hard lessons.
 

http://www.lakenewsonline.com/news/2...ating-accident

I hate reading this stuff again and again,

Very sobering to read, but all of the data collection via GPS and reconstruction was intriguing.

Interesting that they took the GPS to Garmin with a subpoena..

WOW! Thanks for posting that Pat. That has to be the most comprehensive report on a boating crash I've ever read. What an awesome read. Super vivid, step by step reporting. I actually emailed the author and commended her on the article. Superb.

Tragic deal. The boat looks very familiar.

Looks like a lot of time was put into this for a very comprehensive investigation. Similar to the way an airplane crash is evaluated. Good information to rule out stories of what may have happened and give some educated data on the incident. A report like this has value to those interested, showing alcohol levels and speeds involved, dreaded cruiser wakes and lake chop, with an unfortunate outcome. Hope like hell the powerboat community has a less tragic year in 2017. Thanks for posting this.

I read the article earlier today. Sad reading........... but I thought it was very well written and based on actual facts.

Tank isn't this what cops do with modern cars (grab data out of the black box) and reconstruct the accident?

They probably have plenty of video to review also (cameras at marinas, video from citizens go pro's, etc)

Only on very serious accidents. Car accidents are much easier to determine what happened based on physical evidence at the scene.

I know nothing of driving a big cat or the conditions that surrounded this accident, but I"ll admit that I'm surprised to learn that the Garmin only showed them doing between 110 - 119 when the accident occurred. I figured much faster. That must have been one hell of a big wake that cruiser put out. Even more respect for rough water going forward here.

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"

One thing that was not mentioned in the article was they were headed pretty much directly into the setting sun.

I've run that same water at LOTO into the setting sun dozens of times and even at 50mph, a big wake that you didn't see coming or you thought was just 2-3' will be a 4-5' and will catch you off guard.

That is a very, very rough part of the lake as it begins to choke down both geographically and traffic-wise. We were on our balcony at Land's End when they went by. When we heard the sirens several minutes later, we knew immediately what they were for and where they were heading. Very well written article.

Tough to pass judgement from here not knowing the victims. Just a terrible combination of big performance, alcohol, diminished visibility, and poor or misjudged water conditions. Even the confidence afforded by a big cat like that can be a potential liability. We take a lot for granted with the speeds that are now common place. I was a young man in the 60's boating on Cape Cod and had the fastest boat at Englewood beach, a 15' Chrysler Flamingo with an 80 merc on it that ran 42 mph. My how times have changed!

That same thought dawned on me as we were going under the toll bridge Sunday when we were bringing the Velocity back from the Shootout, it's very hard to read the water going that direction at that time of day

The lake was very rough during the time. I was down on the dock at the lodge cleaning up all the bugs from the trip... numerous big cruisers coming through plowing. Then a few big cats ripping, and sirens. I think the article was very well written with no agenda or bias. You play you pay... big stakes at 100mph +

If it`s the same spot in my vid @ :13 (right after a bridge @ :20 ) then yes, sun is low, very hard to read wakes. I got in a bit of trouble over there from 2 wakes coming together and throwing my boat sideways. Scary and very unexpected even thou it may not look like it in the vid the boat was on it`s side. The V cut thru it, if I had a cat the results might have been very different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGALIK9yTpY

Unfortunately it has been proven that nearly everything will catch you off guard under these conditions. Very tragic for all the friends and family.

"The certified toxicology report by the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory Division - with names redacted - shows both occupants of the catamaran were well over the legal limit for operating the boat with one registering a blood alcohol level of 0.121 and the other 0.156, nearly double the legal limit."

Wakes are a problem but not illegal, operating a boat cautiously at 100 mph is not illegal. Operating a boat at their alcohol levels is illegal.

Any boating accidents are bad enough and I hate to see it plus read about it, Very tragic and really feel bad about it.

It has been said very experienced driver and on very busy lake one would drive to the conditions - sun -, waves, other boaters around, lake activity, mph and so forth.

I totally agree with you. Why do so many boaters think that happy hour is part of boating and Performance Boating. Think about if they hit another boat with a family and kids. IMO if you drink you should not drive a boat period especially with other boats around. The most responsible thing to do is have a designated driver for any events or boating weekends if one or crew in tow wants to drink,

Teague has tried to make a huge push for designated driver boating awareness and I like what he has tried to do but I am sure its a small % follow his push for it.

Wakes are not illegal? You are responsible for your wake and the damage it causes, and at LOTO its always the same freaking boat causing wake issues. The same knucklehead(with a "professional" captain) came through the shootout throwing a roller in the no wake zone. Obviously a tragic set of events, but Griff summed it up pretty well. Driving into the sunset was the straw that broke the camels back.

RIP friends, you are definitely missed.

You're responsible for your wake in a no wake zone or if you're the overtaking boat.

The chilling part is the guy who was so rattled that he just wanted to get home and see his kids instead of giving a statement... The older I get the more I understand what he was feeling. Just a horrible thing all around. Makes me nauseous and sad.

Thanks All for all the great posts on this subject. I am new to the performance boating hobby/passion. Motorcycles and fast cars I have been involved with all my life. I am learning from all on here. Thank You. Agreed on the reporting, Excellent Job. Agreed on never drink and opperate anything, Even a Lawnmower. Bad Shizzz just happens to anyone.

+1. Heading into that sun that time of day is is like running more than half blind. You cannot read the water.

Wobble, you got it. Boat wake, speed, sun in your eyes. Moot point.

Same stretch of water and after going under the toll bridge, you head even more directly into the setting sun.
The toll bridge is about the 14mm. The reef in front Four seasons is about the 12mm. The 10.3mm is about where Ozark BBQ is.

You also have to be careful going upstream and heading away from the sun. Be aware that boats coming at you may not be able to see you well due to the setting sun.

When its all said and done, remember the owner of this MTI was a grown adult. He was old enough to make his own decisions and obviously made some good ones over the years, and possibly one last bad one. He possessed the wherewithal to purchase a high speed boat and in all likelihood, he was aware of prior accidents in similar boats and knew the risks of operating a boat like this...there is no such thing as 100% safety in a boat that is designed to go fast. As long as there is a demand for these boats, they will be built...Godspeed.

In this case, the owner even had some racing experience in catamarans. In the Lake Lanier case, both couples were long time high speed boaters. Everyone knew the risk but nobody planned on dying that day either. The Lanier case didn't publish the crash results but said high speed was a factor and oddly no toxicology results were obtained but police reported finding large quantities of alcohol at the crash scene.

I have zero catamaran experience and have never operated a boat at 100+ mph. I can see how these boats get out of control as they are damn near airplanes at certain speeds (packing air) and with over 2500 HP there is plenty of power to get the operator in trouble quickly.

I would think think after multiple fatalities in Somerset, Lanier and LOTO (all with experienced owners) the insurance companies are going to be the ones that put the brakes on owning these types of boats.

I don't see this as being much different than taking our sports car out on the highway. Throw all those same or similar conditions and **** happens.

damn near airplanes is right on , how about a flying wing like a Horton but w zero controls and no way to keep it pointed in even one direction /