Boating Accidents of the Week - January 7, 2023
January 7, 2023
Man, 55, Dies After His Kayak Capsized in Lake Havasu– No PFD
12/27/22 - Las Vegas, NV
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — On Tuesday, officers responded to the area after reports of a person in the water yelling for help. When deputies arrived, they found an adult man who was obviously fatigued and extremely cold treading water, according to Mohave County Sheriff’s Office.
The man was rescued and told police that he and Curtis went kayaking on the lake. According to MCSO, the man said that they were in the middle of the lake when both of their kayaks overturned.
The man said that they were in the water for a while and started to become exhausted and cold. He said he was forced to start swimming to the shore but could not tell where it was due to the rain, wind, and darkness.
Mohave County Sheriff’s Office found 55-year-old Larry Lee Curtis’s body near Site six at Lake Havasu the day after his kayak overturned.
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Live Aboard Found Dead in the Florida Keys on Christmas Day
12/25/22 - Wisteria Island, FL
WISTERIA ISLAND, Fla. (CBS12) — The dead body of a man found on Christmas in the Florida Keys has been identified.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said at 10:30 a.m. on Christmas Day a passerby found the man's body on Wisteria Island. The person contacted the U.S. Coast Guard who notified the sheriff's office.
On Wednesday, the sheriff's office said body was identified as 67-year-old Wayne Carter Sherman, who lived on a nearby sailboat. Investigators said there were no signs of obvious foul play. Autopsy results are pending.
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Kayaker’s Body Found on Belews Lake, N.C. – No PFD
12/24/22 - Stokes Co., NC
The man whose body was recovered from Belews Lake on Monday has been identified as Eden resident Clifton William Peace.
Sgt. D.J. Woods of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission said that Peace was 37 years old when he died while kayaking on Belews Lake on Friday.
The kayakers went to the lake to hunt ducks.
Woods said it is believed that windy conditions on the lake caused Peace's kayak to capsize and sink about midway between the boat ramp and the Belews Creek Steam Station. Woods said Peace was wearing waders, but no life jacket, and likely drowned soon after he went into the water.
Searchers worked for two days in sub-freezing weather to look for the missing kayaker. Items that belonged to him, including a kayak seat and a gun case, were found washed up on shore.
After a break Christmas Day from what had become a recovery effort, searchers resumed their work on Monday and located Peace's body in about 60 feet of water.
Peace's body was found near the place where his friend had last seen him on the water. The body was taken to a hospital for an autopsy.
The men were in separate kayaks. The missing man's kayak appeared to be either riding low in the water or taking on water, the friend told authorities.
"He said his buddy never gave him a distress signal, but he noticed he was sitting down in the water," Woods said. "We have a last-known point they are kind of looking in."
A family member declined comment on Tuesday, saying that family members are still dealing with their grief at the loss.
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Coast Guard Rescues 2 boaters Near Port O’Connor, Texas
12/22/22 - Corpus Christi, TX
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard rescued two boaters stranded near Port O’Connor, Texas, Thursday.
Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi watch standers received a report from Coast Guard Station Port O’Connor personnel at 6:18 p.m. of two boaters whose 21-foot pleasure craft was disabled in the vicinity of the Port O’Connor jetties. The two adults were reportedly experiencing symptoms of hypothermia.
Watch standers issued an urgent marine information broadcast and directed the launch of a Station Port O’Connor 29-foot Response Boat–Small crew and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi.
Sea Tow Standing By:
The USCG RB–S crew arrived on scene alongside a Sea Tow boat crew, but neither was unable to reach the disabled vessel due to shallow water and inclement weather. Conditions at the time of the rescue included winds at about 28-40 mph with gusts up to 50, 9-foot seas, an air temperature of 31 degrees and a water temperature of 51 degrees.
USCG Helicopter Crew Saves the Boaters:
The Coast Guard helicopter crew arrived, hoisted the boaters and transported them to DeTar Hospital Navarro in Victoria, Texas. The boaters were reportedly in stable condition.
“We strongly recommend that all boaters stay off the water during this cold snap,” said Chief Petty Officer Richard Godsey, command duty officer, Sector Corpus Christi. “You can quickly become hypothermic through exposure to cold air and wind, especially if your clothing is damp.”
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Fire Destroys 2-3 Boats at the Hillsmere Marina in Annapolis
12/29/22 - Anne Arundel Co., MD
Anne Arundel County Fire Department crews responded to a boat fire at the Hillsmere Marina in Annapolis on Thursday morning. One boat caught on fire at 133 E. Bay View Drive in Annapolis just before 11:30 a.m. and was quickly brought under control, fire officials said.
But not before it appears to have damaged a second vessel moored nearby, and there were reports of a third boat damaged. Fire investigators are on the scene investigating and said that it appear to be an accidental electrical fire, according to local sources.
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Fire Destroys 15 Boats at Marina in Denison, Texas
12/23/22 – Denison, TX
On the night of December 23rd, fire broke out at Eisenhower Yacht Club Marina. 15 boats in the marina were engulfed in flames just after 7 in the evening. Because Lake Texoma doesn’t have its own fire response team, multiple surrounding fire departments were dispatched, including Sherwood Shores Volunteer Fire Department which had a fire boat at Cedar Hills Marina.
Fire Boat Dispatched:
Captain Craig Reed of the volunteer company said, “We went from Cedar Hills Marina to Eisenhower Marina, which is about 50- 55 minutes by boat.” According to Captain Reed, before his crew could reach the marina, major damage had already transpired. He explained, “We did have one tow boat that got there prior to us... probably 35, maybe 40 minutes ahead of us, and at the time he had told me they had 15 boats on fire at that time.”
Fire Boat Pumps Frozen:
However, upon arrival, Captain Reed and the other fire fighters ran into a big problem. Captain Reed said, “First thing we did was try to start our pumps and the pumps were frozen solid, you couldn’t move them because they were frozen.”
Captain Reed said the pumps were prepped for winter beforehand, but the condensation that produced while sitting on the water made for more issues. He explained, “And that moisture was enough to freeze them up, so we were able to get some water coming out of the motor to pour into the pump, to thaw the ice out to where we could get the fire pumps running.”
Still, it took fire officials 4 hours to completely extinguish the flames. Captain Reed said, “Putting out a boat is very hard because it has a fuel tank in it, that just burns the fuel and then the boat itself is made of fiber glass usually, and fiberglass is oil based, and oil burns, so putting a boat out is not just spraying water on it, you pretty much have to sink the boat to get it out.”
The fire destroyed 15 boats, including jet-skis. The Grayson County Fire Department is currently investigating the possible cause of the fire.