The Answer As To Why The Costa Concordia Was So Off Course And Close To Giglio

Below is a copied portion of an article that was written by By Eric J. Lyman and Carolyn Pesce, USA TODAY and shown on USA Today online.
Here is the portion of that article that I copied and tells why the Costa Concordia was off course and so close to the Giglio:

The cruise line operator has said Schettino strayed from the ship's authorized course into waters too close to the perilous reef. The navigational version of a "fly by" was apparently a favor to the chief waiter who is from Giglio and whose parents live on the island, local media reported.

Half an hour before disaster struck, the waiter's sister posted an entry on her Facebook page saying she had been told the ship was "going to pass really close" and sending "a big hello to my brother."

Antonello Tievoli, 46, the head waiter of the Costa Concordia, is "tormented by a sense of guilt" over the tragedy, his family said, even though he did not ask the captain to perform the sail-by.

His father, Giuseppe Tievoli, 82, said "Antonello called me to say the ship would be passing by the island at around 9:30 and they would come and give us a whistle to say hello. It was something they often did," he said.

"The ship obviously came too close," he said. "I don't know if Antonello asked the captain to come near, but the responsibility is always and only the captain's."

At 9.08 p.m., the waiter's sister Patrizia Tievoli, a teacher who also lives on Giglio, wrote on her Facebook page: "In just a little while the Concordia is going to pass really close. A big hello to my brother who will finally disembark at Savona to enjoy a bit of rest."

Hours later, after the ship capsized, she wrote: "A tragedy, a deadful tragedy. I can't believe it's true. I just hope I will wake up and realize that it was a nightmare. The longest night of my life."

She later posted a black and white photograph of the Titanic, dated 1912, next to one of the Concordia on its side, dated 2012.

She also passed judgment on the captain's claim that the rocks were not marked on his nautical charts. "Not very convincing at all!" she wrote.

The Milan-based daily Corriere della Sera reported that Schettino called Antonello to the deck to say "Come to see it, Antonello, we're right on top of Giglio!" That was moments before the crash.

To view the complete USA Today article, please click here...  USA Today Article

Captain Of Costa Concordia Refuses To Return Aboard Sinking Ship

Below is a link to an article and a video in which Captain Francesco Schettino, the Captain of the Costa Concordia, who had already taken to a lifeboat, can be heard talking to Gregorio De Falco, a coast guard official based in the western Italian port of Livorno.
Coastguard Raged At Liner Captain
Video

Ultimate Sacrifice Or Ultimate Gift

Here is a question...how many out there would be willing to do something like this?
A husband gives his wife the only life jacket that they had because she did not know how to swim.
He told her to jump after he had already jumped into the approximately 8 degree water. After jumping in she called out to her husband, who told her that he would be alright.
She floated on her back until rescued and he was never seen again.
The couples children gave there Mother the Mediterranean cruise as a 60th birthday gift.
For more details about this true story..... Costa Cruise Window Tells Her Story  and Husband Sacrifices Life Jacket For Wife
Our condolences to the family for their tragic loss.