Most of us who have been behind the wheel of a car know that sinking feeling when it all goes wrong, whether that’s a full-blown accident or a ding on the car parked behind you.

That pales into insignificance when compared to what the skipper of the cruise ship Vista (the newest and largest of cruise company Carnival’s ships) must feel, because when he attempted to depart a dock in northeast Sicily (Italy) it became quickly apparent that he had dropped the ball on this one.

Just listen to the stunned reaction of this bloke below – it all goes really south about 1:30 in…

Another angle on those boats being wrecked:

Here’s Huffington Post with the aftermath:

Carnival blamed rough currents and wind conditions for pushing the vessel off course while departing the harbor [sic] city of Messina on Aug. 28.

“The ship’s officers were forced to increase the vessel’s propulsion motors to control the ship’s movement and bring it back on course,” they said Sunday…

“In the process, the force of the ship’s propeller wash in the harbor impacted a nearby floating dock and some small vessels which were damaged. No injuries were reported. The company sincerely apologizes for the matter and has been in close contact with Italian authorities to examine what transpired.”

The local port authority estimates the damage at around €250 000 (R4,1 million), and as you can imagine they weren’t impressed by the lengthy list of damages:

The cruise ship caused damages at two piers, one beyond repair, a number of ancillary facilities (such as anchor lines of the boats) damaged, a pilot of the mooring sunk and another dozen small boats in poor condition…

Makes that time you clipped a side mirror seem pretty tame, right? Still, you know you should have left a note…

[source:huffpost]