treanor, has denied. 
 Mercante said Monday he and his client have not had access to the vessel since the accident and he cannot comment on its soundness. He said he was not surprised to hear that investigators had found that there were enough life jackets on board, since that's what Treanor, Harlie's father, said from the start. 
 Anthony La Pinta, who represents Sal Aureliano, declined to comment. 
 Tuesday, <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> County Legis. Steve Stern (D-Huntington) was to introduce a bill that would require all boaters to take a safety training course or face fines and even jail time for repeat offenses. 
 Stern said his bill would take effect one year after being passed by the legislature, if that happens, and signed by county Executive Steve Bellone, who endorses the legislation. 
 Stern said he hopes to have a vote by the full legislature by early September. 
 Wednesday, Lisa and Paul Gaines, of Huntington, Victoria's parents, are scheduled to testify before state Sen. <a href="/topics//Carl_Marcellino">Carl L. Marcellino</a> (R-<a href="/topics//Syosset,_NY">Syosset</a>) and the Standing Committee on Investigations and Government Operations. 
 Other speakers include state parks Commissioner Rose Harvey; Sgt. <a href="/topics//John_Owen">John Owen</a>, deputy commanding officer of the <a href="/topics//Nassau_County_Police">Nassau County Police</a> Marine Bureau; Lawrence Postel, district commander for the U.S. Power Squadrons boating safety organization; Chris Squeri, executive director of the <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> Marine Trades Association, and Jackie Martin, commodore of the Greater Huntington Council of Yacht &amp; Boating Clubs. 
 The 11 a.m. hearing will be at Oyster Bay Town Hall, 54 Audrey Ave. 
 With Bill Bleyer 
 and Matthew Chayes

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Official: Capsized boat had enough life jackets

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The parents of the 7-year-old girl killed in the July Fourth boating accident on <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> plan to join enforcement officials and safety advocates in testifying Wednesday at a state hearing on toughening boating laws.
Lisa and Paul Gaines, of Huntington, whose daughter, <a href="/topics//Victoria_(Australia)">Victoria</a>, died with two other children when a 34-foot boat capsized after a fireworks display, are scheduled to testify before state Sen. <a href="/topics//Carl_Marcellino">Carl L. Marcellino</a> (R-<a href="/topics//Syosset,_NY">Syosset</a>) and the Standing Committee on Investigations and Government Operations.
"Their mission is to prevent this from happening again," said Gaines family attorney Michael Della of <a href="/topics//Ronkonkoma,_NY">Ronkonkoma</a>. "They don't want their daughter to have died in vain. Nothing is going to bring her back, but pushing for change in her name is what's keeping them going."
Other speakers include state parks Commissioner Rose Harvey; Sgt. <a href="/topics//John_Owen">John Owen</a>, deputy commanding officer of the <a href="/topics//Nassau_County_Police">Nassau County Police</a> Marine Bureau; Lawrence Postel, district commander for the U.S. Power Squadrons boating safety organization; Chris Squeri, executive director of the <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> Marine Trades Association; and Jackie Martin, commodore of the Greater Huntington Council of Yacht &amp; Boating Clubs.
"Unfortunately, you have people out on the water now who might not realize how dangerous their actions can be," Marcellino said.
New York has one of the country's oldest boating education programs, dating to 1959, he said. But only boaters younger than 18 and those operating personal watercraft such as Jet Skis must take a safety course. <a href="/topics//New_Jersey">New Jersey</a> and <a href="/topics//Connecticut">Connecticut</a> require classes for all boaters.
The 11 a.m. hearing will be at Oyster Bay Town Hall. Those wishing to submit written testimony can arrange that by calling Marcellino's district office at 518-455-2390.
State Sen. <a href="/topics//Charles_Fuschillo">Charles Fuschillo</a> Jr. (R-<a href="/topics//Merrick,_NY">Merrick</a>), chairman of the <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">Senate</a>'s Transportation Committee, in the past two weeks has introduced two boating safety bills. 
One would require all boaters to take a safety course. The other would make it a felony to drive a boat while drunk with children aboard, institute mandatory suspensions of boating privileges and motor vehicle driver's licenses, and create a new charge of aggravated BWI for driving a boat with a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent or higher. The state's legal limit is 0.08. The bill also would link driving, boating and snowmobiling under-the-influence offenses, so violators could be charged as repeat offenders.
Assemb. <a href="/topics//Harvey_Weisenberg">Harvey Weisenberg</a> (D-Long Beach) is sponsoring the bills in the House.
Tuesday, <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> County Legis. Steve Stern (D-Huntington) plans to introduce legislation that would require all boaters in Suffolk to complete a safety course if the state Legislature does not take action.
Della said the Gaines family hopes lawmakers follow through on their push for tougher boating safety rules.
"We need to get a little more strict on the waterways, and possibly prevent this from happening again," Della said.
With Laura Figueroa

TOBOAT06

Victim's parents to testify on boat safety

victoria gaines and boat -- cropped

Sen. Charles <a href="/topics//Chuck_Schumer">Schumer</a>, reacting to the deaths of three children after a boat holding 27 people capsized in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> on July Fourth, called on the Coast Guard to create a rule with passenger limits for boats longer than 20 feet like those for smaller ones. 
 "It doesn't make sense that we require capacity limits be posted for everything from ballrooms to classrooms, but not recreational vessels," Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday. 
 Investigators have not determined the cause of the capsizing. 
 The parents of Victoria Gaines -- the 7-year-old killed along with the boat owner's daughter, Harlie Treanor, 11, and Harlie's cousin David Aureliano, 12 -- joined Schumer's call for the regulation. The rule would also require that when posted, capacity limits appear visible to both crew members and passengers. 
 The tragedy "never should have happened," Paul Gaines said at a news conference, his voice cracking as his wife held a framed photo of their daughter. 
 "We will try to change this bad into something good," Schumer said. "All of us are trying to prevent it from happening ever again." 
 Since the capsizing -- and the June death of a <a href="/topics//West_Islip,_NY">West Islip</a> man whose vessel was hit by a powerboat steered by a drunken boater -- New Yorkers have grown vigilant about water safety. 
 "Prior to this accident, it was a typical summer," said Alan Alterman, director of education at New York Boating Safety. "This is the first time that people have approached me and asked, 'How do I find my boat's capacity?' or 'Do I know the capacity of a boat that is 20 feet?' " 
 Philip Caroleo, who also teaches courses for the boating program, including one in <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> Sunday, said enrollment has risen by about 15 percent since the Fourth of July accident. With 30 students, Sunday's <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> class "was considerably larger" than in the past, he said. Another lecture, upstate in Groton, attracted 55 students, twice the size of any class there this summer. 
 "In light of recent tragedies, enforcement has been beefed up," said Caroleo, "and personal watercraft operators and boaters are more aware of the dangers out there in the water." 
 Ozzie Diaz, 22, of <a href="/topics//Franklin_Square,_NY">Franklin Square</a>, attended the <a href="/topics//Valley_Stream,_NY">Valley Stream</a> class with his uncle. He was stopped this spring for operating a water scooter without a license. "There's a lot of stuff I didn't know," Diaz said midway through the eight-hour course. "The accidents are what brought us here. You have to know the rules and regulations." 
 George and Maryann Kritis of <a href="/topics//Garden_City,_NY">Garden City</a> brought their son Nikolas, 14, and daughter Brittany, 18, to get certified. Maryann Kritis' parents live in <a href="/topics//West_Islip,_NY">West Islip</a> near the canal where the Silver Bullet, the boat broadsided in June by the drunken boater, was docked. 
 "We're very conscious of boating safety," George said. "The only thing we can do as a parent is to pull our kids from the water, but it's a sin not to enjoy it." 
 With Igor Kossov

Transportation

LICAPA16

After fatal boat accident, a call for capacity limits

LICAPA16 - schumer presser cropped

With the cabin cruiser that capsized on July 4 finally out of the water and in the hands of <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police, investigators are examining the 34-foot boat for clues to what led to the tragedy that ended with three children dead.
The Kandi Won, raised Wednesday by Nassau police and the <a href="/topics//Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a>, was trucked overnight to the marine bureau in <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>. There, investigators began checking it for structural damage or mechanical failures that might have contributed to the capsizing.
They will also try to determine the number of life jackets aboard and whether the boat carried too many people to be safe.
The boat capsized at 10 p.m. on July Fourth, spilling 24 of the 27 people on board into the water. The three who died -- cousins David Aureliano, 12, of <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>, and Harlie Treanor, 11, of <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>, and family friend Victoria Gaines, 7, of Huntington -- were trapped in the boat's cabin, officials said.
The Silverton Convertible was returning from a fireworks display when, the boat's driver said, it was hit by the wake of another passing vessel, tipped over and sank. It was recovered from 60 feet of water during a daylong effort complicated by silt that dropped divers' visibility to virtually zero, swift currents, and underwater movement from wakes.
The first pair of divers entered the water at about 9:50 a.m. Wednesday. By 4:25 p.m., the craft floated at a near-normal level and was towed by a Nassau County police patrol boat toward the <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> Marine Center.
There, it was lifted out of the water with a special crane and put on a truck headed for the police marine bureau.
With Patricia Kitchen
and Gary Dymski

LIBOAT13

Probe continues of boat in fatal capsizing

liFBIOysterBay-

Investigators Wednesday raised the 34-foot cabin cruiser that sank July 4, killing three children, and towed it ashore to begin looking for clues into why it capsized. 
 The Silverton 34 Convertible with 27 people aboard had been returning from a fireworks display when it tipped over and sank off Oyster Bay. 
 <a href="/topics//Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> divers and <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police Wednesday raised the boat, named the Kandi Won, in a daylong effort after failing to get it out of silt 60 feet under the water's surface Tuesday. 
 It was scheduled to be trucked overnight to the <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police Marine Bureau in <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a> for examination. 
 "It was a successful recovery of the Kandi Won," <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police spokesman Det. Vincent Garcia said. "It floated, they towed it in. It didn't take on water along the way as far as we know." 
 The boat was to be quickly examined Wednesday night, lifted onto a flatbed truck and driven to the Marine Bureau for a full investigation, Garcia said. 
 "It's going to get a cursory look over for any major malfunctions," he said. "They'll just look at it here and then prepare it to take over to <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>." 
 The effort to recover the boat had been hampered by currents, underwater movement from wakes of other boats and visibility that dropped to virtually zero as the recovery work stirred up silt. 
 Divers had trouble getting straps around the vessel on Tuesday. Wednesday's effort used small inflatable bags to lift the cabin cruiser high enough to get the straps under it, police said. At one point, the wake from another boat made the air bags used to lift the boat slip off, they said. 
 As the boat was lifted to about 30 feet below the surface, divers added more inflatable bags to help it rise. 
 "It was a long, tedious process, but it went exactly as planned," Garcia said. 
 The first pair of divers entered the water at about 9:50 a.m. By 4:25 p.m., the craft floated at a near-normal level and was towed by a <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> County police patrol boat toward the Oyster Bay Marine Center. 
 The U.S. Coast Guard had declared a "moving safety zone" around the boat, keeping other boaters away. Two <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> County patrol boats and two Town of Oyster Bay boats accompanied it as it was towed past <a href="/topics//Centre_Island,_NY">Centre Island</a>, the site of the fireworks display. 
 The Kandi Won was maneuvered into a 55-ton-capacity crane by a <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> County police patrol boat and Town of Oyster Bay bay constable boat. With the boat listing at about a 20-degree angle, Nassau police and marine center staff used a pump in the cabin to get more water out. 
 The only visible damage was to the Bimini cover on top of the flying bridge and a missing boarding platform at the stern. Some algae appeared around the wall that separates the cockpit from the cabin. 
 Investigators said they hope the wreckage will help explain how the boat tipped over. They will check for structural damage or mechanical failures that might have contributed to the capsizing, and try to determine the number of life jackets aboard. 
 "We'd like to have the boat in as pristine condition as possible," Azzata said Tuesday. 
 Police also are looking into whether the boat had too many people on board to be safe. 
 On July Fourth, the Kandi Won capsized shortly after 10 p.m. spilling 24 of the 27 people on board into the water. 
 The three who died -- cousins David Aureliano, 12, of <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>, and Harlie Treanor, 11, of <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>, and family friend Victoria Gaines, 7, of Huntington -- were trapped in the boat's cabin, officials said. 
 With Patricia Kitchen 
 and Gary Dymski

LIBOAT12

Sunken boat brought to surface of Oyster Bay

liSALV12hs

Divers trying to lift the 34-foot cabin cruiser that sank on July Fourth, killing three children, were having difficulty with visibility 65 feet below the surface and currents were hampering their efforts, a police official said Tuesday. 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police homicide Det. Lt. John Azzata said he did not have a timetable for the raising of the 34-boat, and it may not happen by the end of the day. 
 "Unfortunately the visibility underwater right now in the area . . . is not good, and it's a slow, tedious process," Azzata said. "The boat is still moving while they're down there, trying to work on it. . . . There's progress, but it's very slow." 
 An <a href="/topics//Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> dive team reached the wreck site in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> Tuesday morning, preparing to raise the boat with the hope that the wreckage will help explain how the tragedy occurred. Investigators will check for structural damage or mechanical failures that might have contributed to the capsizing and they hope to determine the number of life jackets aboard. 
 The bottom is muddy, and movement created by the divers and the boat itself was making the task difficult, Azzata said Tuesday. 
 "We'd like to have the boat in as pristine condition as possible," Azzata said. "If God forbid there is a traumatic mechanical malfunction that caused this ship to sink we'd like to know that." 
 The salvage crew, which left from <a href="/topics//Theodore_Roosevelt">Theodore Roosevelt</a> Memorial Park in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> and reached the site at about 9 a.m., plans to help raise the vessel by attaching deflated lift, or air, bladders to the boat, inflating them, and bringing the Silverton 34 Convertible to the surface. 
 Divers were in the process of criss-crossing straps under the boat to form a net to attach the bladders to, Azzata said. 
 The first team of divers entered the water a few minutes after 10 a.m. and returned to the surface about 11:30 a.m. 
 The plan to raise the boat was determined late Monday, after a salvage crew studied sonar mapping and video of the wreck site, about 60 feet under water. 
 Once raised to the surface, any remaining water would be pumped out, according to <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> County police. 
 The boat would be towed to a location in Oyster Bay Town, lifted out of the water and driven by flatbed truck to the police Marine Bureau in <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>. 
 The salvage boat that reached the site Tuesday morning was catamaran-style with a metal hull, about 30-feet long, and flying a red flag with a white slash, signifying diver down. 
 <a href="/topics//Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> personnel wearing blue T-shirts with yellow "FBI" lettering first worked at dropping multiple anchor lines, an effort to keep the boat as stationary as possible during the dive. 
 In addition to the work boat, two other FBI boats, three Nassau County police boats, two Oyster Bay constable boats and one 41-foot rescue boat from the Coast Guard patrolled the perimeter of the wreck site. 
 Nassau Chief of Department Steven Skrynecki said Monday the FBI was chosen for the salvage because the agency has access to equipment that can raise the craft, while ensuring it is not damaged and no evidence is compromised. 
 "The FBI is in the best position to do this so that it is forensically preserved," he said, adding this plan won out over dragging the boat out with a hook. 
 Skrynecki said an FBI diving team from Quantico, Va., a forensic evidence team and three FBI vessels were in Oyster Bay Monday examining the site of the sinking off Lloyd Neck. Investigators dove to the wreck in more than 60 feet of water, taking video and conducting sonar mapping to determine the position of the cabin cruiser and to identify any obstructions to the salvage operation. 
 The boat, named Kandi Won, capsized late on July Fourth as it was returning from a fireworks display in Oyster Bay, spilling 24 of the 27 people onboard into the water. Sal Aureliano, a family member of one of the victims, said he was driving the boat when a wake struck it. 
 Azzata wouldn't confirm or deny that Aureliano was the one driving the boat at the time it went down. The three who died -- cousins David Aureliano, 12, of <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>, and Harlie Treanor, 11, of <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>, as well as family friend <a href="/topics//Victoria_(Australia)">Victoria</a> Gaines, 7, of Huntington -- were trapped in the cabin, officials said. 
 "There are a myriad factors involved in the issue of the number of people allowed on the boat," Skrynecki said when asked if the boat was overcrowded. 
 The Coast Guard sets capacity limits for boats up to 20 feet. 
 Some manufacturers offer voluntary guidelines but there was no capacity placard on the Silverton, said maritime attorney James Mercante of the Manhattan firm Rubin, Fiorella &amp; Friedman, the lawyer for boat owner Kevin Treanor, the father of Harlie Treanor. 
 Mercante said that even with 27 people on his client's 34-foot boat, "I don't think the boat was overcrowded. The people on the boat were dispersed and not on one side." 
 He said town and county officials should better manage the boat traffic to, during and after the fireworks show. 
 "What was overcrowded was a small, narrow body of water that has only one way in and one way out," Mercante said of Oyster Bay. "In part it's very shallow, only 9 to 11 feet, and shallow water creates waves just like at the beach when boat wakes hit shallow water. During the mass exodus of boats, many of the boats would have encountered that shallow area of water. The wakes of hundreds of boats could have created not only the large wave that was reported by witnesses, but multiple large waves." 
 Charles <a href="/topics//Charles_Dolan">Dolan</a>'s family has presented the private fireworks display as part of its July Fourth waterfront party for more than 20 years at its <a href="/topics//Cove_Neck,_NY">Cove Neck</a> property. It declined to comment through a spokesman. The Dolan family owns a controlling interest in <a href="/topics//Cablevision">Cablevision</a>, which owns Newsday. 
 The town said it had three bay constable boats patrolling initially on the evening of July 4. Nassau police said it had two boats in the area. 
 Town spokesman James Moriarty said, "We have not given consideration yet to any changes in policy" pending the findings of the police investigation. 
 Skrynecki said that boats have traveled to the fireworks display for years without a problem on water, but any changes suggested by the investigation would be considered by the police. 
 Larry Weiss, former commander of the Oyster Bay Power Squadron boating safety group and the spokesman for the U.S. Power Squadrons on <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>, said he has taken his boat to watch the fireworks for almost 20 years and has not heard of any other accidents in that time. 
 He said the town and county manage the boat traffic properly. "The issue is a disregard for rules, courtesy and safety" by boaters. 
 Coast Guard Capt. Joe Vojvodich, commander of Sector <a href="/topics//Long_Island_Sound">Long Island Sound</a>, said if any findings from the investigation suggest changes in the permit process are needed, the agency will look at whether to incorporate them. 
 With several high-profile fatalities this summer, Legis. Steve Stern (D-<a href="/topics//Dix_Hills,_NY">Dix Hills</a>) said he will introduce a bill next month that requires all boaters in the county to take a safety course. 
 Even though boating rules fall under state jurisdiction, he said, "where New York State fails to act, we can do so locally."

LIBOAT11

Cops: Raising boat a 'tedious process'

liSALVhs-cropped

The two little girls who drowned in a July Fourth boat accident were laid to rest yesterday after services in which their families recalled them as happy, beautiful children.
Harlie Treanor, 11, of Huntington Station, and Victoria Gaines, 7, of Huntington, were mourned at separate funerals: Victoria at the Church of St. Patrick in Huntington, and Harlie in Huntington Station at M.A. Connell Funeral Home.
The girls and Harlie's cousin David Aureliano, 12, of <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>, died when the boat they were aboard with family and friends capsized and sank in Oyster Bay after a fireworks show. David's funeral was Monday.
At Victoria's funeral, mourners spoke of a joyful second-grader who loved dancing and always looked after her 12-year-old brother, Ryan. She died two days before her 8th birthday.
"Victoria was always so strong," her father, Paul Gaines, told more than 100 friends and family members at the service. "She's my little angel now.
"You'd bring her into a dress shop and she'd be in heaven," he said. "But she was tough as nails, too. I pray dearly that I'll be with her soon."
Victoria's sobbing mother, Lisa Gaines, told mourners that their stories about Victoria would help her heal.
"She is an amazing child and I'm so thankful that she got to share her very full eight years with all of you," she said. "And I need all of your memories to get us through this."
At Harlie's funeral, her father, Kevin Treanor, who owned the sunken boat, along with her sister, Madyson, and other family members spoke lovingly of the red-haired girl known for her musical talent, academic prowess and infectious optimism, several mourners said.
"What a beautiful child," Dawn Heller, Harlie's music teacher at <a href="/topics//Bowling_Green_State_University">Bowling Green</a> Elementary from first to fifth grades, said outside the funeral home. "She always did the right thing. It's heartbreaking."
Heller said Harlie went out of her way to help her classmates, about 10 of whom attended the service.
"She was a selfless person," Heller said. "She always wanted to help other people. She also excelled in academics and in band. She was a very happy child."
The Rev. Thomas Tuite, of the Church of St. Patrick, told mourners at Victoria's funeral it was normal to question why the tragedy occurred.
"We'll never understand why some of these things happen. . . . We hope that we will one day be with Victoria again. But until that day, we hold onto our hope."
Authorities are still investigating why the 34-foot Silverton boat capsized with 27 people aboard.

LIFUNE11

Boat capsize victims Harlie Treanor, Victoria Gaines laid to rest

liFUNEjcw little girl - cropped

David Aureliano's funeral Monday never should have been, the Rev. Kristina Hansen said. 
With pews in the sanctuary of St. Paul's United Methodist Church packed, and a dozen more mourners standing in the back, Hansen said of David, 12, who died in a July Fourth boating accident that killed two other children, "No parent should have to <a href="/topics//Bury_FC">bury</a> their child."
David's father, Greg Aureliano, sobbed as he remembered his son.
"If I had the worst day at work, I'd walk through the door, and that smile would wash away everything," he told mourners. 
Amid tears, Hansen forged on and the service proceeded with a mix of sobs and laughs.
During the service in the <a href="/topics//Northport,_NY">Northport</a> church, the chorus sang "Amazing Grace" and the organist played <a href="/topics//Billy_Joel">Billy Joel</a>'s "Lullaby."
David drowned when the boat he was on capsized in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a>. Also killed were his cousin Harlie Treanor, 11, and friend Victoria Gaines, 7. Their funerals are Tuesday. Recovery of the boat is planned for Tuesday. An investigation continues.
Family and friends remembered David as a boy who overcame health challenges that doctors warned might diminish his quality of life. Hansen said David was not defined by his condition. 
"This was not who David was," she said. "David faced every challenge with courage."
Family members read from 1 Corinthians 13:4. One young relative who spoke broke down crying when she started reading, "Love is patient, love is kind." 
David's older brother, Rocco Aureliano, standing next to his parents, eulogized him. David, he said, "was a force to be reckoned with."
"He was doing all the things we were told he'd never be able to do," Rocco said. "He loved his whole family." 
Others remembered that David had a wry sense of humor. He was an avid fan of <a href="/topics//Disney_Channel">Disney</a> movies, and, at times, family members recalled, he would play tunes from the films -- for what felt like forever -- throughout the house. The songs would be stuck in their heads. Rocco said his brother got a kick out of it. 
"David had a big presence for a little boy," Hansen said.
After Rocco spoke, churchgoers stood up and remembered David, sharing memories, mostly through tears. 
"It is just so sad," one of David's cousins, Carol Conforti, 43, of <a href="/topics//East_Northport,_NY">East Northport</a>, said after the service. "It's so touching how close the family is." 
Said Conforti's husband, Vito DeFeo, 50, "It is a sad time for the family, but they are holding together very well."

LIFUNE10

David Aureliano remembered at funeral

LIFUNE

An FBI diving team Tuesday plans to raise the 34-foot cruiser that sank on July Fourth in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a>, killing three children, in hopes the wreckage can help explain how the tragedy occurred, <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> County police said. 
 Chief of Department Steven Skrynecki said the FBI has access to equipment that can raise the craft, while ensuring it is not damaged and no evidence is compromised. 
 "The FBI is in the best position to do this so that it is forensically preserved," he said, adding this plan won out over dragging the boat out with a hook. 
 Skrynecki said an FBI diving team from Quantico, Va., a forensic evidence team and three FBI vessels were in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> Monday examining the site of the sinking off Lloyd Neck. Investigators dove to the wreck in more than 60 feet of water, taking video and conducting sonar mapping to determine the position of the cabin cruiser and to identify any obstructions to the salvage operation. 
 The salvage crew decided on the preferred plan -- attaching deflated lift, or air, bladders to the boat and inflating those to bring the Silverton 34 Convertible to the surface, where the remaining water would be pumped out, police said. The boat would be towed to a location in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> Town, lifted out of the water and driven by flatbed truck to the police Marine Bureau in <a href="/topics//East_Rockaway,_NY">East Rockaway</a>. 
 &nbsp; 
 Checks for damage, failure 
 Investigators are checking for structural damage or mechanical failures that might have contributed to the capsizing and hope to determine the number of life jackets aboard. 
 The boat, named Kandi Won, capsized late on July Fourth as it was returning from a fireworks display in Oyster Bay, spilling 24 of the 27 people onboard into the water. A family member, Sal Aureliano, said he was driving the boat when a wake struck it. 
 Det. Lt. John Azzata wouldn't confirm or deny that Aureliano was the one driving the boat at the time it went down. The three who died -- cousins David Aureliano, 12, of <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>, and Harlie Treanor, 11, of <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>, as well as family friend <a href="/topics//Victoria_(Australia)">Victoria</a> Gaines, 7, of Huntington -- were trapped in the cabin, officials said. 
 "There are a myriad factors involved in the issue of the number of people allowed on the boat," Skrynecki said when asked if the boat was overcrowded. 
 The Coast Guard sets capacity limits for boats up to 20 feet. 
 Some manufacturers offer voluntary guidelines but there was no capacity placard on the Silverton, said maritime attorney James Mercante of the Manhattan firm Rubin, Fiorella &amp; Friedman, the lawyer for boat owner Kevin Treanor. 
 &nbsp; 
 Lawyer: No overcrowding 
 Mercante said that even with 27 people on his client's 34-foot boat, "I don't think the boat was overcrowded. The people on the boat were dispersed and not on one side." 
 He said town and county officials should better manage the boat traffic to, during and after the fireworks show. 
 "What was overcrowded was a small, narrow body of water that has only one way in and one way out," Mercante said of Oyster Bay. "In part it's very shallow, only 9 to 11 feet, and shallow water creates waves just like at the beach when boat wakes hit shallow water. During the mass exodus of boats, many of the boats would have encountered that shallow area of water. The wakes of hundreds of boats could have created not only the large wave that was reported by witnesses, but multiple large waves." 
 The Dolan family has presented the private fireworks display as part of its July Fourth waterfront party for more than 20 years at its <a href="/topics//Cove_Neck,_NY">Cove Neck</a> property. It declined to comment through a spokesman. The Dolan family owns a controlling interest in <a href="/topics//Cablevision">Cablevision</a>, which owns Newsday. 
 &nbsp; 
 Policy questioned 
 The town said it had three bay constable boats patrolling initially on the evening of July 4. <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police said it had two boats in the area. 
 Town spokesman James Moriarty said, "We have not given consideration yet to any changes in policy" pending the findings of the police investigation. 
 Skrynecki said that boats have traveled to the fireworks display for years without a problem on water, but any changes suggested by the investigation would be considered by the police. 
 Larry Weiss, former commander of the Oyster Bay Power Squadron boating safety group and the spokesman for the U.S. Power Squadrons on <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>, said he has taken his boat to watch the fireworks for almost 20 years and has not heard of any other accidents in that time. 
 He said the town and county manage the boat traffic properly. "The issue is a disregard for rules, courtesy and safety" by boaters. 
 Coast Guard Capt. Joe Vojvodich, commander of Sector <a href="/topics//Long_Island_Sound">Long Island Sound</a>, said if any findings from the investigation suggest changes in the permit process are needed, the agency will look at whether to incorporate them. 
 With several high-profile fatalities this summer, Legis. Steve Stern (D-<a href="/topics//Dix_Hills,_NY">Dix Hills</a>) said he will introduce a bill next month that requires all boaters in the county to take a safety course. 
 Even though boating rules fall under state jurisdiction, he said, "where New York State fails to act, we can do so locally."

LISALV10

FBI team to raise capsized boat

liBOAThs

On a better summer day, Victoria Gaines might have danced. Harlie Treanor might have tossed the softball. 
 Instead, Sunday they were mourned in separate wakes, Victoria's in <a href="/topics//Hicksville,_NY">Hicksville</a> at Vernon C. Wagner Funeral Home, and Harlie's in <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a> at M.A. Connell Funeral Home. 
 Victoria, 7, of Huntington, and Harlie, 11, of <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>, drowned on the <a href="/topics//Fourth_of_July">Fourth of July</a> with Harlie's cousin, David Aureliano, 12, of <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>. The boat they were aboard with family and friends capsized and sank in the <a href="/topics//Long_Island_Sound">Long Island Sound</a> after a fireworks show. 
 Sunday, a stream of black-clad mourners shook hands and shared hugs outside the funeral homes or simply hurried inside. 
 Most were adults; some were children. 
 "All the little girl's friends are in there," said Dina Horowitz, 50, of <a href="/topics//Bellmore,_NY">Bellmore</a>, as she left Victoria's wake. "It's horrible." 
 Victoria would have turned 8 on Friday. Family friends said she loved to dance. 
 On the M.A. Connell webpage memorializing Harlie, a picture shows her beaming, with long red hair. 
 One posted comment recalled her on the softball field with a smile so bright it could "light up the whole field." 
 Kimberlie Liccardi, who said she was Harlie's neighbor, wrote about meeting her just last week when the girl visited to offer her baby-sitting services. 
 "So industrious, so cute and so very bold!" she wrote. "With your hair in a pigtail on one side, you smiled in excitement when I asked you about camp! I am grateful for that few moments of getting to know you. You made a big impression!" 
 David's wake was Saturday. His funeral is to be held Monday at 11 a.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in <a href="/topics//Northport,_NY">Northport</a>. 
 A funeral Mass for Victoria will be offered Tuesday at 9:45 a.m. at St. Patrick's Church on Main Street in Huntington village, according to a notice on the Huntington school district webpage. 
 The Gaines family has set up a donation account, the Victoria Gaines Memorial Trust Fund, to aid the family with expenses. The website is victoriagainesmemorial.com. 
 A private service for Harlie will be held Tuesday at M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station. 
 Authorities are still investigating how the 34-foot Silverton boat, named the Kandi Won, capsized with 27 people aboard.

LIBOAT09

2 girls mourned in July Fourth boat accident

harlie_victoria

A pair of fatal accidents that claimed four lives in less than two weeks has illustrated how dangerous <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>'s busy waters can be and renewed calls for a law requiring adults to pass a safety course before operating a motorboat. 
 With 71,000 registered recreational boats in <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> and 32,500 in <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a>, "<a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> waters are very busy," said Larry Weiss, <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> spokesman for U.S. Power Squadrons, a national boating safety group. 
 "When there's a special event like July Fourth fireworks, you need even more to know how to interact safely and courteously with other boaters," he said. "Good safety education and solid experience enables you do deal with these issues more competently and safely." 
 A fatal accident June 23 off Captree Island involving an alleged drunken boater and the capsizing in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> of a cabin cruiser the night of the Fourth, causing the deaths of three children, has galvanized boating safety groups pushing for mandatory education. 
 In the first accident, Brian Andreski, 26, of <a href="/topics//Dix_Hills,_NY">Dix Hills</a>, was charged with boating while intoxicated after his powerboat broadsided a fishing boat, <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> police said. Christopher Mannino, 39, of <a href="/topics//West_Islip,_NY">West Islip</a>, fell into the water after the collision and died. 
 In last Wednesday's tragedy, Sal Aureliano of Huntington said a wake caused the boat he was piloting to turn over. The children were trapped in the cabin. Authorities are investigating whether wakes from other boats, stormy weather, overcrowding, or mechanical failure played a role, and whether there were enough life vests aboard. Aureliano said he was piloting his brother-in-law Kevin Treanor's boat because he was more experienced. 
 &nbsp; 
 Class not required in NY 
 In <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a>, only people younger than 18 who want to operate a boat without an adult present, or operators of water scooters are required to pass a safety class. <a href="/topics//New_Jersey">New Jersey</a>, <a href="/topics//Connecticut">Connecticut</a> and 23 other states have laws requiring safety classes for adult mariners. 
 "People don't know how to read [navigational] charts" and run aground, said Mitch Kramer, owner of an <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> marine towing firm, who was among the rescuers at the scene of the <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> accident. "Some people don't even know the <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> side from the <a href="/topics//Connecticut">Connecticut</a> side." 
 To try to make safety lessons mandatory in <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a>, local boating organizations say they will renew their lobbying efforts, using the recent accidents as ammunition. 
 "In order to drive a car, you need all kinds of training, learner's permit, written test, road tests, and then you get a license," Weiss said. 
 But when it comes to boating in <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a>, "you or I could just go down to a boat shop, buy a boat and go," said Vincent T. Pica II, chief of staff for the Coast Guard Auxiliary region that includes <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>. 
 A bill by Sen. <a href="/topics//John_Flanagan_(politician)">John Flanagan</a> (R-<a href="/topics//East_Northport,_NY">East Northport</a>) that would have changed that did not pass in the last session. 
 "Until the triple fatality, we were running significantly behind on fatal accidents at this time of year" statewide, said Brian Kempf, the state's boating administrator. Usually there are about 25 fatalities per year. 
 As of July 3, there had been five deaths on state waters this year, half the 2011 total at the same point. The statewide toll, however, bumped up to 11 Thursday when three people died after their boat hit a buoy on Oneida Lake upstate. 
 Despite the recent fatal accidents, Kempf said "safety is overall better. There is a greater awareness out there." 
 But some boating groups say that is not enough. 
 "There's a lot more people who need to take boating-safety education classes," said Scott Croft, spokesman for the Boat Owners Association of the United States. "Unfortunately, it's not mandatory in <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State" even though more and more states are going that way. 
 He said it's important to make sure the courses are widely available when required so that people don't have trouble taking them. 
 It's also prudent to phase in the requirement over time, he said, so there are enough instructors and courses to go around, a lesson <a href="/topics//New_Jersey">New Jersey</a> learned the hard way after imposing the requirement several years ago and angering boaters who couldn't find a course. 
 The courses are necessary, Weiss said, because "there's a tremendous disregard for the rules on the water, and a tremendous disregard for <a href="/topics//Common_(musician)">common</a> sense." 
 He said one shortcoming of most courses is that they are strictly classroom sessions with no hands-on training, but that is starting to change. Some businesses and nonprofit centers offer on-the-water instruction as well. And the U.S. Power Squadrons has just developed an on-water training class. 
 The practical training is critical, Weiss said, citing operating a water scooter as a good example: "Your instinct, if something's in your way, is to cut the throttle. But if you cut the throttle on a Jet Ski, you no longer have steering and you crash right into whatever it is you were trying to avoid." 
 He acknowledged that training and rules can go against the traditional nature of being out on the water and the freedom it affords. 
 "But you're not alone out there," he said. "There are other boaters you have to interact with. You have to know what you're doing and have everybody agreeing on what the rules are. And how do you know what the rules are if nobody bothers to take the class?" 
 &nbsp; 
 Challenges in LI waters 
 Aureliano, driver of the boat that capsized July 4, was a "smart" boat captain, said Jim Scudieri, 49, of Huntington, who belongs to the same boat club as Aureliano. 
 But the challenges of <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> waters abound. They include the shallow depth of South Shore bays and the rocky reefs off North Shore headlands, where trouble lurks for boaters who fail to stay in marked channels. 
 "With all the advances in technology, you would think it would be safer on the water," Kramer said. "I thought <a href="/topics//Global_Positioning_Systems">GPS</a> was going to be a huge advancement in boating safety. What I found is that it doesn't seem like much has changed. There's a lot of people who have the technology but they don't know how to use it." 
 Bryan Sorice, 39, of <a href="/topics//West_Islip,_NY">West Islip</a>, has been taking people fishing for more than two decades. "We all have to get a driver's license to drive a car," Sorice said. "We should be required to take a boating safety course to operate a boat." 
 Some safety advocates favor a full licensing program similar to motor vehicles coupled with mandatory education, as is the case in Georgia. But that idea is not popular with most boating groups. 
 "Licensing for licensing sake is just another revenue source and it doesn't solve the boating safety problem," Croft said. He said it's the training that is important. 
 &nbsp; 
 Variety of legislative fixes 
 State lawmakers have been responding to the growing concern over boating safety with an array of proposed legislation. 
 Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. (R-Merrick), sponsor of the existing boating-while-intoxicated law, is drafting legislation for next session that would impose tougher penalties on drunken boaters who had a child onboard or a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent or higher. These changes would mirror existing motor vehicle penalties. 
 "We've always said that when somebody drives drunk, the car becomes a 2,000-pound weapon, similar to a boat, so there should be no distinction," he said. 
 Fuschillo's proposal follows more than a half-dozen failed legislative attempts in the past session that aimed to make waterways in and around <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> safer. 
 "I am aware of the Wild West nature of the coastal waters to the detriment of tourists and recreational boaters who are good citizens," said Assemb. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket), who introduced a bill requiring that anyone convicted of BWI be required to take a safety class. "I hear stories of near misses all the time." 
 A measure sponsored by state Sen. John DeFrancisco (R-<a href="/topics//Syracuse,_NY">Syracuse</a>) sought to link all alcohol-related offenses -- whether in a car, boat, snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle -- to ensure repeat violators face stiffer penalties. 
 The proposed law was named for a <a href="/topics//Syracuse,_NY">Syracuse</a> woman, Tiffany Heitkamp, 20, who was killed in July 2006 in the Adirondacks while riding in a boat piloted by a drunken boater. The boat operator had been convicted of DWI, but at his sentencing for BWI he was treated as a first-time offender. DeFrancisco's bill passed the <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">Senate</a>, but not the Assembly. 
 The strictest proposal sought to give judges the power to suspend an individual's driver's license. The bill didn't make it out of the <a href="/topics//U.S._Senate">Senate</a> Transportation Committee.

Renewed push on boating safety

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AJ Pellati, a gas station attendant at Seaborn Marina in <a href="/topics//Bay_Shore,_NY">Bay Shore</a>, said in his three years there he has seen a few close calls, with inexperienced boaters nearly crashing into the dock or other boats.
"When people come to fill up, you can just tell by the way they drive -- they come in sideways or go full speed into the side of the dock," Pellati, 18, of <a href="/topics//West_Islip,_NY">West Islip</a>, said Saturday. "When I finally tie them up they'll say, 'This is my first time driving the boat,' and it's like, 'I can tell.' "
Two separate fatal accidents in the last 15 days have veteran <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> boaters thinking about danger on the water, and what should be done to promote safety.
John Tag, 70, a recreational fisherman from <a href="/topics//North_Valley_Stream,_NY">North Valley Stream</a> who spent the morning at the <a href="/topics//Freeport,_NY">Freeport</a> dock where his 23-foot boat is moored, said he won't leave the dock on summer weekends and holidays because of <a href="/topics//The_Heavy_(musician)">the heavy</a> traffic. 
"I'm retired, and you couldn't get me to go out there today if you gave me $1,000," he said.
"There are guys out there who drink too much when they're boating, and I think they get very reckless," Tag said. "They think that they're infallible. They cut through the water as fast as the boat can go. It's just dangerous."
Tag and fishing buddies Frank Isola, 68, of <a href="/topics//Merrick,_NY">Merrick</a>, and Hank Truglia, of <a href="/topics//East_Williston,_NY">East Williston</a>, said they took safety courses years ago before they bought their boats, and passing such a course should be mandatory.
"I think we should have licenses -- all you need now is the dollars to buy the boat," Tag said. "You don't even need <a href="/topics//Common_(musician)">common</a> sense, because half of them out there don't have it."
On their vessels, the three men said life vests are always on board, alcohol is banned, and they won't take more than five people at a time.
Bob Grossman, 48, of West Islip, said he doesn't let the behavior of others deter him from taking his family out on their 30-foot fishing boat on the weekends, but he keeps a watchful eye on other vessels.
"You always try to be defensive when you're out there, and you always have to watch out for others," said Grossman, who has a captain's license from the U.S. Coast Guard. "There are a lot of people out there that just don't know what they're doing to begin with, and when you add other variables to it, tragedy happens."
On the North Shore at an <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> marina, many boaters were still reeling three days after a 34-foot boat carrying 27 people capsized, killing three children. 
"To find three babies is unthinkable," said John Bunbas, 51, of Oyster Bay, who was taking his 20-foot <a href="/topics//Key_Largo">Key Largo</a> out for a tranquil day of fishing. But he said the accident hasn't made him more nervous about being on the water. Bunbas said he takes care not to overcrowd his boat, and avoids the bay traffic attracted by July Fourth fireworks.
"It used to be a couple hundred boats, but now, there are thousands," Bunbas said.
With Kery Murakami

LISAIL08

Safety comes first, seasoned LI boaters say

liBOAT

Dozens of mourners paid respects on Saturday to a 12-year-old boy killed with his cousin and a friend in a July Fourth boat accident in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a>. 
 Tearful family and friends of David Aureliano emerged from the boy's wake at Brueggemann Funeral Home in <a href="/topics//East_Northport,_NY">East Northport</a>, three days after the cabin cruiser he was riding in capsized on the way from a fireworks show. 
 David, of <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>, his cousin Harlie Treanor, 11, of <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>, and family friend Victoria Gaines, 7, of Huntington, died. All three were in the boat's cabin when the vessel capsized. Memorial services for them will also continue this week. 
 On Saturday, mourners consoled each other outside the funeral home. Inside, David lay surrounded by photo collages, according to one mourner, who said she was David's cousin. "I felt like there was a knife through my heart," said the woman, who identified herself only as Linda. David was "the cutest thing," she said, recalling how he loved fishing and swimming. 
 As family members prepared to eulogize the three victims, investigators continued to piece together how the 34-foot Silverton, named Kandi Won, sank Wednesday as it left the fireworks display along with nearly 1,000 other boats. 
 Authorities hope to raise the sunken cruiser from 70 feet of water early this week, said Officer Chris Barling, a <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> County police spokesman. "We're working on different methods to pull it out," Barling said.

LIFLIP08

Wake held for boating victim; probe continues

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Sometime early next week, authorities plan to raise the sunken cabin cruiser on which three children died during a July Fourth fireworks trip, according to police. 
 Inspecting the 34-foot Silverton, which remains submerged in 70 feet of water in Oyster Bay, will allow investigators to check for structural damage and mechanical failures, look at the number of life jackets aboard, and help determine what may have caused the boat to capsize Wednesday, police said. 
 Police did not give a precise date for the operation, but the boat owner's attorney, James Mercante, of Manhattan, said the salvage is scheduled for Tuesday. The 1984 yacht, the Kandi Won, had 27 people aboard, at least 10 of whom were children, he said. 
 The children who died -- cousins David Aureliano, 12, and Harlie Treanor, 11, and family friend <a href="/topics//Victoria_(Australia)">Victoria</a> Gaines, 7 -- were trapped in the cabin while the others were tossed into the water, officials said. 
 The U.S. Coast Guard and <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police have indicated that the main focus of their investigation was whether the boat was overcrowded at a time when vessels were departing the area after a fireworks show had concluded. 
 Officials said they are trying to determine if wakes from other boats, stormy weather or mechanical failure also played a role. 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> homicide detectives are interviewing dozens of survivors and witnesses and reviewing any video of what happened. 
 <a href="/topics//John_Byrne">John Byrne</a>, <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> District Attorney <a href="/topics//Kathleen_Rice">Kathleen Rice</a>'s spokesman, said his office is working with police on the investigation. 
 Investigators say interviews so far appear to indicate there is a strong possibility that the vessel did not have the legally required number of life jackets aboard, a police spokesman said Friday. 
 One of the drowned children appears to have been wearing a life jacket, the spokesman said. 
 According to <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State boating laws, one Coast Guard-approved life jacket must be available for each passenger on every vessel. 
 Children younger than 12 must wear a life jacket, unless they are in a totally enclosed cabin. 
 Mercante, hired by the insurance company for boat owner Kevin Treanor, said there were "plenty of life jackets -- certainly more than 27." 
 Mike Della, of <a href="/topics//Ronkonkoma,_NY">Ronkonkoma</a>, attorney for the Gaines family, said he wants to find out "who, if anyone, was responsible for the boat capsizing." 
 Mercante said he doesn't believe there is criminal culpability. "As far as the issues of overloading, there is no federal or state requirement regarding the capacity of the vessel . . . those are manufacturer recommendations, not statutory," he said. 
 While the Coast Guard does not require capacity limits on craft longer than 20 feet, some manufacturers of larger boats voluntarily place weight or number-of-passengers restrictions on their models. But Mercante said there was no capacity placard on the Silverton. 
 Experts and lawyers uninvolved in the case said it would be very difficult to successfully prosecute a case against the boat's driver, Sal Aureliano, or the owner of the boat. 
 "My gut reaction is that while this is a terrible tragedy, it would be very difficult to make out a criminal case," said Frank Schroeder, a civil lawyer and former major offense prosecutor in Nassau. 
 Under state law, having too few life jackets aboard is not a crime, neither is having too many people aboard a boat more than 26 feet, they said.

LIVEST07

Sunken cruiser to be raised next week

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The three children were in the yacht's main cabin, where on summer excursions younger passengers often played cards while adults stayed on deck. 
 It was the <a href="/topics//Fourth_of_July">Fourth of July</a> in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a>. With no warning, the Kandi Won tipped and capsized about 10 p.m., trapping the children inside, friends and relatives aboard said Friday. 
 As dazed passengers tumbled into the water, some also struggled to get into the submerged cabin to rescue the children, said Candi Treanor, a Huntington resident and an aunt of two of the victims. 
 "Believe me," she said through tears, "we tried to get in the boat for those kids . . . It was just heartbreaking." 
 Cousins David Aureliano, 12, of <a href="/topics//Kings_Park,_NY">Kings Park</a>, and Harlie Treanor, 11, of <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>; and a family friend, Victoria Gaines of Huntington, died in the accident. Victoria would have turned 8 Friday. 
 Investigators are trying to piece together how the 34-foot Silverton cabin cruiser sank Wednesday as it left a fireworks display along with nearly 1,000 other boats. 
 Overcrowding is among the concerns, along with the weather and wakes. The boat had 27 people aboard, including at least 10 children, which some safety experts say was a dangerously high number. There may not have been enough life jackets to go around, authorities said. 
 Candi Treanor, who was on board, said tragedy struck quickly. "It was a bad wave, and it capsized us. There were a lot of boats coming back, then there were lightning bolts. 
 "The wave was tremendous," she said. "It just swallowed us up. There was no warning." 
 The Treanor family and their relatives and friends almost didn't make it to the fireworks show. 
 "It was really a last-minute decision because of the weather," which included a forecast of thunderstorms, said Candi Treanor. "It was just for the kids to see the fireworks." 
 That's why they headed out in the evening, shortly before the show, instead of spending all day on the water, she said. 
 "We're just devastated," Treanor said. "I'm going to bury my niece, my nephew and my dear friend's daughter." 
 Harlie's father, Kevin Treanor, stopped briefly Friday morning at his home in <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>. 
 "I just lost my daughter," said Treanor, who owns the boat. He drove away in tears, thanking people for their condolences. 
 Victoria, a black-haired, gaptoothed girl, "was a beautiful little kid with a very bright future," said Mike Della, a <a href="/topics//Lake_Ronkonkoma,_NY">Lake Ronkonkoma</a>-based attorney who is representing the Gaines family. 
 "She was very involved in dance, something that she loved to do. She . . . had her whole life ahead of her," Della said. 
 Victoria's mother and older brother were also aboard the boat that night, he said. "Everyone is obviously distraught. The family is completely devastated." 
 The Gaines family has set up a donation account, the Victoria Gaines Memorial Trust Fund, "to aid the family with expenses that are associated with this very traumatic time," he said. 
 With David Uberti and Alison Barnwell

LIBOAT07

Aunt recalls try to rescue kids on capsized boat

Aunt speaks about July Fourth tragedy

One minute, they were lit up by a feast of fireworks; the next, they were sinking in pitch-black waters as their capsized cabin cruiser dragged three children to the bottom of <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a>. 
 One person hung onto a chair in the water, some clung to the sinking hull and others swam toward converging vessels. 
 "It was so quick, in a matter of seconds it just went over, it went right over," said Joan Treanor, a survivor and the grandmother of Harlie Treanor, 11, who died along with her cousin, David Aureliano, 12, and another girl, Victoria Gaines, 8. 
 The 34-foot Silverton cabin cruiser was full of children among the 27 passengers. They had boarded after 7 p.m. to see a <a href="/topics//Fourth_of_July">Fourth of July</a> treat in the sky, Treanor said. 
 By 10 p.m., the fireworks were over and lightning flashed. 
 Like other boats, theirs was about to head home. 
 In front of it was one vessel and to the right another, when Sal Aureliano, the cabin cruiser's operator, said he felt a wake roll against his vessel. 
 "There was a wave that got us, and I couldn't right the boat," Aureliano, whose brother-in-law owns the boat, told <a href="/topics//News_12">News 12</a> <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>. "I didn't think a 34-footer would turn. It just bellied up." 
 Almost in slow motion, the vessel tipped. Every one of the passengers crashed into the harbor waters. 
 In the night, the screaming was like a beacon for other holiday boaters-turned-rescuers. 
 People in the water yelled to passing boaters that children were still in the sinking vessel's cabin, witnesses said. Some shouted "David" and "Victoria," boaters said they heard. 
 "They were just hysterical," said <a href="/topics//Joseph_(designer)">Joseph</a> LaRue, who saw it all about 80 yards away on his friend's boat. "It was like a nightmare." 
 Sammy Galasso raked his speedboat's spotlight across the waters. Pell-mell, he threw every life jacket he had into the waters. 
 "Everybody was panicking," said Galasso, whose family pulled more than 15 survivors from the waters. "People were saying things like 'Why?' " 
 Those who hung onto the belly of the capsized boat were searching for loved ones, Galasso said: "I don't think they wanted to leave whoever they were looking for." 
 The search quickly expanded, with Coast Guard vessels, helicopters, <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a>, <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> and New York City police divers, <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> Town bay constables, <a href="/topics//Centre_Island,_NY">Centre Island</a> police and several fire departments and marine towers. 
 Joan Treanor and Candi Treanor, the aunt of Harley and David, had struggled to pull children out and away from the sinking craft. Now they struggle with their losses. 
 "It was just devastating," the aunt said Thursday from her <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a> home. 
 The story has been changed to correct the spelling of Sammy Galasso's name.

LISCEN06

July 4th boat excursion quickly turns deadly in Oyster Bay

Boating safety experts and yacht dealers say putting 27 people on a 34-foot cabin cruiser leaves no margin for error.
"I just can't imagine 27 people on that boat," said Larry Weiss of <a href="/topics//Plainview,_NY">Plainview</a>, the <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> spokesman for the boating safety group U.S. Power Squadrons. 
Weiss, who owns a boat similar to the 1984 Silverton 34 Convertible involved in Wednesday night's capsizing in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a>, said he also went out to watch the July 4 fireworks off <a href="/topics//Cove_Neck,_NY">Cove Neck</a>. He said he had only 10 people aboard, in part because of predicted thunderstorms.
Philip Cappel, a former Huntington resident who is a recreational safety administrator for the Coast Guard, said "our capacity regulations for recreational boats only go up to 20 feet." 
"The reason there are no regulations is that you rarely see a 34-foot boat capsizing unless it's really bad weather," Cappel said.
He said manufacturers normally also do not issue capacity guidelines for boats over 20 feet, leaving the question to the discretion of the operator.
Safety experts say the number and weight of people onboard is a factor in a boat's stability, as is where they are on the vessel.
"That's a lot of people," Cappel said of the 27 onboard the Silverton. "But in calm weather, a boat that size, if it's loaded properly . . . shouldn't really be that big of a problem.
"Too many people up higher, on the main deck or up on the flying bridge, is going to cause a problem," Cappel said.
The stability of the boat is determined in part by its center of gravity, experts said. More weight higher on the boat makes it top heavy and more likely to roll over.
The manufacturer, Silverton Marine Corp. of Millville, N.J., was closed for the holiday week. 
Weiss said there is a formula for determining a safe capacity for a larger recreational boat. It's length times width divided by 15. He said that would probably allow 25 people on a 34-footer.
"So technically it might be possible capacity-wise, but that doesn't mean it's smart," he said.
Carl Darenberg, a broker at <a href="/topics//Montauk,_NY">Montauk</a> Marine Basin who has sold Silverton 34s, said "with a boat like that usually your maximum would be about 10 people." 
Another issue to be resolved by salvage of the boat is whether there was a mechanical problem such as a broken through-hull valve or bilge pump that could have allowed water in and made the boat unstable. 
"That causes real problems, especially if you have that many people on the boat," Capell said. 
Sal Aureliano, who identified himself as the driver of the Silverton, told <a href="/topics//News_12">News 12</a> Long Island he was heading home when the weather began to worsen. He found himself between two vessels and their wakes. 
"There was a wave that got us and I couldn't right the boat," said Aureliano, who did not speak to the overcrowding issue.
Weather may have played a role, even though the storm came through after the capsize. Weiss said, "the storm may not have been a factor, but the running from the potential storm may have been a factor."
Another unanswered safety issue is whether the operator had a flotation device for every person onboard, as required by law. 
The Coast Guard is investigating that question along with possible overloading, as are <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police.

LISAFE06

Experts: No safety margin with 27 onboard

liBOATho001

Investigators were Thursday trying to determine what led up to the moment when chaos erupted aboard a 34-foot cabin cruiser that capsized, spilling 27 people into the waters off <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> and killing three children. 
 The U.S. Coast Guard and <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police indicated Thursday that the main focus of their investigation was whether the boat was overcrowded at a time when vessels of all kinds were departing the area after a July Fourth fireworks show. 
 Officials said they are trying to determine if wakes from other boats, stormy weather or mechanical failure also played a role in the 10 p.m. tragedy Wednesday. 
 <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> Police Dep. Insp. Kenneth Lack said early yesterday that preliminary indications were the cabin cruiser capsized off Lloyd Neck after being hit by the wake of another boat, an account supported by eyewitnesses who picked up many of those thrown into the water. 
 "The boat could have sunk for many reasons," said Det. Lt. John Azzata, chief of the <a href="/topics//Nassau_County,_NY">Nassau</a> police homicide squad. 
 Survivors recounted scenes of chaos as they clung to the craft that they were riding on seconds before. 
 "A wake got us and it turned the boat around. It just turned the boat," a teary-eyed Sal Aureliano, who identified himself as the pilot, told <a href="/topics//News_12">News 12</a> <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>. "I didn't see it. It was dark. It just happened." 
 He added: "I didn't think a 34-footer would turn. It just bellied up. . . . The next thing I know . . . everybody was in the water. Chaos." 
 Twenty-seven family members and friends were heading back to Huntington Harbor when the 1984 Silverton cabin cruiser capsized, officials and family members said. 
 'Lost three great kids' 
 Police identified the victims as <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> County residents David Aureliano, 12, Harlie Treanor, 11, and <a href="/topics//Victoria_(Australia)">Victoria</a> Gaines, 8. 
 People on the boat said the entire incident took place in seconds. 
 "We lost three great kids," Sal Aureliano, who is David's uncle, told Newsday. "It's painful. It's the worst day of my life." 
 He called David "an amazing kid." 
 Holiday turned to horror 
 Candi Treanor, of <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>, the aunt of Harlie and David, said Wednesday had been a beautiful evening of watching fireworks that suddenly turned to horror. "I was trying to pull them out," Treanor said. "They were just beautiful, young and loving children." 
 The three children were found in the boat's cabin, officials said. 
 All three were pronounced dead about 4 a.m., officials said. 
 Jim Oliva, 47, spent yesterday with the families. 
 "This is a tragedy you can't even imagine," Oliva said. "It's a family's worst nightmare." 
 The boat capsized southwest of a popular anchorage known as the Sand Hole, at the entrance to <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a> just south of where it meets <a href="/topics//Long_Island_Sound">Long Island Sound</a>, officials said. 
 The others in the boat were saved by private vessels and emergency agencies and taken to Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club on <a href="/topics//Centre_Island,_NY">Centre Island</a> or <a href="/topics//Theodore_Roosevelt">Theodore Roosevelt</a> Park in <a href="/topics//Oyster_Bay,_NY">Oyster Bay</a>, police said. Most were then taken to hospitals, where they were treated and released, Azzata said. 
 The boat, which is based at the Harbor Boating Club, was operated by two people at various times during the evening, officials said. Azzata said there is no indication either was drinking alcohol. Police did not immediately identify either operator. 
 Aureliano said the boat is owned by his brother-in-law, but that he was driving it because he was more experienced. Boating records show that the Silverton was bought by Kevin Treanor in April 2011. Both Aureliano and Treanor, who lives in <a href="/topics//Huntington_Station,_NY">Huntington Station</a>, are members of the boating club. 
 Manhattan-based attorney James Mercante said he has been hired by Treanor's insurance company to represent him. 
 A look at safety 
 Some safety experts said carrying 27 people aboard the boat was dangerous, while others said it might safely accommodate that many under optimum circumstances. 
 The U.S. Coast Guard does not establish passenger capacity limits for pleasure boats longer than 20 feet, leaving it up to the operators. 
 Officials said a thunderstorm was approaching as the fireworks show ended. The storm did not reach the harbor until after the boat had capsized, witnesses said. 
 Azzata and Jeffrey Moberly, boatswain's mate second class, of the Coast Guard's <a href="/topics//Eatons_Neck,_NY">Eatons Neck</a> Station, said investigators also are looking into whether there were enough life jackets on board for the passengers. 
 According to <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State boating laws, one Coast Guard-approved life jacket must be available for each passenger on every vessel, including canoes, kayaks and rowboats. 
 Children on board younger than 12 must wear a life jacket, unless they are in a totally enclosed cabin. 
 According to police, the victims said they were in Oyster Bay to see the fireworks display put on by the Dolans. The Dolan family owns a controlling interest in <a href="/topics//Cablevision">Cablevision</a>, which owns Newsday and <a href="/topics//News_12">News 12</a> <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a>. 
 Almost a thousand boats had been in Oyster Bay during the fireworks show, officials said. 
 Walter Zalak, 46, of Huntington, a member of Harbor Boating Club for six years, said, "The <a href="/topics//Fourth_of_July">Fourth of July</a> in general is ugly. It's just chaos. Everyone and their mother goes out [on the waters]." 
 Azzata said the boat capsized in water 21 feet deep and then drifted more than a half mile before sinking in water 65 to 70 feet deep. 
 Thursday, Nassau Marine Bureau officers were stationed at the site as officials made plans to raise the boat to seek other evidence. 
 Nassau doesn't have salvage capacity, and Azzata said the department would seek the Coast Guard's assistance or turn to a private salvage company. 
 An examination could show if there was an equipment failure such as a through-hull valve that could have allowed water into the boat and affected its stability, officials said. 
 Aureliano said Thursday that "there was nothing wrong with the boat. . . . It just hit a wave, but I didn't see it. It just came, it just turned us over, upside down." 
<h3> Boating safety questions</h3> 
 Wednesday's capsizing of a 34-foot cabin cruiser in Oyster Bay raises questions about whether three key safety guidelines were violated by the operator and other boaters, according to Larry Weiss, <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> spokesman for United States Power Squadrons maritime safety organization. 
 "A prudent skipper does not overload his boat," he said. The Silverton 34 Convertible had 27 people on it, which Weiss says was too many people for the conditions -- a forecast of thunderstorms and the likelihood of heavy boating traffic that would create large wakes and choppy waters. 
 "You remain always conscious of the weather," Weiss said. "Everybody knew the storm was coming and was scrambling to get back to their home ports before the storm hit," he said. That may have led the operator to travel faster than was prudent with his high passenger count, Weiss said. 
 "You are responsible for your wake," Weiss said, and any damage it causes so if another large boat traveled near the Silverton and caused it to flip with its wake, that operator would be responsible if he could be identified.

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LI family: 'We lost three great kids' in boat tragedy

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Complete coverage: Boat capsizes in Oyster Bay, kills 3

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NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn looks at how Long Island schools are using first-person memories and immersive experiences to teach about 9/11, 25 years later.

How LI schools are teaching 9/11 to those who didn't experience it

NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa checks out this viral social media hit that has customers flocking to Chefs Corner in Mineola.

Trendy Bites: Lemon curd pancakes in Mineola 

The Jets find themselves with a lot to prove as they prepare to open the season in Tennessee, facing off against former head coach Robet Saleh and with the return of former quarterback Geno Smith. Newsday's Jets beat writer Al Iannazzone has the story.

Jets face their old coach in Week 1

The proposed Amazon warehouse and distribution center in Holbrook would be one of Amazon's largest facilities in the U.S. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.

Residents oppose proposed Amazon warehouse

50 years of farm-fresh fun! NewsdayTV's Doug Geed takes us to a Water Mill u-pick farm that's harvesting way more than just apples.

Out East: The Milk Pail U-pick apple farm in Water Mill

Mark Nash, who was an assistant coach at Molloy and Stony Brook, takes over as head coach for the Ward Melville girls soccer team this season and is looking to bring back a championship standard, NewsdayTV's Jonathan Ruban reports.

New coach, different strategy for Ward Melville girls soccer

Organizers say the efforts will help restore the water quality in the bay because these sprats act as "filters." NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn has more.

Baby oysters released into the Great South Bay

<a href="https://www.newsday.com/video/newsdaytv-top-stories">Get more on these and other NewsdayTV stories</a>

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Newsday high school sports editor Gregg Sarra and his staff choose their top picks in the annual fantasy draft.

Newsday's 2026 high school football fantasy draft

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