CAP071

I want a ride in one of these boats! I'll sign any release form I have to. Someone get me a ride!

Tricky919

This incident is sad, but be realistic. How many times have you driven by a car wreck and said i am going to drive slow now. It lasts for about 15 min and were right back to normal. Most of us who do these dangerous activities have an accident sooner or later, but we pony back up and were at it again. I didn't know Chris but i bet if he could do one more thing by himself, he would probably take his boat for one more ride. I had an accident this past summer when i hooked my boat and was thrown to the deck, smashed my face on the steering wheel breaking my nose and some ribs. Scared the crap out of me. I had no vest on and that was the first thing my buddy and I said was this was stupid to do without vests on. It slowed me down for a good while but soon i was right back at it. The scariest thing is that it happened so damn fast it was over before i knew it. We went from 80 to stop in a second and facing the other way. Thank God i had the kill switches hooked to me. All I can say is we should all practice safety first, but there is no way I am going to live life with my hand on the chicken switch. Lets all learn from this and move on and have a safe season. I for one will remember my incident and the man i never knew but will remember everytime i put my vest on. God bless you Chris ..........

magnum

I think one thing being overlooked here is the Driver/Owners resposibility for the safety of their passengers.I'm sure most evertone here knows the risks envolved with high speed boating but do think the babes you picked up at the beach or the coworker or neighbor who's been begging for a ride do.It's a unfortunate that Chris lost his life but can you imagine the legal mess the executor of his estate would be facing if one or both of his passengrs had died.It's one thing to take a risk by yourself,but add a passenger and you endanger the provisions you've made for your families and loved ones.

cuda

I have often thought the same thing. When you hear about an accident, you can see how the driver would know what could happen, but you wonder if the passengers have any idea of the risks involved. I think many non boaters see it as a Disney ride where nothing can go wrong.

Reed Jensen

........... People around the country may not be aware of this.... there are people killed on Disney rides on occasion... Disney's corporate headquarters is less than two miles from me. Burbank is very much a "company town". When accidents happen at Disney's parks... we hear about it in the news for months... There was one man killed a few years ago when a cleat was torn off the "dock" and flung into the crowd at the Treasure Island ride. Another boy was crushed under a ride car in the "toon town ride". One of the employees was struck and killed by a roller coaster. Life is fraught with peril.... Death stalks us all.... With exception of the guy getting hit in the head with a flying 10 pound dock cleat... all the other accidents were caused or contributed to by the victims themselves. The boy that was crushed was not supervised by his parents and was standing up in the car and not under the restraint. The employee that was killed by the roller coaster intentionally stepped in front of the coaster. Suicide? or just poor judgment... end result the same. I always wear a flotation jacket when I'm boating... I try to be cautious and safe... but I know accidents happen. You just have to plan for some of them and take precautions. I've heard stories from boaters about some of the stupid things they have done...Gone out for a short ride... had the engine break.... no phone... no radio or GPS... NO DRINKING WATER.... no food or first aid kit.... and they sat out in the San Pedro Channel with land in sight for almost the entire day before someone came along and towed their sorry butts in. I have to wonder if this isn't just "natural selection" at it's finest. Don't ask me about my theory on why "some" people of a particular ethnic persuasion are such lousy drivers.....

cuda

I knew when I posted that someone would point out deaths on Disney rides.

Reed Jensen

Yah!!!! And there have been some deaths at Magic Mountain too.... some of the rides there are so violent that people with unknown medical problems come off the rides unconscious and some die later. There was one woman that had a birth defect she didn't know of. The inside of her brain had a weak spot... during the ride the inside of her brain tore.... she died a few days later.
Sad but true.

Wasabe

I have to agree with the natural selection bit. Some people just don't get it. As for the ethnic persuasion Just keep one particular out He's one of the better drivers out there.

Reed Jensen

Yeah Wasabe...... you live here in So Cal too... you know what ethnicity I'm talking about!

Donzi Corleone

All I can say is I will be wearing my lifeline and whoever else is riding also,We had a very emotional goodbuy to Chris today. This church was packed and its probabley the biggest church in St.Petersburg. He woke me up to the perils in this sport but I can gurarantee he would not want anything to change for the powerboater other then safety vests. If he had lived through this I know he would be voicestrous about wearin the vest. I will continue to throttle my boat fast using good judgement. For those of you who know me I always boat with a partner(Josh) who rides up front with me sharing information and anomolies on the water. It does help when two qualified men are sharing responsibilties