RollWithIt

I would have shot all of them. Dropped their bodies in the water tied to the anchor. Then sank the boat so that no innocent third party boaters would have to deal with the mental anguish from hitting a boat at night.

Sorry, but the people jumping on Brian are way off the mark. Ive met him and he is a stand up guy who would help others before thinking of himself. Re-read what he said happened. He offered to tow them. And 5 miles at idle speed is more than 45 minutes. Try it once, if you have the patience. He also said that they had working lights. How else do you think he saw them in the first place. So it wasnt a dark boat in the dark night. I can see his frustration in that they were in that deep of water and did not have the boat properly equiped. Anybody can break down. Heck, I had the impeller on the water pump seize up once and trashed the belts on the boat. I got towed in. The irrisponsibility is not having the proper equipment. Have flares, additional lights, a radio and a proper anchor line. Hell, I got 200 foot of line. And I boat on a river that is 40 foot deep.

Phknlwyr

lyre n.

A stringed instrument of the harp family having two curved arms connected at the upper end by a crossbar, used to accompany a singer or reciter of poetry, especially in ancient Greece.

Brian is a lot of things, but certainly not a lyre!

SLINGSHOT

well for one i would have called the cg......imagine if those drunk idiots crashed into the side of yoru boat and killed your wife kids or girlfriend?

Wally

iTrader: (1)

Theres idiots everywhere you go though.....few years back i was cruising along and saw a guys anchor light flash on and off twice..........so i moved to intercept and see if they needed help......as i was approaching he had his lights off and then turned them back on as i got closer........i asked if he needed any help.....his reply was "no we're allright here" And i said well you better keep the lights on or your gonna get hit out here......he then replied something to the point of "what are you a wanna be cop?".........And i said "nope but i do have a boat that 3x your size and probably weighs 4x as much as yours.....you think theres gonna be anything left of you if i run you over cause you have your lights off trying to get a piece from your lady friend???" I then continued with "Go out into more open water weres theres less traffic and have at.....if you want to stay close to shore then keep you lights on or i'll call the coasties and they will have a filed day with you, cause i'm sure you dont have all the saftey equipment onboard!" and i took off......i dont need aggrivation from idiots!!!

But on the flip side...theres always a nice group of people you run into that rely do need help and are very thankfull for it........i think this was the same year but down in LOTO....i came across an 30'ish IMP flashing me down with a mag light........i stopped and they said they have motor/electrical problems...I towed them to their dock totaly the opposite way from where we were staying. This was about midnight or a bit after and no traffic on the lake at all......the guy wants to give me money....i declined twice.....he insists again and i jokeingly say "OK 3rd times a charm!" and took the money.....i didnt want it and didnt look at it till later....the guy gave me $50 which was awefully nice of him. Anyway the next day we are going through party cove and there they are right smack dab in the middle of the gauntlet!! they wave us over and MAKE me tie up with them.....we partied the rest of the day and made some new friends Later i come to find out from the guys GF that they ran out of gas last night!!! we all had a good laugh about it.

MILD THUNDER

iTrader: (3)

Something similiar happened to me last year. I was boating on the chain of lakes in IL. I had my fiance and her relatives and two small children on my boat. While cruising around I noticed a guy in 16ft jet boat sitting in the water dead. As I got closer, I noticed his headers were mangled. Then I saw the other boat with a few couples on there that crashed into the jet boat. Apparently, the guy with the jetboat stalled, and the guy with the big boat ran right over the back of the jet boat. The guy driving the jet boat was higher than a kite on pot. The guy driving the big boat had way too many beers. I offered assistance, the jet boat driver wanted me to tow him back to the ramp a few miles away. The two drivers began to go back and forth arguing. I decided I am not getting in the middle, especially with two small kids on my boat. I told them I was going to call for the sheriff, and they both said not too, and insisted that I just tow him in. I had enough and called the sheriff on the vhf. They cam ein 5 minutes, asked me what happened, said thanks for the call, and I went about my business.

I felt bad, knowing the guy in the big boat probably got a dui, and plenty of other fines, but, he's lucky he didnt kill the guy in the jet boat, then he would be looking at manslaughter. I feel I did the right thing.

I do have a few pops while Im out on the boat. But I never exceed my limits to where it impairs my abilites to drive the boat with caution. These two guys should not have been walking, let alone driving a boat.

Then again, I would never leave a boat full of people out in the big water no matter if they wanted my help or not. I would have towed them regardless who was waiting for me at a condo , or called the coasties. Whether or not these people were stupid or not, they were techincally in danger and needed help. Whether they wanted it or not.

tomtbone1993

iTrader: (3)

i am just glad the 3 drunks wern't climbing a ladder............

Wally

iTrader: (1)

MT, there no way you should feel bad about calling the cops on them........they shouldnt have been there in the first place......they are the ones we hear about when something goes wrong and give the rest of the powerboat community a bad rep.

I see reckless people in every sport and wonder why they are still breathing.......back in my snowmobile days we would stop at local waterholes for a snack or something to drink. I dont drink and my buddy's only have one with food or so. But i see others that would fail a filed sobriety test in a heartbeat and they are off on 100mph + rockets going along a trail that 8' wide and has wiked turns at every corner.........and then you hear about them on the news when, (And i kid you not this happend a while back) an idiot runs HEAD ON into a plow truck!!!!

excursion

I love the newbie OSOer's that have no idea what is out there. You are not respsonable for everyone. Bryan would have done what was best for everyone.

Theboopgal

First; they had absolutely no business jeopardizing others and themselves by being in a boat, in the dark, on SML unprepared for a breakdown while thoroughly intoxicated or whatever else they may have been on. Crack, speed, marijuana, etc.... Second; an offer to tow was made. They would have had to wait about 5 minutes for the tow from Brian, while the fully sober friends (some needing to take meds. at a certain time for whatever reasons-diabetic, epilepsy, etc...) waited (not knowing what was causing a delay) for the other friend with the key on the boat. Third: One would think that if you "plan" to ride a boat in the dark, you would "plan" for the unexpected when on the water at night; like a breakdown.
Fourth: They had already called a friend who was on the way.
Seconds, minutes, whatever, they were on the way.
Fifth: I would never impose on a stranger for my blatant stupidity. We all need to take responsibility for our own actions. I had a friend who got lost out on SML in October one year, because he got drunk, and had to spend the night on his boat. At least he was prepared (didn't freeze to death) even though friends looked for them. And, the next day he showed up. He also learned his lesson. Never drink and drive anything. Do you really think these drunk boaters learned their lesson? I bet not and I bet they will do it again. Let's just pray they don't injure someone. They obviously didn't care about Brian or anyone else for that matter; and they obviously weren't in any danger or didn't care. One would hope if they were they would have let him know. If they were and said so, then concessions would certainly have been made. You can't play a "what if" game here; the facts were known and the right actions were taken.

docmanrich37

You Go Girl.