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BUIZILLA
08-02-2007, 12:00 PM
stuff like this really get's to me...

A Camp Counselor on Lake Bowen with a group of campers was killed Wednesday when he was struck by a boat.

The Spartanburg County coroner told WYFF News 4 that the campers from Camp Pinewood in Hendersonville, N.C., had been waterskiing.

They were just finishing up skiing at about 4:15 p.m., and the boat was circling to pick up some of the teens who were in the water.


The coroner said that the counselor, Timothy Scott Allison, 20, from Troy, Ohio, was separated from the group when the boat hit him. The coroner said Allison was struck in the head by the propeller and died instantly.

Nine teens were with the group at the time of the Allison's death.

"The driver of the boat in this incident was circling around to come back on the other side where the other boats were. The kids were over here, and he heard a thump, and that's when he realized that he had hit someone," said Robin Forrest, a spokeswoman for the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office.

The 21-year-old driver of the boat jumped in the water to try to save Allison. Officials said he laid the body on a platform on the back and drove the boat to the dock for help.

"The driver of the boat handled it amazingly well. He instructed them to immediately get down into the floor of the boat and cover their eyes so they didn't see anything," said a camper who witnessed the event.

Investigators spent the afternoon taking pictures of the boat.

The DNR interviewed witnesses and the driver.

Campers said the teens go to the lake every day from Camp Pinewood in Hendersonville.

Investigators said they don't believe there was any wrongdoing.

The coroner said the victim died after a severe head trauma caused by the boat's prop.

Donziweasel
08-02-2007, 12:08 PM
One of my freinds got a new Tige' ski boat this summer. He was/is a rookie boater. The first time he pulled a skier, when the skier fell, he circled to port in front of him to pick him up. When you do this, you lose sight of your skier and his/her relationship to the boat. I immediatly told him that the correct way ws to go AROUND the back of the skier to starboard. That way he never looses eye contact with his skier. Since then he has done much better. Some people think you buy a boat, and that is it. There is so much more to learn.......

WA-LO
08-02-2007, 06:25 PM
You always need a spotter when skiing that is a sickining story.

rjm200LX
08-02-2007, 07:28 PM
This is very sad, and very ironic that the first post I read on this forum is about my home lake. I just joined today as I have read very good things about you guys on the Stingray site. I am a new boater and want all the info I can get. Unfortunately this is an example that illustrates my point. Bob

zelatore
08-04-2007, 12:14 AM
Some people think you buy a boat, and that is it. There is so much more to learn.......

Ain't that the truth...

One of the things we do at my dealership is a pretty extensive training with each new boat. Usually 4-6 hours with me at the dock just going through ship's sytems followed by 8 hours of on-the-water training with either myself or an outside captain. Of course, some of them won't listen (a certain Oakland Raider comes to mind) but most of them do.

Today I was doing a walk through on a 31 Albin with a new owner. An older guy who brought along his two sons (both in their 30s). I knew from meeting them before that they had owned at least 2 boats before and had experience with other boats in the extended family. I was rather shocked when the father asked 'hey, maybe you can tell me, what are all those red and green things out in the water?' I was somewhat stunned that you can own a boat for any length of time and not even know what a channel marker is. At that point I took a deep breath and realized I was in for a longer day than I expected.

At least they seemed to get the general idea of handling a twin screw without the wheel pretty quickly. I didn't even have to slap anybody's hands. :)

Cuda
08-04-2007, 01:22 PM
You always need a spotter when skiing that is a sickining story.
If I'm not mistaken, a spotter is required by law in Florida, not that it matters in this case. It's a very sad story.

Sagbay32
08-05-2007, 10:01 PM
A rear view mirror can legally be used in place of a spotter in Fl...


Wow that is hardly equal to a spotter. There are probably many laws that vary state to state.....hmmm. :rolleyes:

Cuda
08-06-2007, 04:54 AM
A rear view mirror can legally be used in place of a spotter in Fl...
I thought that might be the case. I haven't skied in 15 years, since I broke my ankle. (not skiing)

Donziweasel
08-06-2007, 07:22 AM
In Wy, you have to have another person in the boat as a spotter. You also have to have a orange flag that you have to keep in the air when the skier or wakeboarder is in the water. Good laws and I abide by them.