If common sense was prevalent in the Offshore community we would have one hugely successful unified offshore racing series and rules at our poker runs that forbid 160+ mph free-for-all's to the first card stop on public waterways that too often involve spectators, near-tragedy, and in the case of Cumberland, tragedy two-fold.

I guess it boils down to too much money and too many big ego's for common sense to prevail in this sport. It's pretty obvious that steps need to be taken to assure the public that the Offshore Community is on top if this issue, but sadly we still have a select few that want to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that accidents just happen and that we should just continue on like it's business as usual as we on Cumberland sit on pins and needles waiting to see if our two local poker runs will go the way of Smoke on the Water and be cancelled for eternity while some unfortunate others are preparing to attend a couple of funerals.

If the Corps of Engineers refuse to issue permits for our two runs on Cumberland like they did on Old Hickory (near Nashville, TN) after zero incidents but complaints for the locals that it was just "potentially" dangerous, it will be a big blow to the local economy and to the spirit of numerous performance boaters on this lake.

We have two of our own dead after what was suppose to be an enjoyable day on the water. We have numerous videos of Cats running in excess of 100 mph coming within feet of spectator boats and sometimes actually splitting spectator boats anchored within a reasonable distance from the bank, all in an effort to get to be first to a freaking card stop.

How can any rational person look at the events of this past weekend in total and not come to the conclusion that serious changes need to be made - and I"m not talking about equipment changes.

Unfortunately, no rules have been broken. We have been watching. The remaining way this could get removed is a request by thread starter.

We feel horrible that the families are subjected to this and have done our best to lock things down until the have had time. Unfortunately, the members with agendas, or that don't care, keep rehashing things that were previously discussed.

You have my number, call me anytime.
G

I couldn't agree more. These poker runs are not a closed course for racing. They are a public waterway!! Did they have to change course? Who cares? It is everyones responsibility to safely navigate the waterways according to the law with other watercraft sharing the same water at all times.

Level 111 Chaos & Bilgemouth;

I have also seen that GatorOne and Boatpix say they have pics/vid from a better prespective than what we have been able to see in threads like this one. I feel very confident that they have been or will be reviewed by the approiate authorities. Will the rest of us ever be able to view them? I do not have that answer. I am not sure if they even need to be posted for the public. My hope is that if there is fault or negligence it will be delt with and in the future poker runs will be safer as a result.

Mark

Greg....the members do have an agenda.......make improvements and increase the safety of poker runs so that poker runs can continue without more deaths/injuries/lawsuits. There is a separate thread for the family to view if they want for condolences.

Sorry the truth hurts & will hurt the families affected for a while.

Jeff & Brad engaged in reckless racing that resulted in their deaths. Photographic, video, and satellite images confirm the dangers they put themselves in & innocent people that were using a public lake.

There will be severe legal consequences that result from the actions undertaken during the LC PR.

As for Mods:

The dictatorial temper tantrum Greg demonstrated yesterday won't be tolerated anymore. He has been put on notice.

Yes, but they are reading ALL OF THEM. One of them posted here about how ridiculous all of this is.

What does this mean?

I am long time viewer and reader of the site and threads (not a big poster). I did not know the men involved with the crash but my heart and prayers are with the families.

Saying such I am going to put my HSSE hat on and the statements below are personal observations: ONLY.

I hope people reading this thread try their best to look at this post and others objectively not not personally. This thread is about trying to make things better for everyone in the future.

We need to look at the problem at hand, present and ask questions, come up with the best solution and conclusion.

Most incidents are one of three basic causes with numerous factors. I am only going to address the cause because unless we are in the know, the factors on our end are pure speculation.

Causes: 1) Mechanical 2) Operator 3) Behavior

In my experience most accidents are because of 3) Behavior.

The operators were very experienced and knew their boats. The boats were well built and mechanically sound. They appeared to have no problems running at speed. So in my opinion these are not a problem.

The problem is if one takes the time to go look at as many videos of the Thunder Runs and Poker Runs on this lake you can see for years that they have been running at high speed close to boats anchored and observers of the runs and there are boats crossing paths of the boats running at high speed. The Coast Guard and Police can not be every where. We have to police ourselves too.

I can only come to the conclusion that this issue was/has never addressed (If this has lets bring this up for debate) This is a behavior that needs to be addressed.

Someone has to be the bad guy and ask the question to the operators if they know what they are doing is dangerous, are they paying attention to their surroundings, then ask if they thought that was the right thing to do.

If no one addresses the problem then it is perceived that there is not a problem.

We all get caught up in the moment. As I tell everyone who gets on my boats, If you seeing something you are not comfortable with or something you see unsafe please speak up and let me know. We all have levels of comfort, someone has to be the bad guy and say that this is the level we expect not to exceed.

Again, my prayers and thoughts are with the families and I can only say that they are in a better place and they went to that place doing what they loved...

Umm, since ALL of the MODS were in constant contact I think you should clarify.