# It's No Pit yet of the captain of the Concordia? Allow me **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 20, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089 "2012-01-20T02:33:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/21 "2012-01-20T04:19:44Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > **Boyo Jim** : My favorite quote from this incident is [this bit](http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/i-will-make-you-pay-for-this--go-back-on-board-20120118-1q5ae.html?skin=text-only) from the Coast Guard Captain: Nice, but my favorite quote is half poetry, half philosophy. I prefer it. However, I hear there is a T-shirt out with your favorite quote, so it seems you win in the marketplace of ideas. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/22 "2012-01-20T04:23:16Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It also sounds like some 40 minutes before the crash, the good captain was having a nice dinner with wine along with a “friend”. “Hey toots, hold my glass. Now watch _this_!” ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/23 "2012-01-20T04:30:22Z")
I was about to make the joke, “Schettino” is Italian for “Hazelwood.” Then did a quick Google search. Someone beat me to it. I’m sure that comedians all over the world are mining this incident for all it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/24 "2012-01-20T04:32:28Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > “Hey toots, hold my glass. Now watch _this_!” “Oh babe, you ain’t seen nothing until you’ve seen my disaster management skills.” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/25 "2012-01-20T04:35:16Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > However, I hear there is a T-shirt out with your favorite quote, so it seems you win in the marketplace of ideas. “Vada a bordo, cazzo!” It’s my facebook status. Cazzo does not mean “damnit”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Windsong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Windsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windsong)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/26 "2012-01-20T04:39:14Z")
I’d heard that the Captain deliberately steered the ship off course… is that still what they’re thinking he did? I know it was stated that the crew didn’t seem to know shit from shinola about any escape plan… AND some of the passengers said they were never given any semblance of survival training. Boy, it looks like safety standards have gone the way of the dodo bird. > [@Gagundathar](#): > > “More full of himself than sure of himself” > > Wow, now I have worked for a couple of guys like that. > > The more I hear of this disaster, the worse the command crew (not just the captain) come off. > > These guys are going to prison for this. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/27 "2012-01-20T04:41:49Z")
From [here](http://nation.foxnews.com/italian-cruise-disaster/2012/01/18/captains-not-courageous) which gives more of the transcript, > [@](#): > > De Falco: Why did you allow them to get off, captain? > > Schettino: I didn’t. We just abandoned ship. > > De Falco: With 100 people still on board you abandon ship? [expletive] > > Schettino: I didn’t abandon any ship… because the ship turned on its side quickly and we were catapulted into the water. So first he says he abandoned ship, then one sentence later says he didn’t. To be honest, when I first heard of the wreck my immediate thought was, “I wonder if the captain was drunk.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/28 "2012-01-20T04:46:21Z")
[quote=“Windsong, post:26, topic:610089”] I’d heard that the Captain deliberately steered the ship off course… is that still what they’re thinking he did? …/QUOTE] Yes, the captain has already testified before a judge that he deliberately steered the ship off the standard route. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/29 "2012-01-20T05:31:20Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > How so? Sounds like they were maybe having a nightcap in his room? > > Here’s the link. > > [http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/19/world/europe/italy-cruise-cook/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/19/world/europe/italy-cruise-cook/index.html) Good Lord. He was partying both before AND after the collision. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/30 "2012-01-20T05:34:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Schettino: I didn’t abandon any ship… because the ship turned on its side quickly and we were catapulted into the water. Funny - he later said that he tripped and fell into the lifeboat. I guess it’s hard to remember stuff when you’re still drunk. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/31 "2012-01-20T05:35:15Z")
There’s an unconfirmed rumor that once on shore he hailed a taxi and asked to be taken “as far away from here as possible”. I wait to see if that is confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/32 "2012-01-20T06:00:04Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It also sounds like some 40 minutes before the crash, the good captain was having a nice dinner with wine along with a “friend”. Every captain has to eat, sleep, and recreate sometime… but isn’t the first officer left in charge of the ship, with instructions to wake or interrupt the captain if something goes Really Wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/33 "2012-01-20T06:09:13Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Every captain has to eat, sleep, and recreate sometime… but isn’t the first officer left in charge of the ship, with instructions to wake or interrupt the captain if something goes Really Wrong? The first officer could not do that, because the captain had put a sock on the doorknob of his cabin. \>wink wink\> ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/34 "2012-01-20T06:11:45Z")
:: reads linked news stories :: He ordered dinner _after_ the crash? Cripes. If I was captain of a ship that had just collided with something, food’d be the last thing on my mind. And the young woman he had dined with was later on the bridge? And he was married to someone else? (why do I have a feeling he was breaking marriage vows?) Oy. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/35 "2012-01-20T07:02:17Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > “Vada a bordo, cazzo!” It’s my facebook status. > > Cazzo does not mean “damnit”. 😉 The Google translate of that is “Go on board, fuck!” I guess they wanted him to finish? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/36 "2012-01-20T07:26:10Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Funny - he later said that he tripped and fell into the lifeboat. I guess it’s hard to remember stuff when you’re still drunk. Catapulted, tripped, lifeboat, water, whatever. It’s all good. OK, OK. The ship catapulted him into the water. Once he hit the water he tripped into the lifeboat. Yeah, I think that explanation will save him from the charge of abandoning ship. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/37 "2012-01-20T09:43:25Z")
**[Italian cruise captain rode moped and pinched arses on sinking ship](http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/italian-cruise-captain-rode-moped-and-pinched-arses-on-sinking-ship-201201194790/)** > [@](#): > > As the Italian courts ruled that the disaster was now an official metaphor for their country, it also emerged that Captain Francesco Schettino failed to follow emergency procedures and instead sat around drinking expresso, chain-smoking and inviting panicking women in life-vests to come over and sit on his dick. > > Magistrates are also examining claims that when the ship was headed toward the rocks the captain leaned on the ship’s horn, stuck his head out of the side window and screamed at the island of Giglio to get out of the way. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/38 "2012-01-20T10:13:32Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > How so? Sounds like they were maybe having a nightcap in his room? > > Here’s the link. > > [http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/19/world/europe/italy-cruise-cook/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/19/world/europe/italy-cruise-cook/index.html) In the 1950s, when the Andrea Doria collided with the SS Stockholm, there was a near-riot when the Stockholm picked up the first lifeboat and it was full of officers and crew from AD. Reminiscent of how the Italian army managed to have several thousand frostbite invalids in their June campaign against the French. > [@](#): > > In June 1940, after initial success, the Italian offensive into southern France stalled at the fortified Alpine Line. On 24 June 1940, France surrendered to Germany. Italy occupied some areas of French territory along the Franco-Italian border. During this operation, Italian casualties were 1,247 men dead or missing and 2,631 wounded. A further 2,151 Italians were hospitalised due to frostbite. Italians are the lounge lizards everyone ever thought they were. How goes that Euro for you Italy? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/39 "2012-01-20T14:15:13Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > You mistaken. He’s a Ship’s Captain, not a capitalist. No need to make excuses for him. I look forward to hearing how the captain was not actually \*obligated \*to stay sober, keep a safe distance from shore, and remain on the ship while passengers were still in need of rescue because nothing was \*preventing \*him from failing to do those things. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089/40 "2012-01-20T14:26:21Z")
Maybe I can be a ship’s captain too. I promise, if my ship hits the rocks, I’l start drinking and head for the lifeboats. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-no-pit-yet-of-the-captain-of-the-concordia-allow-me/610089.md?page=3)