Accidents of the Week – July 15, 2023
BoatTEST publishes “Accidents of the Week” as a public service for our VIP Subscribers to acquaint them with potential boating dangers and by inference their prevention.
Several Boats Burned in Dock Fire on Texas Lake
7/1/23 – Grand Prairie, TX
Investigators were looking into the cause of a dock fire on Joe Pool Lake, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, early morning on 1 July. According to the fire department of Grand Prairie, Texas, the call came in around 5:53 a.m. Flames destroyed three boats and one jet ski along the dock. No one was injured.
"Heck of a way to start the Fourth of July weekend, but nobody was injured, so that was the main thing. These boats can be replaced," said Rodney Ellis who lost a boat in the fire.
The Grand Prairie Police Department said the most likely cause was an electrical issue with one of the boats, although the official cause of the fire remained under investigation. The Grand Prairie Fire Department said all other boats from the damaged dock were relocated to other spots in the marina.
Georgia Man Dies After Hitting Cement Bridge in Boating Accident
6/28/23 – Liberty Co., GA
A boating accident in Liberty County, Georgia, claimed the life of a resident of Ludowici on the night of 28 June, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
DNR Game Wardens responded to Jones Creek around 8:15 p.m. for a report of a single-vessel fatality boating incident. The boat was occupied by 44-year-old Joshua Gill and his two children, a 16-year-old and a 2-year-old.
Georgia DNR says the man was going under a cement bridge on plane when his head struck the bridge. The 16-year-old then drove the boat to the nearest dock and looked for help. CPR was performed on the man, but he was not able to be resuscitated. The Georgia DNR was investigating the incident.
Coast Guard Rescues Three People, Dog from Dinghy
6/30/23 – Seattle, WA
The US Coast Guard was called on the evening of 30 June after two teenage girls, an adult woman, and a dog were aboard a 40-foot vessel which took on water and quickly sank.
Steve Strohmaier, the spokesperson for the US Coast Guard based in Seattle, explained that Canadian Coast Guard had received a distress call from the vessel, which was in the Salish Sea about two miles south of Victoria. The US Coast Guard had a helicopter already airborne in the area, and Strohmaier explained that it briefly refueled because it expected to hoist the people in distress.
Boaters unequipped for conditions, treated for severe hypothermia
When crews returned, he said they found a dinghy that was partially submerged and three individuals on board with a dog. The aircrew from Port Angeles was able to rescue a 13-year-old, a 15-year-old, and an adult from the dinghy.
The dog was rescued by a Canadian Coast Guard vessel. Strohmaier added that the three people on board were not dressed for the conditions but were wearing life jackets. He said all three of them showed signs of severe hypothermia and were taken to the closest hospital, in Victoria.
Coast Guard Rescues 3 From Boat Stuck on Rocky Shore
7/1/23 – Lopez Island, WA
A Coast Guard aircrew from Port Angeles rescued three people at around 10 p.m. on 1 July, after their 38-foot boat ran aground on the rocky shore by Lopez Island, Washington.
The crew landed their helicopter near the scene and took the people, one a 14-year-old, to the nearby Friday Harbor. The Coast Guard said weather conditions had pushed the boat onto the shore. There were no medical concerns and a commercial company was set to salvage the boat.
Catamaran Capsizes at Florida Boat Race; 7 Rescued
7/1/23 – Sarasota, FL
The Coast Guard rescued seven people from a capsized catamaran in Florida on 1 July. In a tweet, the Coast Guard said the rescues were made with the assistance of partner agencies and good Samaritans.
The incident happened during the Sarasota, Florida, boat races. One person was taken to a local hospital as a result of the incident, according to the tweet.
No Injuries After Boat Sinks in Puget Sound
7/1/23 – Edmonds, WA
A boat that took on water while crab fishing on the night of 1 July sank off Marina Beach Park, in Puget Sound, and the Coast Guard was expected to be on the scene the following morning to recover it, said police personnel in Edmonds, Washington. No one was injured in the mishap.
Police spokesperson Commander Josh McClure said the original call came in at 6:50 p.m. on 1 July, when the owners reported the boat had taken on water while crab fishing. The boat’s owners had called Vessel Assist Seattle to help them tow the boat back to Shilshole Bay, but during the course of the recovery attempt, the boat sank in approximately 12 feet of water, McClure said.
Vessel Assist was on the scene Sunday morning, waiting for high tide to haul the boat away.
Two Injured in Boat Fire on Pond in Connecticut
7/1/23 – Kent, CT
Two people were injured on the morning of 1 July after a fire erupted on a 20-foot jet boat on Connecticut’s Leonard Pond, officials said.
Emergency crews, including State Police and the Kent Fire Department, responded around 11:15 a.m., according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Paul Copleman, a spokesperson for the agency, said a preliminary investigation indicated that the vessel had caught fire shortly after leaving the docks at Club Getaway, a private campground and resort.
He said two of the boat’s four passengers were transported to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening, while the other two refused medical treatment. It was not clear what had caused the blaze, and an investigation into the fire was ongoing, Copleman said.
Boat Crashes Into Pier on Lake Ontario’s Irondequoit Bay
6/30/23 – Monroe Co., NY
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MSCO) was investigating a boat crash in Lake Ontario’s Irondequoit Bay, in New York.
Operator charged with boating while intoxicated
Deputies reported that at 10:20 p.m. on 30 June, the MSCO, U.S. Coast Guard, West Webster Fire Department, Sea Breeze Ambulance, and Irondequoit and NY State Police responded to reports of a boat that had struck the pier in Irondequoit Bay. Officials said the operator of the boat was the sole occupant and was brought to Strong Memorial Hospital for minor facial injuries.
According to MSCO sources, the operator was arrested and charged with boating while intoxicated and operating without a boater safety certificate. The cause of the crash was under investigation and the boat, which did not pose any navigational hazards to mariners, was scheduled to be removed on 1 July.
Two Hurt in Incident on North Carolina’s Mountain Island Lake
7/1/23 – Gaston Co., NC
Two people were in the hospital after an incident on North Carolina’s Mountain Island Lake on the evening of 1 July.
Gaston County Emergency Medical Services told local reporters that a call came in around 5 p.m. for a drowning. Another person jumped into the water to save the drowning victim, but both of them needed to be rescued.
According to the emergency services, two patients were taken to hospital, one with life-threatening injuries who was airlifted by helicopter, while the other had non-life-threatening injuries and was driven to the hospital in an ambulance.
First responders also said that one of the two people in the water had been struck by the propeller of the boat they were on. No information was provided on how serious the injuries were.
Three Boats, Pier Damaged in Marina Fire on Chesapeake Bay
7/3/23 – Havre de Grace, MD
A boat in Havre de Grace, Maryland, suffered a fire on board while the owner was cleaning it, which quickly spread to neighboring boats and the dock. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The Susquehanna Hose Company, a volunteer fire company serving the town on the upper Chesapeake Bay, responded to fight the fire when it broke out at the City Yacht Basin in downtown Havre de Grace.
The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal, which launched an investigation of the fire, said that the boat where the fire started was a 1988 32′ Bayliner Avanti. According to the fire marshal, the owner was on board and cleaning when flames broke out in the cabin. He and others reportedly used fire extinguishers and hoses to try to put the fire out, but it burned out of control.
The fire then spread to another powerboat on its port side, a 1994 Tiara 3100. The boat on the starboard side, a Sea Ray 290 Amberjack, suffered minor heat-related damage, the fire marshal said.
It took 35 firefighters one hour to get the fire under control and there were no reported injuries. The Bayliner was a total loss. In all, the fire caused an estimated $300,000 in damage to boats and the pier.
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), Harford County Special Operations Hazmat Team, Natural Resource Police, and U.S. Coast Guard all responded and provided assistance, to address environmental concerns.
Sinking Boat Found Empty 2 miles Offshore Before Swimmer Spotted
7/1/23 – Nassau Co., FL
A boater made a desperate decision to try swimming 2 miles to shore after his boat sank in the dark off North Florida, rescuers say. He had been in the water roughly 90 minutes when deputies with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) found him, according to a news release.
It happened late Saturday, 1 July, in waters off Fort Clinch State Park, about 35 miles north of Jacksonville, deputies said.
“Our NCSO Marine Unit spotted his 40 (foot) vessel sinking just two miles off the beach near Fort Clinch ... just after 11:00 p.m.,” officials said. “When our deputies found the boat, they noticed it was empty and they began searching for any occupants. ... NCSO found the boater attempting to swim to shore about a half mile from his vessel.”
The 53-year-old man, who lives nearby in Georgia, was uninjured when he was pulled aboard the marine unit vessel, but he was “checked out by fire rescue personnel as a precaution.” His identity was not released, and investigators did not release details on what caused the boat to sink.
The vessel did not have a whistle aboard, which would have helped locate the boater, officials said. It is also recommended boaters do not abandoned their boats if they only partially sink, the sheriff’s office said.