http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/8695

WOW

Glad no one was killed, could have been worse if it weren't for quality life jackets.

Interesting reading ......

After the wreck, Fiegel said he wanted to tell his power boat club that “it’s probably not a good idea to have an aerial photo shoot at one of the most dangerous passes in the world.”

Investigators used the video to determine the cause of the wreck instead of recreating the scene from scratch.

Fiegel, of Niceville, was cited for violating a navigational rule: operating at an unsafe speed. But he said he would fight the charge because he was participating in an organized event, not boating recklessly on his own.

Hollinhead said the speed was “certainly related to the accident” and that the boaters probably escaped more serious injuries simply because they were wearing thick, padded life jackets that absorbed some of the impact

A very good "in your face" learning point for me. Still debating whether to show this to my wife or not as she is new to boating and enjoying it very much so far.
Was there any way the driver could have reacted to mitigate this, or is it "thats just the way the boat bounces" kind of deal? I still consider myself a novice with large powerboats and I just dont see how the driver could have seen that coming.

Boat was loose , outta control in my eyes.

This is just my observation, based on the video, and not a criticism of the driver. We all know that it is easier to be wise after the fact.

The boat landed (shortly before the big one) two or three times tail first, indicating that it could have used more tab to make it fly horizontally. Tabs rather than trimming in the drives - firstly for speed, but also because the downward thrust of the drives would be more likely to push the nose into the next wave, and on the stepped hull of the 32 also make the stern run loose and instable. Maybe he did trim the drives down (in reflex) as the boat took to the air the second time, and was too late to stop the boat taking off but created the above mentioned situation on landing.

It wasn´t just a freak wave accident, because the boat had already made a number of loose jumps beforehand.

I´ve never run a 32 Sunsation, but have spent ALOT of time in the air in a 25 foot 80 mph boat, and the situation looks all too familiar to me.

Trim tabs might have helped some . Personally if i was gonna travel waves like that at 70 plus i would hit them head on not at a 45 degree angle . Jus a reminder the driver of all boats is responsible for the passengers . I was out there that week and did test the pass out caught some serious air at around 45 miles and hour couldnt imagine even tryin it at 70 plus

http://www.greatlakesoffshore.com/gr...ead.php?t=2966 heres a link to a simulore boating day gone rong.I hope all these guys heal up as fast as my little sister did

That boat was way too loose from the start! Didnt run flat from the beginning! Obvios for any one with any seat time if you ask me! Think he loosened it up for the photos.

That glass panel could have chopped the girls head off...too loose

Driver error
Glad no one was killed