Boat slams into Burns Harbor breakwall
 

WTF
Boat slams into Burns Harbor breakwall:eek:


Two men were injured -- one critically -- when their boat slammed into a breakwall at the port at Burns Harbor early Wednesday morning.


The Coast Guard was called around 3:45 a.m. Rescue crews took the men -- neither of whom was thrown from the 33-foot-long boat in the impact -- to Portage Marina. One was airlifted to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. He remains in critical condition. The other was treated and released from a local hospital.

The Coast Guard says the boat was speeding at the time of the crash.



TV says he's a first time boater & bought the boat tuesday afternoon ...


http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sec...ana&id=8178414

http://coastguardnews.com/coast-guar...nd/2011/06/08/

maybe the middle of the night on Lk MI isn't the best time to learn to operate.... lol. Guess the radar wasn't on either.... Hope the guy makes it.

next will be the law suit on how it wasnt properly lit up at night! :(

If we leave it to the legislators and lawyers, it will not be long before we have navigation lights every 4 to 5 meters like on the runways at the airports to guide us.

Best wishes for a quick recovery to the IP.

Sad thing is that would be much too expensive. It's much simpler to just ban recreational boating at night...:picard1:

3:45AM... Yup...enough said...

Break Wall
 

True that the guy should not have been out at 3:45 am on Lake Michigan. However for those of you not familar with Lake Michigan those breakwalls are several miles offshore from the harbor. They are only marked at the middle where there is an opening and at the end. They are approximately 2 to 3 miles long and tehy are not marked. Go to Chicago in front of Navy Pier and the situation is worse and more dangerous. This happens to at leat 3 or 4 boaters a year. the easy solution would be for them to put some kind of marking/lights on the breakwall.

Hopefully they make a full recovery. That boat is toast for sure.

WTF??!??! IDIOT.

Why do you bother buying a boat with radar if you dont turn it on and use it? If you arent going to use it at night when are you going to use it?

I hope his friend is ok, can you imagine how bad this guy feels?


UD

So your saying its the breakwalls fault ????
or the easier solution is get off the lake before sunset if your not familiar with it ...DUH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we've come across the lake at wee hours of the morning but some common sense and some respect for the lake goes along way .

Missed the point
 

Yeah it was the breakwalls fault as it jumped out in front of him. I was commenting on the danger of the area for those not familar with it. This is not the first time and will not be the last time this has happened. It seems pretty stupid that there are breakwalls miles offshore that are not marked. Common sense and respect will do nothing for you if it is pitch black out on the lake and you are crossing in the wee hours of the morning. You are just asking for trouble boating at night.

They said speeding,It couldnt of been going very fast.I guess any speed above idle at night if you cant see.

Ya never know why they were out that late?

Now punch in Navy Pier Chicago and look at the breakwalls that are unmarked. usually 2 to 3 boats per year hit it at night.

the problem at night on lake michigan is that you focus on the lights on shore and aim for your destination. before you know it, there is a buoy,break wall or other obstructions you end up on top of. i have not personally had any mishaps but can easily understand how it happens. during the day you look at it asking what kind of idiot can run into that, night time is a whole different story.

Its been pretty hazy over here with the warm temps and cold water. Its been pretty difficult to see very well during the day time. Still not an excuse

3 died on Lake Erie here this past Sunday, same type of thing -- stand alone break wall 1500 ft from shore 2 small blinking lights one on either end. One light is green and the other is yellow -- which blends in with the parking lot lights behind it on the mainland.
Its not the best situation and is very hazardous, i also don't believe that inexperienced boaters should be out at night until they get famaliar.
There have been 5 fatalities on this stone breakwall in the last 10 years, and there have been a few very lucky ones.

Hope that he gets better. That being said, it really does pay to research an area before you just launch and go. How many damn web sites are there with people willing to help out and give advice?

Very sad situation. Inexperience and night do not go well together . If you are heading out at night, you need to have a chart, and know how to read it. A good GPS and radar is a big plus as well. And.... most importantly, slow down.


Darrell.

It was also raining thoughout the night.

I know....used to boat there. Running back to Wilmette one night almost hit a very large metal buoy completely unmarked and a few miles offshore. No light...nothing. I was doing about 35mph. Missed it by about 5'.

Its sad that alot of fellow boaters on here don't know the details but are quick to bash when something like this happens.

Yep.

Combine with boating inexperience and/or no knowledge of your surroundings at night = TROUBLE.

Indiana has a speed limit after dark.

IC 14-15-3-8
Night speed limit
Sec. 8. Subject to section 9 of this chapter, a person may not operate a boat during the period between sunset and sunrise at a speed greater than ten (10) miles per hour.

New boater probably did not know or take a class

Mark

Nothing safe or legal is happening at 3:45 am. Just like you never went to an ATM machine at 3 AM for a "good" reason... LOL

Ya never know If your buddy was rideing in a Cig stuffed/spun out,all of the above:eek: and was being towed back in riding on the bottom V.If it was late and was far out it would take awhile to be towed back in and could be in the AM,They may had a reason/excuse Ya never know


if the lady of the night want take a debit card,Youll wish a atm was close:drink:Hey whats the most ya can get out of a ATM?:drink:

Its not just the big lakes that are dangerous, I've been boating for 20 yrs and just bought a 38 ft cruiser and was bringing it from west palm bch fl to clear water fl and ran out of daylight, i thought well i'll go easy and keep going, then it started to rain and get rough . I couldn't see chit, got disoriented and headed for lights on the shore. It turned out to be a freakin black cargo ship all lit up, very scary and i felt like i didn't know crap about boating. best to get familiar with your new rig before a night ride.

Give the guy a break....from the picture he DID still have his starboard bumpers on...he was ready for impact :lolhit:

I don't think people are trying to bash. Just letting others know that ya need to know exactly where your at at night......and keep the speeds down. It's all to easy to make mistakes at night.



Darrell.

the boats a wreck but his trailer will get your boat to the water without incident :party-smiley-004:

Lol burn! Maybe he will lease it to me until my new manning is done ;)

Looked at the google map link of those walls, seems pretty dangerous, I would be nervous without radar or gps at night around them and would try to avoid being out there at night, Smitty