Actually my point was aircraft accidents get investigated including those at the private pilot level and a cause is determined.

How fast do you run on those days you go without a jacket? 80? 90? 100+?

I disagree with yours and others sentiments that there's no need to rehash the life jacket issue. If what you say is true, why are STILL billboards, radio ads, etc pounding into people's heads seat belt usage, to watch out for motorcycles, to move over for emergency vehicles, to not text and drive? Don't we all know this already? Or is it because people need a reminder sometimes? I am one of the guys who is pretty lax on life jacket usage....and this incident has made me pause and reconsider.

Did you hear last statement from the witness?


-Captain Obvious (but just a wannabe)

[=Quote]
If someone were to ask me what can be done to prevent such tragedies in the future, well the solution is easy but impossible. You must simply instill in every driver the fact that their primary duty as Captain of their boats is the safe return of their passengers to the dock.Nothing else even comes a close second. Having bragging rights, being first to the card stop, looking cool, is all secondary to the safety of the people who have entrusted their lives to you as Captain. Some people who operate machines that are unforgiving simply forget that, and in an instant it's is already too late.

Be Safe.[/QUOTE]

Think this sums up my feelings about anything in general, you take a kid shooting your job is to make sure he's safe. If he's not you dropped the ball, but it happens.

Anybody going to address the white elephant in the room?

It's not vests. It's not cats. It's not kill switches......

Sailboat ?

I think we all pretty much can guess what happened. Its kind of a choice you make when u decide to run that fast. Its like a nascar wreck and then saying we need to slow down the cars. Accidents can and will happen. They owned the boat because they enjoyed the thrill. I dont think there is anything wrong with it. They owned a high performance boat and im sure they knew the possibilities that come with that. Its just sad that it happened so soon in their lives.

Having said that is there any possibilitiy that this was somehow a mechanical malfunction? Like a gimbal failire or sumthin? God bless them and their familes. My thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who knew them. They all sounded like great people.

I first want to offer my condolences to the families and friends of those involved. It's with a heavy heart that I even write this. I run my boat hard sometimes but nowhere close to the speeds of Skaters and like boats. But you don't have to go fast to drown and would lifejackets have saved their lives hitting the water at those speeds? I don't know and I wish that we didn't have to debate it. We wear them when mandated by poker run rules. But seldom during a normal boating day. But I want to pass along this story of tragedy. My girlfriends four year old son drowned back in 2005 while getting off a go-fast boat at the pier. It destroyed the family. broken marriage, lost the family business, alcoholism, drug use and jail. But she held it together thru it all an I have no idea how. She even continues to get on a go-fast boat every weekend. Now she is a reserve officer for DNR promoting the wearing of lifejackets. Every time I hear of something like this I tell myself. "We need to wear those things". We spend tens of thousands of dollars on our boats and some are able to spend more than I make on boats. But do we buy the most expensive or at least the best lifejacket? Again would it have saved them? In the military after accidents happen we have what they call Safety Standdowns to learn from things like this. So maybe keep tragedies like this in the back of your mind so we all come back safe.

I apologize for my comments, just a little over sensitive.

I pulled this pic from PBN. I didnt know them, but I would have gotten along with them just fine. Look's like my kind of people.

Life line race jackets should be worn at speeds above 90 MPH a lot of people cruse around at 120+ like its a joke and its not. Almost lost some good friend not long ago in a boat crash with no jackets on because they think no big deal going 100 but they came close to drowning the kick is I gave them 2 race jackets the day before but left them in the truck. They will never do that again not saying I never got caught up in the moment of going fast. I have to say I made a few mistakes not wearing a jackets at high speeds and I try to do the rite thing.
Maybe we would still have a few people that survived this tragedy if they where wearing a jacket.
My condolences go out to family and friends sorry for your loss RIP.