Almost took a life Saturday

[scrit9mm]

Coming back from dinner late Saturday night on the boat, probably around 11pm or so. Our lakehouse is in a no wake slough. I'm probably doing 30-35 approaching the no wake markers. I shut it down about 100 yards before the markers and I faintly hear someone hollar "no wake!" I look around and there are two kayaks in the water about 5 ft to the right of me. One of the kayaks was capsized and the other was just a bit farther, maybe 7-10ft to my right. The one that capsized was being paddled by what looked like a 12 y.o. boy while the other one was a 9 or so year old girl. No lights and no life jackets on either one. After my boat came off of plane and the excitement was over I looked for the no wake marker, we were about 20-30 yards from the markers. The person that screamed "no wake!" was their drunk mother on the shore. The boy was clearly shooken up so I made sure they were ok and stayed with them for about a min or two fully expecting someone from the house would come and make sure their children were not chopped up. The boy righted his boat and paddled off. We idle over close to the house that belted out "no wake!" and there are at least 10-15 people, all appear to be hammered drunk. We go to our house dock the boat, watch the meteor shower and thank God things didnt turn out worse.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

Coming back from dinner late Saturday night on the boat, probably around 11pm or so. Our lakehouse is in a no wake slough. I'm probably doing 30-35 approaching the no wake markers. I shut it down about 100 yards before the markers and I faintly hear someone hollar "no wake!" I look around and there are two kayaks in the water about 5 ft to the right of me. One of the kayaks was capsized and the other was just a bit farther, maybe 7-10ft to my right. The one that capsized was being paddled by what looked like a 12 y.o. boy while the other one was a 9 or so year old girl. No lights and no life jackets on either one. After my boat came off of plane and the excitement was over I looked for the no wake marker, we were about 20-30 yards from the markers. The person that screamed "no wake!" was their drunk mother on the shore. The boy was clearly shooken up so I made sure they were ok and stayed with them for about a min or two fully expecting someone from the house would come and make sure their children were not chopped up. The boy righted his boat and paddled off. We idle over close to the house that belted out "no wake!" and there are at least 10-15 people, all appear to be hammered drunk. We go to our house dock the boat, watch the meteor shower and thank God things didnt turn out worse.

30-35 MPH after dark!!! Not a good idea. You were as much in the wrong as they were. Thank God they were OK.

TerryMSU

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

30-35 MPH after dark!!! Not a good idea. You were as much in the wrong as they were. Thank God they were OK.

TerryMSU

I understand that this is a forum and everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, I did not post this to draw blame on any party. And while you may think 30-35 at night is excessive, there is still enough time to react to a vessel that is following the law which would include bow and stern lights. Granted, there are always situations when the irregular happen.

 

[Outsider]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

30-35 MPH after dark!!! Not a good idea. You were as much in the wrong as they were.

Maybe where you live, but many places night is the safest time. I'm curious to know what you think is 'wrong' in this case, bearing in mind your 'wrong' is your opinion ...

 

[lncoop]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

I'm reading more and more stories of unpleasant encounters between kayaks and power boats, and I can't help but think this is due largely to the recent proliferation of kayaks and canoes at Bass Pro, Dicks, Academy, et al. I'm not necessarily saying this is a bad thing, although some maintain that it is (mostly paddling buddies), but in my mind it raises the same concerns that have been bandied about for years regarding boat ownership in general, namely the fact that mere boat ownership does not a boater make. The same fact applies to kayaks, but perhaps in spades since one can take a couple of C notes into one of the aforementioned stores and walk out with a brand new yak but have no idea how to handle it. A skilled kayaker can handle a wake, and in fact, many kayakers welcome them as an opportunity to play. Clearly these kids were not skilled kayakers. Glad it didn't turn out any worse.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

Do you have headlights on your boat? (I hope not, it is illegal.) So, how far ahead can you see? Unless your eyes are a lot better than mine, not very far. How fast can you stop that boat? (Not very fast, right?) So, lets assume that the vessel is without lights due to the fact that it is sinking. Can you avoid that vessel? Not likely. Or assume that there is a floating log. How will you avoid that? Then YOU may be the partially submerged hulk without lights.

Or lets look at a different way... How will you explain to your kids that you killed someone because they were stupid. (Sorry, kids are stupid. I think it is in the definition of "kid".) For that matter, how will you explain it to yourself. I sure could not live with myself if I ran over a kid because I was going to fast for the environment.

By the way, most of the lakes I boat on have a "no-wake" local law at night. I actually thought it was a state law, but I could not find it. (You might want to check with the local law enforcement. You might be surprised to find that it is the law where you are boating.) The cops do issue tickets and they are impossible to contest. Kind of like the basic speed limit law on land.

Please, for the sake of those innocent kids around you (and 9 and 12 years old is innocent, in my opinion), slow down at night. You as a captain are indeed responsible for the "irregular" things that occur around you.

TerryMSU

I understand that this is a forum and everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, I did not post this to draw blame on any party. And while you may think 30-35 at night is excessive, there is still enough time to react to a vessel that is following the law which would include bow and stern lights. Granted, there are always situations when the irregular happen.

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

Are you kidding me TerryMSU, or just yourself?

Obviously you failed to read that the vessel did not have any lights on it at all. Your argument could be applied to almost every situation in which an object is under power. When you drive at night (car, boat, whatever)do you drive at a speed that would allow you to stop on a dime if something irregular happened to appear in front of you? I know the laws on my lake that pertain to speed, no wake zones, when a person is required to wear a pfd, and what vessels require lights and when they are required to be on. There are several situations in which I could be held responsible had something gone wrong. The boaters were not close to a shore and neither was I.

And to answer your question "How will you explain to your kids that you killed someone because they were stupid" I thank God I didnt have to, but if I did it would be very difficult. I really hope you understand that sometimes bad things happen to good people and you will not be able to control every situation around you.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

I'm glad you got 'em situated scrit9mm, and glad no one was hurt.

I think Coop makes a good point, "boat ownership doesn't a boater make." The kayaks were illegal (operating after dark without lights) and frankly stupid (parents let their kids in a traffic channel after dark?!?). Unfortunately, you get stuck being responsible for those who won't be responsible for themselves sometimes.

 

[the vision]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

Where I'm from in Indiana there was no-wake laws after dark. Where I live in Louisiana it's go as fast as you want. And most of that is through the swamps.

 

[emoney]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

When I saw kayaks at Wal-Mart for less that $200.00 (including paddles) the 1st thing that came to mind was "somebody's going to get hurt or worse". I know that sounds like "stereotyping" and maybe it is, but kayaks/canoes/et al are NOT toys and shouldn't be treated as such. We should all, also, be aware that a lot of "parents" today don't always have built in instincts. I boat on the Gulf and outside the "no wakes" there's no speed limit and I've watched kids paddling down the channel, towards open water not only at night, but also without PFDs. Scary.

 

[wonka67]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

When I saw kayaks at Wal-Mart for less that $200.00 (including paddles) the 1st thing that came to mind was "somebody's going to get hurt or worse". I know that sounds like "stereotyping" and maybe it is, but kayaks/canoes/et al are NOT toys and shouldn't be treated as such. We should all, also, be aware that a lot of "parents" today don't always have built in instincts. I boat on the Gulf and outside the "no wakes" there's no speed limit and I've watched kids paddling down the channel, towards open water not only at night, but also without PFDs. Scary.

As a power boater I try to be in before dark but that is a personal choice based on my judgment of my own skills. As a kayaker and canoeist my trip plan is to always be off the water long before sundown. As a parent my children's safety comes above all and I would never knowingly allow my child into this situation in the first place. In Ontario we need a license to operate a power boat but they'll still let any idiot be a parent. Glad everyone made it home safely.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

Sorry, I would never operate my boat going 30-35MPH after dark...not a chance! May be legal but I still wouldn't do it.

I have a house on Lake Tahoe and do some driving just after sunset. I rarely get up to planing speed and that would be only right after dusk when there would be enough light to make out a log floating in the water.

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

As a power boater I try to be in before dark but that is a personal choice based on my judgment of my own skills. As a kayaker and canoeist my trip plan is to always be off the water long before sundown. As a parent my children's safety comes above all and I would never knowingly allow my child into this situation in the first place. In Ontario we need a license to operate a power boat but they'll still let any idiot be a parent. Glad everyone made it home safely.

+1 - You must be on Lake Simcoe. :facepalm:

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

30-35 mph... let me guess, you were mainly watching the GPS instead of where you were actually going.

Yeah, the kids and parents were in the wrong with no nav lights on the yaks... but would that have made you feel in better if you had mangled one of those kids in the prop.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

Guys, easy on scrit9mm ... lots of different skill sets and conditions that cannot be addressed with the small amount of info that has been posted. We do know that it was at night, the kayaks had no lights, and if something had happend, scrit was legal. That would not have made his feelings of guilt any less if something had happened, but ...

The important thing is that this should be a lesson for all of us and Coop put it very well. It is important, whether under paddle power or hundreds of horsepower, to know what our limitations are. It is important to be aware of our surroundings, and to be careful because it is important we all make it back to the dock safely.

 

[wonka67]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

No Rice Lake and the Otanabee, but have a planned canoe trip
For Georgian Bay this Labour day.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

Guys, easy on scrit9mm ... lots of different skill sets and conditions that cannot be addressed with the small amount of info that has been posted. We do know that it was at night, the kayaks had no lights, and if something had happend, scrit was legal. That would not have made his feelings of guilt any less if something had happened, but ...

The important thing is that this should be a lesson for all of us and Coop put it very well. It is important, whether under paddle power or hundreds of horsepower, to know what our limitations are. It is important to be aware of our surroundings, and to be careful because it is important we all make it back to the dock safely.

Nicely said.

 

[nasty79z28]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

Anyone on a lake at night with no way to properly make themselves easily seen is asking for it in my opinion. You don't stand in the middle of the road at night do you?

" 30-35 mph... let me guess, you were mainly watching the GPS instead of where you were actually going." <--- Give me a break. One quick look at the tachometer or speedometer could have given you the 30-35 MPH range.

 

[rockyrude]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

I'm amazed at how many people just assumed the OP was a clueless uneducated boater.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Almost took a life Saturday

I'm amazed at how many people just assumed the OP was a clueless uneducated boater.

I don't think he is clueless at all. I have a feeling he won't be going 30-35 MPH at night anymore either. Lessons learned!