Gee...sure seems like 110 is plenty fast to get in trouble to me. Strange how the speeds of some of these boats have become so commonplace that 100 is barely a mention, but to me bad things can happen fast at those speeds. Hell, I can count on one hand the times I've been in a car over 100 let alone a boat.

Need to separate this lifestyle and alcohol.

110 MPH, big wake, too much alcohol to have judgement and reflexes to handle it correctly. It is too bad and for those who knew them, heart breaking but maybe we can learn from it.

Like griff said, with fatal investigations or major injury yes. Insurance company will routinely do their own investigation too. We pull the box on major incidents every time.

Very tragic, two young men lost. No one sets out to die in a situation like this, but alcohol and ego are a caustic mix. Any blast at 100+ mph is potentially deadly. I wonder if it was a spontaneous decision, or if they spent time preparing while they were stationary by the bridge. At a minimum, Lifeline jackets and helmets would have been prudent, given LOTO's notorious conditions shoot out weekend.

It was a tough read. Losing my friends has gotten far too common.

Like was previously said, the speed wasn't nearly what I expected to read given the severity of the accident and damage. I took delivery of the Skater only 90 mins before this accident. We saw them leaving Dog Days as we were taking out first run around that day. Same water and a smaller 32' cat. It was bumpy and we called it a day pretty quick.

Hoping for a much less eventful and tragic 2017 and beyond.

I agree. Great read and goes to show that a speed of around 100mph our O/B cats are just or more dangerous than the bigger boat.
Let's all be safe this boat season and use good judgement!

Like you, I am not discounting 100mph, have no cat experience, and recognize that accidents happen, but I also assumed 100 in a 44MTI would be an extremely safe and stable speed. Makes me rethink my dream of one day having a big Cat......

I commend the author for keeping the article based on factual, substantiated investigation and did not make the piece into an "anti" speed boat political statement. Very respectful reporting.

Much higher speeds but My Way (Mystic) was nearly destroyed hitting a cruiser wake on the St.Lawrence - not a clean launch, definitely not a clean entry...easily could have been a similar outcome to this unfortunate incident.

RIP Gentlemen and strength to their families and friends left to endure the loss....

The author wrote me back. She relayed that it seems most people forget about these crashes a few months later (absolutely true). She was hoping to put people into the crash and save some future accidents. I wrote her back again "bravo"