It usually takes quite an achievement to successfully get into the Moronica Hall of Fame but this gentleman deserved an expedited induction into it. This gentleman may have ventured his boat too close to the rocks and reef just to carry out a maneuver to entertain tourists on the island of Giglio. This gentleman took a page out of White Star Line's Bruce Ismay's book on how a rat should leave a sinking ship. This gentleman refused a request from the Coast Guard to return to his ship to honor his duty to be the last one off. This Gentleman is Captain Francesco Schettino of the luxury liner Costa Concordia (CC).
This past Friday the CC struck a rock and ran aground when this moron steered the boat far too close to the Tuscan Coast. The rocks created a 160 foot gash in the side if this luxury liner leading it to take on water and go wumpf onto its side. During the evacuation of the liner the Captain was seen getting into a lifeboat by a French couple, who boarded the CC in Marseille, who saw him covering himself in a blanket long before all passengers were evacuated. This is very believable as one of the couple, a Ms. Ophelie Gondelle, was a French military officer so why would she lie? As stated before Coast Guard officers also spotted our honoree on shore well before the evacuation's completion and urged him to return but he refused. Even with eyewitness accounts our moron Captain continues to insist that he did not leave the liner early stating "We were the last ones to leave the ship". Frankly I do not believe this guy. The ship's Italian owner, a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise Lines said of the captain "He made grave errors of judgment that had very grave consequences". As of now those consequences include five dead, fifteen missing and one luxury liner left lying on its side.
Captain Schettino's boat now sits on its side just off the island as a testament to his captaining ability. How, in this day and age, can someone do this to a liner? Right now this man is being held by the Italian authorities for suspected manslaughter and the abandonment allegations. According to the Italian navigation code a captain who abandons a ship in danger can face up to twelve years in prison. And what is to become of the CC? Is there anything that can be done to fix the boat enough to at least get it to a dry dock or will it lie on its side for years - a testament to Captain Schettino's moronica? At least Captain Harris of the Titanic went down with his boat while this guy was one of the first that made it safely to shore. With apologies to Monty Python "When danger reared its ugly head Captain Schettino turned his tail and fled, brave, brave, brave, Captain Schettino".
So if you happen to see Captain Schettino please let him know of his enshrinement into my Moronica Hall of Fame and the honor of which that has been bestowed upon him.
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