Bound to happen ??

[Angler Don]

Sad news to report, if you haven't heard yet you might. 2 little girls , sisters age 12 & 14, hospitalized after a boating accident on Bald eagle lake Sunday evening. Their father was pulling them on an innertube, when they struck or were struck by another boat. Both girls were injured and knocked unconscious. The older sister suffered a broken leg, the younger a skull fracture. It sounds like they should both survive their injuries. Pray that they do. My wife & I were fishing there until 5:00.
BIG FAT DOSE OF REALITY
Be careful, be considerate.
Don

You can lead a boat to water,
but you can't make it think .

[This message has been edited by Angler Don (edited 08-10-2004).]

[rtwills]

That is sad and probably could have been avoided!!But I am surprised more of this doesn't happen
Recreational boaters feel they own the lakes and lately I have seen many, pulling skiers and tubers WITHOUT a spotter,and the driver is watching them and not what is ahead.
This problem is getting worse every year.
A prime example is this weeken on medicine I was fishing in the west bay next to a guy and a small kid in a paddle boat,some guy in a ski natique decided so do his shiing in the bay there and looked like he tried to get as close as possible to the 2 in the paddle boat and almost dumped them,as the ski boat went by I looked at the man and all we could do is shake our heads.Not more than 2 hous later I was by the peninsula by the beach and actually had a jet ski run into my boat while I was trolling.the guy was probably in his mid 20's looked at me and his jetski,said soory and took off.granted he was not going fas at the time of impact but it should have never happened,there is plenty of room on the rest of the lake to play.
Dont get me wrong, I like to do watersports too but we need to be a little more courteous to the others on the lake too.We are all there to have fun,and 1 stupid act ruins the fun for alot of other people

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If people weren't supposed to eat animals.
Why are they made out of meat??
FM Stickersl

[hanson]

Angler Don,

Thanks for bringing that to everyone's attention. You are absolutely right, it was bound to happen sometime. I hope the girls pull through and have a speedy recovery.

IMHO, anyone running a boat at speed within towing length of another boat shouldn't be aloud to operate a boat, or frankly own a boat. On the other hand, if you are towing people behind your boat, be aware of your surroundings. A quick turn of the wheel can send your passengers whipping way off into the middle of nowhere, possibly in the oncoming path of a boat. Without knowing the full story, either situation is completely realistic.

At times, I know most fisherman get PO'd at waterskiers, innertubers, jet skiers, etc. But honestly, pleasure boaters probably outnumber fisherman on most lakes.

Be careful & respectful of others. We all have to share the lake whether you like it or not. Lets all be safe and not have to worry about praying for a couple girls out for a little bit of fun.

[hanson]

Oh yeah, real world example of stupidity at play. I saw this one with my own eyes and I still cannot believe it.

My parents lake cabin is on a fairly small lake. The only boat traffic is the people that have cabins on the lake. 4th of July weekend, of course, the neighbors have their whole extended family up for the weekend. Sometime during the day, there were 4-6 people out on the pontoon and there was another 2 people out on a jetski. That was the only boat traffic on the lake!!! Both watercrafts came from the same family, yep, they ran into eachother.

I don't know how it happened but the jetski ran into the front side of the pontoon and the 2 people on the jetski went flying over the entire deck of the pontoon and landed on the other side in the water. It was the worst sounding collision I think I've ever heard. Everyone was OK but it was pretty unreal. They were the only 2 watercrafts on the lake and they managed to hit each other. The pontoon was darn near standing still. I don't know if I'll ever see anything like that again in my life.

[Slyster]

So sad.

I too am suprised it doesn't happen more often.. especially on weekends.

Does anyone have any more information on this or news links? I can't find it on any local news source.

[Slyster]

I did find a few links...

One short video clip on the wcco website.. and one short story on KSTP9 website.. apparently... the boat pulling the tubers was hit by another boat.. a fisherman... no alcohol involved- and he might be charged.

Although, of course, the other source said something else... that the boat pulling the tubers hit the fishing boat.. news is always so iffy...

regardless... I hope the injured recover!

[This message has been edited by Slyster (edited 08-10-2004).]

[TimR]

Rtwills,

Please note that in MN the regs state that a spotter OR a mirror is required for watersports.

This is as it should be. Frequently, I will be out skiing with my wife on weeknights when there isn't much boat traffic, in areas of the lake that are open.

Frankly, on weeknights on the lake I boat on there isn't much problem between rec users and fishermen. I'm sure occasionly a fishermen is irritated by me passing by, and occasionaly I'm irritated that he/she has to plant his boat directly in the middle of the wind protected bay area. However, nobody owns the water and we must share it, and appreciate that we have to opportunity to be on it.

Excluding weekends, when the zoo happens, for every yahoo pleasure boater, I'll show you a fishermen who positions themself in the middle of the channel between lakes, or feels it necessary to utilize every one of those 200 horses blowing by me on the nights I'm out fishing in my small lund, or otherwise acts like a jerk.

And before you hang the pleasure boater, please note that in this case, every news outlet I've seen has noted that the tuber-boat was off plane moving slowly, and was hit by the "fishermen".

Tim

[Wavey Davey]

The St. Paul Pioneer Press has the story in it today (Tuesday, August 10th).
From what it said, the tube hit the fishing boat, the fishing boat did not run into the tube. Either way, not good. Hopefully the kids will recover.

[Paul Waldowski]

Here's a link to the article:

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/9359513.htm?ERIGHTS =-6063275561126645020twincities
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Paul
Drake Motel

[email protected]
Marcum
Otter Outdoors
JR's Tackle
Lakemaster Lake Maps

[This message has been edited by Paul Waldowski (edited 08-10-2004).]

[rtwills]

Tim, I was not trying to run down recreational boaters!(read the last paragraph I wrote)"Dont get me wrong, I like to do watersports too "
I know that the regs state either a mirror or spotter,and I agree in certain situations, (like you stated on a lake with no one els), but is just a mirror sufficient on a Sat. afternoon when your trying to dodge 100 other boats?
All I was trying to say was if everyone who enjoys the lakes showed each other some consideration and respect we wouldnt hear about tragedys like this.
Remember, weather your fishing,cruising, or playing....we are all out there to have fun and it takes only 1 jerk to ruin it for alot of people

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If people weren't supposed to eat animals.
Why are they made out of meat??
FM Stickersl

[Slyster]

Here's that link.. the post above didn't work for me.. but this one did.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/9359513.htm?1c

I read the article twice.. but it isn't clear to me who hit who.

(No.. that link up there was good.. I think one needs to register to view the article.. although it did show up once for me)

[This message has been edited by Slyster (edited 08-11-2004).]