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04-01-2002, 11:30 PM
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Immortalized in the Daily News
Yes those newspapers are at it again. Essex 502 posted this on hotboat.net
http://free.hotboat.net/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000293.html
From the Daily News today:
Boater boasted of speed, privilege
By Amy Raisin
Staff Writer
CASTAIC -- The thrill of hitting 149 mph in a
customized speed boat and the tragic crash
two days later while four boaters tried to
top that speed is eerily immortalized in an
online chat room for boat lovers.
One of the four men killed
when the craft crashed Jan. 11
on Castaic Lake boasts of the
149 mph accomplishment -- as
well as the boaters' "in" at
Castaic Lake, where the speed
limit is 35 mph.
On the www.Hotboat.net web site, where users
must register to post messages, member
"mrpumpsHTM" -- the screen name used by Chuck
Wiseman, 46, owner of Mr. Pump Concrete in
Castaic -- informed other users of the speed
record.
It was 9:15 p.m. Jan. 9, less than 48 hours
before Wiseman and three friends died in
Steve Coloumbe's speed boat, that he posted
the following:
"Today at Castaic Lake Steve from HTM tested
his new 30-footer twin HTM ... an awesome
speed of 149.999 ... and we ran out of props.
We might do more testing later in the week.
Not bad for a 30-foot boat."
Acton-based HTM -- High Torque Marine -- was
owned by Coloumbe, who designed and
manufactured high-performance boats. Wiseman,
Coloumbe and two HTM employees were testing a
30-foot, twin-hulled catamaran prototype when
the boat flipped and sank just before 2 p.m.
that windy Friday.
In the days leading up to the crash,
Wiseman's near-150 mph claim quickly had
become a hot topic on the message board.
Posted by "warlock25" at 10:26 p.m., Jan. 9:
"Wish we could have seen it run. Hopefully he
will bring it to Havasu this spring or
summer. I can't imagine what it must look
like to see a 30-foot boat going 150 mph.
What next?"
"150 mph is some serious, serious speed. I've
been 135 mph in a car a couple of times ...
150 mph on the water would feel so much
faster. Where were the cops?" a poster
identifying himself as "rivercrazy" noted at
5:09 p.m., Jan. 10:
And then Wiseman -- his words still visible
two months later -- posted a response that
leaves questions about special treatment
afforded to the high-profile boaters who
tested their crafts at Castaic.
Posted by mrpumpsHTM -- Wiseman -- at 5:28
p.m., Jan. 10:
"Castaic we kind of have an in ... but you
didn't get that from me."
Lifeguards at the popular recreation area,
who asked not to be named, said supervisors
had urged lifeguards to "look the other way"
when certain boat manufacturers tested their
latest designs on the water.
County Parks and Recreation officials
acknowledge that one local boat manufacturer
is allowed to use a launch ramp at Castaic
that usually is closed to the public. And a
1990 internal memo from parks officials to
lifeguards directs them to ease off and
ticket boaters only after the third
infraction, a move parks officials said at
the time was aimed at over-zealous lifeguards
and one that the lifeguards said never was
rescinded.
Based on witness accounts and inspection of
the broken boat at Castaic, a Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Department investigation
concluded that the boat was traveling 90 to
120 mph when it flipped and sank in about 250
feet of water.
Wiseman's last entry on the message board,
logged at 8:20 a.m. the day he died, was
hauntingly prophetic:
"It was the first shot, the first boat we got
wet. Next time I think we will see a lot
more!!!"
http://free.hotboat.net/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000293.html
From the Daily News today:
Boater boasted of speed, privilege
By Amy Raisin
Staff Writer
CASTAIC -- The thrill of hitting 149 mph in a
customized speed boat and the tragic crash
two days later while four boaters tried to
top that speed is eerily immortalized in an
online chat room for boat lovers.
One of the four men killed
when the craft crashed Jan. 11
on Castaic Lake boasts of the
149 mph accomplishment -- as
well as the boaters' "in" at
Castaic Lake, where the speed
limit is 35 mph.
On the www.Hotboat.net web site, where users
must register to post messages, member
"mrpumpsHTM" -- the screen name used by Chuck
Wiseman, 46, owner of Mr. Pump Concrete in
Castaic -- informed other users of the speed
record.
It was 9:15 p.m. Jan. 9, less than 48 hours
before Wiseman and three friends died in
Steve Coloumbe's speed boat, that he posted
the following:
"Today at Castaic Lake Steve from HTM tested
his new 30-footer twin HTM ... an awesome
speed of 149.999 ... and we ran out of props.
We might do more testing later in the week.
Not bad for a 30-foot boat."
Acton-based HTM -- High Torque Marine -- was
owned by Coloumbe, who designed and
manufactured high-performance boats. Wiseman,
Coloumbe and two HTM employees were testing a
30-foot, twin-hulled catamaran prototype when
the boat flipped and sank just before 2 p.m.
that windy Friday.
In the days leading up to the crash,
Wiseman's near-150 mph claim quickly had
become a hot topic on the message board.
Posted by "warlock25" at 10:26 p.m., Jan. 9:
"Wish we could have seen it run. Hopefully he
will bring it to Havasu this spring or
summer. I can't imagine what it must look
like to see a 30-foot boat going 150 mph.
What next?"
"150 mph is some serious, serious speed. I've
been 135 mph in a car a couple of times ...
150 mph on the water would feel so much
faster. Where were the cops?" a poster
identifying himself as "rivercrazy" noted at
5:09 p.m., Jan. 10:
And then Wiseman -- his words still visible
two months later -- posted a response that
leaves questions about special treatment
afforded to the high-profile boaters who
tested their crafts at Castaic.
Posted by mrpumpsHTM -- Wiseman -- at 5:28
p.m., Jan. 10:
"Castaic we kind of have an in ... but you
didn't get that from me."
Lifeguards at the popular recreation area,
who asked not to be named, said supervisors
had urged lifeguards to "look the other way"
when certain boat manufacturers tested their
latest designs on the water.
County Parks and Recreation officials
acknowledge that one local boat manufacturer
is allowed to use a launch ramp at Castaic
that usually is closed to the public. And a
1990 internal memo from parks officials to
lifeguards directs them to ease off and
ticket boaters only after the third
infraction, a move parks officials said at
the time was aimed at over-zealous lifeguards
and one that the lifeguards said never was
rescinded.
Based on witness accounts and inspection of
the broken boat at Castaic, a Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Department investigation
concluded that the boat was traveling 90 to
120 mph when it flipped and sank in about 250
feet of water.
Wiseman's last entry on the message board,
logged at 8:20 a.m. the day he died, was
hauntingly prophetic:
"It was the first shot, the first boat we got
wet. Next time I think we will see a lot
more!!!"
04-02-2002, 09:45 AM
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I am one of the few here that is not addicted to speed on water, but I am addicted to helping people attain higher speeds by modifying their powerplants. To me there's a rewarding feeling when the owner comes back to the launch with a grin a mile wide on his face after the first sea-trial with the new power. And that feeling carries on throughout the season as the boat displays the turn-key reliability that we all hope for. Unfortunately, our hobbies such as boating, snowmobiling, motorcycling, skydiving, and even spectator sports have an inherent risk associated with them. I don't think I've ever felt as helpless as when a young woman was fatally injured while watching a hockey game with her family. All we can do is try to minimize the risks we take and hope that God's plan allows us to remain here with our friends and loved ones just a little longer. Let's hope that the upcoming season will be a safe and enjoyable one for everyone. Dave
04-02-2002, 08:02 PM
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If the papers were to write an article everytime a person was killed racing around local streets well above the stated speed limit, it would become a daily article. Why is this story being talked about so much? Is it because they may have been going above a speed limit? A few months back, two teenagers were killed by my house after they crashed after jumping a hill at well over 100 mph. The stated speed limit, 35. Why didn't this make national news? This kind of thing happens daily, probably hourly. Why are the papers and media tearing this story apart?
04-02-2002, 09:07 PM
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It's always unfortunate when these things happen but as stated ,it i s part of the risks taken as we enjoy our lives and the trill that may come from pushing things to the limit and beyond in some cases. It is more tragic when these events are used as a ploitical platform to be shouted from soley for the intrerest of a select few....might be a hunch at best.. but it may be fair for me to say that someone or someones organization could be pushing such media attention.... not saying what is right or wrong...for i am not to judge that...I am just happy to be here today after all the envelope pushing I have done over the years. I hope more to come.... Wishing their families well.....
04-02-2002, 09:25 PM
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I liken that article to a local newspaper writer in my town who couldn't understand how Dale Earnhardt was so well regarded after his death. The writer pointed to Earnhardt's reputation as the Intimidator, and comments from drivers like "if I could catch him I'd run him into the wall".... the writer did not and could not understand a man like Earnhardt, because the writer did not "feel" what Earnhardt felt in a race car. We can't as competitors make people understand our passion for speed in cars, on water, in the air or on the snow. What we can do is take the precautions available to us, and make our loved ones understand that, as Dale Earnhardt told his wife Theresa, if I die doing what I love, don't feel bad for me. The HTM family suffered a horific loss, but I believe those that passed would have suffered a worse fate if they were not allowed to follow thier dreams.... Writers only write to be read.... they can't write passion & emotion they don't feel or understand.... rarely can that be captured in words except by a competitor...
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