Boater Mishap Stories

[javelin225ho]

he could have been striper fishing or even sleeping.....i dont want to speculate, but he could have been a local yocal that thinks they own the lake......what ashame

[JayPea2006]

My wife's younger brother was killed in a boating accident on the Maumi River in Toledo Ohio 9 years ago. He was only in his early twenties when the accident happened.

Him and his lifelong friend had been cruising the river in a speed boat late at night when another boater in a speed boat, and under the influence of alcahol, broadsided his boat sending her brother and his friend into the water. The hit was a violent one since both boats were cruising at a high rate of speed. The drunk boat opperator sustained no damage or injury, but since his boat was bigger and higher off the water it managed to cut the other boat right in half.

To make a long story short, both her brother and his lifelong friend were suspected to have been knocked unconcious and ultimately drowned. The river was dragged for almost 2 weeks before finding her brothers body. A PFD may have saved their lives, or in the least would have saved my wife and her family from suffering the agonizing weeks wondering until the body was found.

[Swede]

Sad, sad story.  So sorry for your family's loss.  Too many of these mishaps out there - PFDs essential when the big motor is running.  All bass tournaments these days require in the rules.  I have to admit - never wore mine much until I started fishing bass tournaments - now it's habit - even when out for pleasure.  I guess same could be said for seat belts in cars - most never wore them much before laws changed and now for most - it's habit. 

Please - please - wear your PFD when on the water - we don't need to be dragging any more of them big hooks around for bodies that should be warm and full of life!!!

[Doug Grimm]

I've got a couple that happened the same weekend one is kind of funny ( which can answers the question why does this stuff happen) and one is very tragic.

Funny first:

I was at Santeetla Lake with a group of foster children camping a few years back. We were standing on the dock when this big boat came in throwing a wake like you have never seen. The guy tied up his boat and asked if there was a mechanic on duty. I directed him to one of the guys from the Marina. They came out and proceeded to tell the mechanic that he had just purchased the boat and was having trouble getting it to go one plane. The Mechanic checked all the usuals and could find nothing wrong, so he jumps in the water with goggles on to look under the boat. He came up a few seconds later just laughing uncontrollably. You will never guess what he found..... The guy had backed the boat into the water and unhooked the trailer from his truck and left the boat on the trailer, and he wondered why it wouldn't go on plane. I think it helps to take your boat of the trailer before trying to go down the lake. Answer to the question "why does this stuff happen" 9 times out of 10 it is stupidity.

Tragic:

The following day we were on the dock getting batteries charged from and all night fishing trip. When this ski boat came flying in to Marina. My first reaction was that I was going to give this man a piece of my mind for flying into the Marina like that. I walked over to his boat with this very intention. When I grabbed his dock line to help him tie up I noticed the entire front deck was covered in blood. There was a mother holding her 5 year boy wrapped in a towel. She was extremely frantic and going into shock herself. She said does anyone know first-aid. I said I do and jumped into the boat. She explained that they had been out tubing and were headed back in to the dock. Her 5 year old son was sitting up on the back of the boat. ( where he shouldn't have been) and the tube was lying in the floor unsecured. Well Dad decided he wanted to see what his boat could do (with his son sitting on the back deck) and proceeded to race the boat as fast as he could. Well the tube took flight hitting the boy and knocking him in the water. When the boy fell in the water the rope from the tube got wrapped around his foot. When the tube stretched out behind the boat and got taught it cut his foot off, just above his ankle. It looked like it had been surgically removed. This bot is laying in his momma lap crying saying " I want a rugrat bandaid I want a rugrat bandaid over and over. He was in shock. I laid the boy down on the floor of the boat and applied pressue to his femoral artery. This lake is out in the middle of no-where land. We called EMS and the closet they could get was a helicopter from Knoxville at least a 45 minute flight. The boy was getting worse an the best I was doing was slowing the bleeding. I asked some one to find me some alcohol. I poured it on my fingers to sterilize my hands the best I could. I reached up inside his leg 4 to 5 inches and got a hold of the artery. The retract inside when stuff like this happens. I was able to get a hold of it and stop the bleeding
1 1/2 hours later I was exhausted the helicopter landed. The pros got there and did there thing. I asked can I let go now I can hold on much longer. The EMS guy told me that I couldn't let go yet they need to get him stabilized first. He explained that if I let go now before they could take over the boy would bleed out in a matter of seconds due to the pressure that had built up. I told the guy I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold on. He said hold on or this boy is going to die. Needlessly to say I held on. The boy was air lifted to UT hospital in Knoxville. He of course lost his foot but he lived. It was one of the most traumatic things I ever had to deal with. I still have nightmares about it. That poor boy laying there missing his foot and all he could say was I want a rugrat bandaid. The grandmother on the boat stopped and gave me a hug and said thank you. She took my name and address and said I'm sure the mother and dad will want to contact you to say thanks when everything settles. Ya know I never heard from them again. I have a friend who works at Ut hospital who gave me updates everyday. After 14 days in the hospital he was released with his new prosthetic foot.

I have never really shared this with anyone except people that are close to me like my wife. It has just been to traumatic. I'm shaking like a leaf just typing it. I hope that my sharing this incident will possibly avoid a similar incident that could happen to any of us when we don't stop and think for a second of what could happen if we let our kids do what they want so that we can be cool parents instead of safe ones. I know I have been guilty of things were I thought it will be o.k. thinking "these things only happen to people that do not know what they are doing".

Doug

[Keithscatch]

Doug,

That is really awesome that you were their for that boy and his family. Knowing how to squeze that artery came in handy. I wouldn't have known what to do other then tieing a turnaquit on his leg? Anyway, praise God for folks like you.

All of these stories are touching. Boating is a priviledge not a right so everytime we go we all need to remember that safety is always first.

[spetro]

from Triton1a

Charter boat captain remembered fondly
Robert Clarke lost as he aided passenger

BY ADAM PARKER
The Post and Courier


A day and a half after a his charter fishing boat capsized off the South Carolina coast, captain Robert Clarke was remembered by friends and colleagues as a man who left his mark.

After his boat overturned Wednesday evening in 68-degree water, Clarke chose to stay with Mike Robinson who, weakened by hypothermia, couldn't get himself up onto the capsized boat's hull, according to witnesses. About 17 hours later, Clarke's three sons - Vaughn, Stuart and Richard - found Robinson afloat in the waves, cold and alone, but still alive. Robinson had drifted seven miles from the fishing boat.

He told the Clarke brothers what had happened, how their 70-year-old father opted to help a man in distress, and how that man could do little when a different kind of distress seized Clarke's heart and knocked him unconscious, said Carlan Foltz, the wife of Marlin Quay Marina owner Tom Foltz.

The fishing excursion left from Marlin Quay in Garden City on Wednesday.

Though Robinson tried to hold on to the captain, who had suffered a heart attack, the relentless waves made the effort especially difficult. Eventually, one took hold of Clarke and pulled him down.

At sundown on Thursday, the Coast Guard quit looking for Clarke.

"Suspending a search is something we in the Coast Guard don't take lightly," said Capt. John Cameron, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Charleston, in a release. "We won't suspend unless we are confident we've saturated every inch of the search area with Coast Guard assets."

Search teams had scoured 710 square miles of open water Wednesday night and Thursday looking for Clarke's body.

About an hour after the 27-foot Super Suds II catamaran was scheduled to return Wednesday evening, the vessel was reported missing and a search operation was organized.

The catamaran, which has a double-bottom hull and a single deck, took a wave to the starboard bow and rolled over, throwing its passengers and crew into the ocean, according to the Coast Guard. All managed to climb atop the upside-down boat.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ron Steve said waves were 2 to 3 feet high but that occasional larger waves would have been possible Wednesday night.

When a second wave washed the men from the hull of the boat back into the ocean, only Robinson could not get back to the vessel, so Clarke, joining Robinson in the water, told his mate Wayne Smith to stay with the others.

Clarke and Smith operated their charter boat six days a week, Foltz said. They enjoyed a loyal following and are well-respected among the fishing community.

The day after the rescue, one of the survivors returned to the marina to reassure its staff and patrons, Carlan Foltz said. "He said, 'There wasn't one thing that Bob and Wayne didn't try to do to save everybody,' " Foltz said.

[spetro]

Body found of man missing after Columbus Day Regatta wreck

By Madeline Baro, Marlene Naanes & Alva James-Johnson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel





BULLETIN: MIAMI -- The body of a missing Columbus Day regatta boater was found around 1:30 p.m. in Biscayne Bay, state wildlife and fish officers said.

Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said James Noel's body was spotted by a boater at 1:39 p.m. in the Vizcaya Channel, which is located south the Rickenbacker Causeway in south Biscayne Bay.

Police, firefighters and game officers quickly converged on the location and identified the body as the missing boater's body. The body was taken to the who took the body to nearby Miami Marine Stadium. Officers said Noel was not wearing a life jacket.

An autopsy was ordered to determine time and cause of death.

Noel was aboard the same boat as Monica Burguera, 20, who died about 9 p.m. Saturday when the boats collided near the Rickenbacker Causeway between Miami and Key Biscayne.

Authorities had been searching for Noel since Sunday, when it was first discovered that he had been missing. Seven other individuals on the boat were injured.

Burguera and Noel were in the middle boat on the tow line, Pino said. A fourth boat apparently came from behind, missing the last boat in the tow line and colliding with the boat Burguera and Noel were aboard.

However, Pino said Monday that it was too early in the investigation to speculate

Earlier report follows

A day after a college student was killed in a boating accident at South Florida's annual Columbus Day Regatta, authorities discovered that another person was missing from the same collision in Biscayne Bay.

The Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies were still conducting an air and sea search for James Noel, a Puerto Rico native, late Sunday night. They initially thought one died and seven were hurt in the accident and were unaware of his disappearance until Sunday, when his father couldn't find him at an area hospital.

"We believe he was on the vessel that was struck and came to that conclusion after speaking to the missing boater's father and backtracking and talking to different witnesses," said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The regatta, in its 52nd year, is a sailboat race dwarfed by huge festivities. Celebrants on thousands of boats, some roped together in groups, party through the two-day event.

The accident occurred about 9 p.m. Saturday, when a 35-foot Intrepid powerboat crashed into a boat that was being towed with another vessel near the Rickenbacker Causeway between Miami and Key Biscayne.

Pino said the Intrepid approached the vessels from the rear and collided with a boat in the center of the towline, almost running over the entire vessel.

Monica Burguera, 20, a student at Florida International University, was killed and seven of her friends were injured, four critically, Pino said. It was the worst Columbus Day boating accident since 2002, when two separate crashes left three people dead.

Pino said the havoc from Saturday's accident might have led authorities and witnesses to overlook Noel's disappearance. He said there were 10 people on the Intrepid, eight on the towboat, nine people on the boat that was hit and two on the second boat that was being towed.

In all, 29 people were taken from the four vessels to the dock by separate law enforcement agencies. At the same time, officials were responding to another boating accident at the regatta that sent four people to Mercy Hospital.

On Sunday, after learning of Noel's disappearance, some witnesses told authorities they thought he had walked away from the accident, Pino said.

"Last night it was impossible for us to realize whether we had everybody accounted for or not," he said. "There was an enormous amount of information coming in."

Burguera was a native of Puerto Rico living in Miami with her sister, Pino said.

On Sunday, her Miami relatives refused to talk to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. But more than two-dozen people posted condolences for Burguera on her Facebook.com homepage. Some friends, who wrote in Spanish, believed she was in "a better place" and one even asked Burguera to look out for her friends in heaven.

"I give thanks to God to have given me the opportunity to have shared with you your final day of life," wrote Vicky Gonzalez: " I adore you today and always. You always were a spectacular human being. I'm going to miss u!"

Jose Rodriguez said, "Please rest in peace."

"She was always with a smile on her face, always making us laugh," his message said. "We love you very much, Monica. We will always have you in our hearts."

No charges had been filed as of Sunday evening and the investigation continued, Pino said. He said the name of the Intrepid's pilot, who was cooperating with the investigation, was not available.

[J10B]

I went to the Red this morning...got there a little late and as I was fixing to get in my boat and ease out, two other men were pulling back in...both soaking wet...

They were fishing the Media Bass tourny and as they were running to their spot they caught a wake wrong which threw their boat up and threw both men out of the boat...

Both were OK...Both were wearing life vest and opperator had attached the kill switch on the boat...

Just goes to show how quickly a good day can turn bad...

So glad these guys were OK and an extra second to attach the kill switch also saved their boat and them from life threatning hyperthermia....water temp was upper 50's and air temp was near freezing..

Give boating safety an extra thought next time (and everytime) out...I sure will.....that was scarry...

Scottie

Wakes are very dangerous.  A lot of people dont know how to drive a car let alone a boat, so the size of the wake can vary.  If you hit a wake skint back on a bad angle you can leave your boat or hook it.
Trim down and be aware of your own boats actions, if you side going side to side slightly it may not be chine but the begining of a large wake.  For instance a barge will throw out a 4 footer some times.  Those catamarans they have at the Port on the Red, will toss out 2-3s that you wont see coming.

[J10B]

Remember if you dont have lights or they dont work fix them before you go out on the water. That could have been avoided. I dont know how he could see where he was goin.

Its called GPS navigation.  I fished a big bass tournament here and there were plenty of people faces STARING at their GPS driving 50ish. Would have never seen anything if it was infront of them

[c ball]

I was fishing near the boat ramp at Fairmont ,West Va .when I noticed a fellow putting his boat in.It was early april and the water temp was in the 40's.When I looked back the guy had went and parked the truck then I saw he hadn't tied his boat up,It was floating down the river probably 50 yrds out.Before I could yell at him,he came running down and dove in he swam out and got a hold of the side of the boat but couldnt climb in .There he was exhausted hanging on the side.I fired up my boat a fast as I could and ran over to him tied our boats togather and pulled him aboard.He told me he was 30 years old and a good swimmer but he would have died if I hadn't been there.

[spetro]

Tue Mar 11, 11:01 PM ET yahoo news



CORE, W.Va. - Life jackets are made for people, not dogs. So, when Randy Earl's small boat capsized while he was fishing with his dog Lacy, a black spaniel mix, he stayed in the water with his life jacket while making sure Lacy was OK.


"When the boat flipped over, I put the dog on top of the boat," Earl told The Dominion Post of Morgantown.

While waiting for someone to rescue them on Mason Lake in northern West Virginia, Earl clung to the 12-foot boat's hull. The water temperature was about 50 degrees, said J.M. Crawley, a senior conservation officer for the Division of Natural Resources.

Another fisherman, Jan Thorn, watched from shore as a state trooper paddled out to rescue Earl and Lacy.

"He asked the state trooper to take the dog first," Thorn said. "It was very touching."

Earl, 53, said Lacy means a lot to him and his wife since they lost both of their children in a car accident 15 years ago.

"That dog is like a child to us," he said

[Coonhound]

Unfortunatly, i had a front-row seat to this: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2007/08/13/boating.html

Here's a post including my impressions and my story about it that i made on another board shortly after it happened:

I'm more mad about it than anything. IMO from what i witnessed, these people were intoxicated. But of course they all walked (swam) away unhurt. But this little boy paid the price for them being drunk, amature boat operators.

I feel really bad for my bro-in-law (who's name is also Matt and will henseforth be referred to as "bro Matt"). I really wish he hadn't seen it. He's never seen anything like that. Unfortunatly i got my first experience with that shit in the Army...and like i said, the worst part abotu this was that it was a child.

I'm not totally sure what happened to cause the wreck. All i know is that a guy came screamin' ass down the lake on a jet ski. On the weekend there's a 35 mph speed limit enforced. I was ready to chew some ass when he shut down right next to us. He said there was a boat wreck and someone might be dead. He knew i was in the Army and said, "You might want to go down there."

So we ran down there. When we got on scene the boat was upside down and all i could see was that they were working on the propeller. This was a ski boat or wake board boat that has the screw that comes through the bottom of the hull.

I first yelled at them to see if 911 had been contacted. They said don't bother, and asked if i had a knife. I dropped the trolling motor so i could get closer, then i smelled it. I knew there wasn't going to be anything good coming of this. I tossed them my pocket knife so they could cut the kid's vest and what was left of him out of the prop.

That night we'd planned on having a big get-together at my mom-in-law's house who is lake-side. We went over there and tied up for a bit before going to pull the boat out. We found out after a while that the ramp was closed due to all the emergency crews using it. As it turns out, all of the people involved share the house next door to my mom-in-laws.

Later that evening a sheriff deputy came over to talk to us, since they'd been told me and bro Matt responded to it first. I told him everything we'd seen, which did not include the actual wreck. I did tell him, and was collaborated by Sarah and everyone who had been at my mom-in-law's house, that the entire party involved had been drinking next door all day. The sherrif deputy told us that he didn't see any indication of them having been drinking, but said he'd check into it. When we got to the wreck, one of the first things i noticed was all of the floating debris, but i admit i did not see any beer cans or bottles.

Sarah and her friend AJ witnessed pretty much the entire ordeal from my mom-in-law's deck. They also witnessed the driver of the boat, who was also the kid's father, get back to the house next door. They saw them drinking several bottles of water and pop...IMO to hide the alcohol on their breath before the authorities arrived.

It came out in the news yesterday that no charges will be pressed, that it was just a horrible accident.

Maybe killing your own son because you're drunk and don't know how to operate a boat is punishment enough for that guy. Perhaps a tall tree and a short piece of rope would be too.

To add further:

The last couple of weekends have been flat scary busy on our lake. Too many people, too many boats. The lake is 220 acres, maybe 1.5 miles long and 400 yards wide at its widest.

It gets so rough and busy that i have a hard time standing on the front deck of my boat to fish. More than once i've been forced off the lake because i'm afraid i'm going to get run over if not by a boat, then by whatever they're towing.

I've heard three different stories about what happened, and it changed from the moment we got to the wreck through our club tournament on Caeser's Creek on Tuesday:

1. All of the adults were riding in the front of the open-bow ski boat. The water was really rough, the front of the boat came up out of the water, then when it came down it came down at a bad angle and at the same time really 'nose down' due to the weight of the adults. This caused it to porpiose and roll. How the child got in the prop in that instance, i don't know. I guessed that the kid was traumatized by the roll, and crawled into the still running prop once it was belly-up.

2. A big wave came over the bow and washed the kids and several adults off the boat. The father, in a panic, threw the boat in reverse and backed over the kid, sucking him into the prop.

3. (And IMO the most plausable) They were pulling a tuber. The tuber fell off. The father shut down and turned sharply to get the tuber, running his heavy nose into the big wake he just made. This pulled the kid off when the nose came back up, and due to the forward momentum of the boat, forced him under length-wise into the prop.

All of this doesn't explain to me how the boat got upside down. AJ said she saw it happen, and Sarah remembers seeing it go down and thinking to herself, "Hmm...some stupid pleasure boater didn't put their plug in."

I think they flipped the boat on purpose to get to the kid, but i haven't heard anything to corroborate this.

There's some foul language in there that i'm sure the board filter will pick out.

Be safe out there folks. I hope no one ever has to deal with a problem like these on the water, and kudos to you all who have been faced with ugly situations and handled them.