Sad story, but good lesson

[RickSE]

Those who haven't heard about this might find it interesting.

http://www.hotboat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136253

We had a 30' Baja sink on Lake Powell last summer killing a female occupant, one male survived. Apparently the boat broke apart after hitting (jumping?) a tour boat wake and sank in +300' of water taking the female occupant with it. The body of the female was retrieved within a week of the boat sinking and the boat was just lifted this month for investigation. It's a sad story but a good lesson.

I put some opinions up as to what I think happened but their just my opinions. I don't even mess with the tour boat wakes on Powell any more, just roll over them at slow speed to get past the tour boat them get back in the throttle.

[Carl C]

Why are so many people so quick to blame a boat wake for their accident? We have freighters leaving 6' wakes in narrow channels where I sometimes boat so if I kill someone by crashing on a freighter wake can I blame it on them? Last years Lake George accident was first blamed on a boat wake but the investigation refuted that. Boaters need to take responsibility for their own actions. If there are large boats running in the area then there will be large waves present so be aware of the water conditions and don't drive fast with your head up your ***. JM.02

[Magicallbill]

Carl;
All you need to get behind the wheel of a high-performance craft is money.
Education and/or common sense are not prerequsites,nor are they required.

I am amazed more stories like this don't surface. If the pilot was trashed,which is very possible, that exacerbates it even more.

RickSE..I enjoy all your posts. I've never been out there, and your kinda my "window to the West" so-to-speak. I read all of the "Lake Powell gathering" posts..Maybe one day.....

MB.

[gcarter]

I remember June's trip to Powell. Riding with Yeller and watching the Donzis ahead of us creep over the wakes. Even at low speed, there was a tendency to come out of the water. These tour boats are 100'+ long and of the displacement variety of hull. The wakes are inordinately high because of the hull form and the operators trying to exceed hull speed. Also, the canyons are very narrow and you don't have a lot of maneuvering room. I can see how this would happen.

[BUIZILLA]

Ultimately, every skipper is responsible for their wake.....

[pmreed]

True Jim, but every skipper is also responsible for every wake he comes across. You break up or bust your boat crossing a wake, it's your fault. With the performance of our Donzis, we can control how and if we hit a wake. Hey, I'll admit taking a freighter wake a little hard:eek!: . My fault...just didn't have my eye on the ball.

Phil

[Donziweasel]

Rick,
I have never seen one of the tour boats. The last time I was at Powell was in 1997. Do they have any restrictions on the speed or wake size of these boats? Reading some posts from other sites, everyone seems to have a story about tangling with one of these wakes. How bad are they? Anyone stuff the bow of a 16 or 18 under one? I read one post where a guy was in a large houseboat and had the front and rear sliding door open. He hit one of these wakes and he said it was like a tidal wave went all the way through the boat. Hope it wasn't a rental.