Boat sucked thru dam
09-14-2007 | 12:07 PM
#6
Thread Starter
Rob
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 21,637
Likes: 9
From: Ms
That happened in Austin a while back. While I feel bad for their loss, their "tragedy" is their own fault.
There is a lakeside bar (the Hula Hut) right next to the dam. They had their boat tied to the pier while they were inside. When they came back to their boat, THEY UNTIED THE BOAT BEFORE STARTING THE ENGINE!
You guessed it... the boat didn't start (it was probably in gear), and the current pulled the boat into the half-open spillway.
stupid, stupid, stupid...
There is a lakeside bar (the Hula Hut) right next to the dam. They had their boat tied to the pier while they were inside. When they came back to their boat, THEY UNTIED THE BOAT BEFORE STARTING THE ENGINE!
You guessed it... the boat didn't start (it was probably in gear), and the current pulled the boat into the half-open spillway.
stupid, stupid, stupid...
tragedy? it was a old boat
__________________
.
The Only Time You Have To Much Ammo Is When Your Swimming Or On Fire.
.
The Only Time You Have To Much Ammo Is When Your Swimming Or On Fire.
09-14-2007 | 12:19 PM
#8
Registered
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 6,986
Likes: 0
From: Austin, Texas
Ironically, Hoekstra says, he had "just revamped this old '68 boat of mine, a boat my dad built. And I recovered it, and everything was brand new, tiptop shape."
As he was approaching the dock to load the boat onto a trailer, "They had the dam open, and the current was so strong with the northwest wind it just -- we threw out anchor and were waiting for our trailer to pull up," and the current pulled the boat toward the dam.
Hoekstra says the boat's motor had been working, but he turned it off while they were anchored and, "When I went to turn the motor back on, it was dead."
Asked by Smith what he was thinking as the boat drifted toward the dam, he quipped, "This motor better start working really fast!
"Then I tried to put on an electric motor really fast," but there wasn't time. "We crossed the danger buoys. I couldn't grab them. I missed them by five feet, and I basically tried to get us alongside the floodgates on the opposite side, but it ended up whipping us around and slamming the back of the boat into the gate."
By then, onlookers had sent help, and rescuers got Barnes to safety.
But Hoekstra was still very much in trouble, and soon, in the soup, and his boat, a goner.
Smith wondered whether Hoekstra thought the end was at hand as he got sucked under the dam, and Hoekstra deadpanned, "Yeah, that crossed my mind.
As he was approaching the dock to load the boat onto a trailer, "They had the dam open, and the current was so strong with the northwest wind it just -- we threw out anchor and were waiting for our trailer to pull up," and the current pulled the boat toward the dam.
Hoekstra says the boat's motor had been working, but he turned it off while they were anchored and, "When I went to turn the motor back on, it was dead."
Asked by Smith what he was thinking as the boat drifted toward the dam, he quipped, "This motor better start working really fast!
"Then I tried to put on an electric motor really fast," but there wasn't time. "We crossed the danger buoys. I couldn't grab them. I missed them by five feet, and I basically tried to get us alongside the floodgates on the opposite side, but it ended up whipping us around and slamming the back of the boat into the gate."
By then, onlookers had sent help, and rescuers got Barnes to safety.
But Hoekstra was still very much in trouble, and soon, in the soup, and his boat, a goner.
Smith wondered whether Hoekstra thought the end was at hand as he got sucked under the dam, and Hoekstra deadpanned, "Yeah, that crossed my mind.
art
:
