Most Accidents are Preventable
Most weeks BoatTEST.com publishes an article about a boating accident. We do that because historically the boating press has avoided such unpleasant news for fear of losing advertising, and are afraid of scaring people out of the sport.
At BoatTEST.com we believe that an informed audience strengthens the sport by making its participants more aware of safety procedures and the common mistakes that many boaters make that can cause problems. We all love the sport, and a few basic precautions can keep us safe in all but the most unusual of circumstances.
Full Speed in the Dark!
Over Memorial Day weekend there were several needless accidents that occurred in the dark. Like so many things in life, sometimes we get away with such behavior which tends to reinforce doing it again. Often we feel that we have surprisingly good visibility at night because the moon is bright – but this is an optical illusion. Obstructions such as rowboats, pilings, logs, barges, swimmers, kayakers, piers, tree stumps, trees, jetties, breakwaters, rocks, sand bars, islands and the like are often not lit. These objects are too low and too dark to reflect what little light may be available. Black upon black is hard to see.
After Dark Speed Limit
The fact is, there ought to be a speed limit for operating boats at night on inland and coastal waters. As regular readers of BoatTEST know, we bridle at government imposed regulation, but when we read about the tragedies that occur at night because someone was thoughtlessly going 50 mph instead of 10 mph, we reconsider.
We urge you simply to set your own speed limit when operating your boat at night. 8 to 10 mph seems about right to us. That’s right; off plane and mushing along if you are in a hurry, and at fast idle if you are not. This prudence only has to pay off once in your lifetime to make it well worth it.
Explosions After Fueling
For 40 years we have been reading and hearing about boats exploding immediately after they are fueled. That’s usually when explosions occur if there is a fuel leak. Last week several boats exploded immediately after fueling, and as usual the operator did not run the blower, or open his hatches and sniff.
The Lake Pleasant Explosion
A boat exploded at a launch ramp at Lake Pleasant, AZ when the operator started the boat’s engine. The boat had been fueled just previously at a gas station. Paramedics rushed 4 kids to the hospital Sunday, May 25th after the explosion and the boat caught fire. The children had second-degree burns, but none of the injuries were life-threatening. They were taken to the Maricopa Burn unit.
The Lake Lanier Boat Fire
A 30-ft. cabin cruiser caught fire Sunday, May 25th, at Holiday Marina on Lake Lanier. The boat was a total loss, but no one was seriously injured in the fire, Hall Co. Fire Chief David Kimbrell said. The boat’s owner had filled the cruiser with 45 gal. of gas at the marina’s refueling dock when a fire started in the engine. He was the only one aboard when the fire ignited. Hall Co. firefighters responded to the fire at about 3:00 PM. Half of the boat was on fire when the FD arrived. Kimbrell said the blaze was quickly contained, and there were no major injuries.
Death By Jumping (Under the Influence)
Peter Gruber – no relation to the movie producer – was last seen about 6:15 PM Sunday May 25th when he jumped from a boat traveling 35-40 mph on Norris Lake in TN. “He had been talking through the day what it would be like to jump from a moving boat,” Allen Ricks, wildlife resources spokesman, said. The boat was traveling 35-40 mph when Gruber jumped into the 30,000-acre lake. Witnesses said Gruber went under the water and never resurfaced. The water is about 60 ft. deep where the incident occurred. He had been drinking, and he did not have a life preserver. There were 9 people on the 25-ft. Powerquest boat when the incident occurred.
People usually think of water as “soft.” But when an object – a boat’s hull or a person’s body – is hurtling at it at 40 mph, is more like concrete. Mr. Gruber might well have died from internal injuries inflicted by the water on his internal organs immediately upon impact with the water. In such a situation, an inflatable life vest might not have helped him anyway.
Virtually all of the dozen or so boaters who died over the long weekend failed to wear a life vest. In fact, not one person died who WAS wearing a PFD.
A “Real” Accident, But No Life Jacket
A Weippe, ID man went missing in the Clearwater River Monday, May 26th when he was pulled into the river by the line attached to the anchor he had thrown out. According to the Clearwater Co. Sheriff's Office, shortly after 6:00 AM, while preparing to fish the Clearwater River near the Fish and Game Boat Access between Orofino and Ahsahka Idaho, 59-year old Richard Ross was pulled into the river by the line attached to the anchor he had thrown out. When Ross failed to surface, the Sheriff's Office was notified.
Officials say Ross was setting anchor on an 18-ft. aluminum jet boat when his leg became entangled in the anchor line. Within about 30 min., Clearwater Co. Search and Rescue had divers in the water. About 4 hr. into the search, divers moved 200 yd. downstream at the direction of Search and Rescue K9 teams working the shoreline. A shirt possibly worn by Ross was located near the area to which the K9 teams indicated.
Swollen Rivers Are Dangerous
"At 46 degrees and 30,000 cubic feet per second, the river is running cold and fast," according to Cpl. Mike Gladhart, who heads the Clearwater Co. Marine program. "Without a lifejacket, the average adult has a 50% chance of swimming 50 yd. in 50-degree water. Ross was not wearing a life jacket."
At this time, it is unclear whether the line was attached to the boat at the time Ross was setting the anchor, however about 80 ft. of anchor line was reported to be in the river along with 2 anchors of unknown weight. Divers continued searching until about 2:00 PM Mon., at which time the search was put on hold because of the dangerous river conditions.
Rivers swollen by spring rains and snow melt claim their share of boating and fishing victims each year. It’s hard to imagine such conditions being good for fishing, but in any case such waters are powerful and they should not be ventured upon.
Capsized Running in Inlet at Night, One Dead
A 22-foot center console capsized Monday night, May 26, killing one person and stranding another on Figure Eight Island, NC, adjacent to Rich’s Inlet . Authorities received a distress call about 10 PM, said boatswain mate first class Justin Shackleford with USCG Wrightsville Beach. Authorities found one survivor on Figure Eight Island, and began searching for the second boater. The person's body was found about 2:30 AM. He was not wearing a life vest.
The boaters were coming into Rich's Inlet, where a wave hit the stern of the boat, capsizing the 22-ft. center console. The CG, New Hanover Co. Sheriff's Office, wildlife officers and Ogden Fire and Rescue responded to the call.
Running inlets when the surf is up is problematical during the daytime, but running them at night multiplies the complexity of the task. It is nearly impossible to see all of the nuances of the sea conditions at night in a turbulent inlet.
Bad Luck Saved By Preparation
A 78-year-old man was rescued from an inflatable life raft Friday night, May 23rd after he reported his boat had sunk, U.S. Coast Guard officials said. The man told rescuers his boat hit something beneath the water and immediately took on water. He was alone in a 36-foot sportfisher called Susie Q. He hopped in the life raft and grabbed the radio and a flotation device.
The man, whom officials could not identify Saturday, called for help on his hand-held radio. He described his location as 13 miles west of the Lake Worth (FL) Inlet, but when Coast Guard officials tracked his location he actually was 15 miles north of there, Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson said.
A Coast Guard helicopter picked him up near Jupiter about 8:30 p.m., Johnson said. The man suffered minor injuries but treated himself, Johnson said. The veteran boater may not have known north from west, but it sounds like he was adequately prepared.