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Boat hits island, fisherman severely injured


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A Global Positioning Satellite can't detect everything, a boater in St. Louis County found out Thursday night.

<http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1191937.html>

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is the water that low in the voyagers area? i guess new islands are popping up in area we used to boat thru.

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11pm!!! Good God, Im scared to run around in the day time with the levels like they are now.

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I cant get that story from the strib...we are heading in thursday night...

How low are the lake levels compared to a year ago? Thanks.

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We are only a foot or two below average. It has been much worse years ago. Navigating is not difficult with the bouy system. Everyone must remember we are in a National Park everything is well marked. You must be careful traveling after dark no matter what lake you are on. It's really to bad that the boating accident occurred on Namakan. Everybody makes mastakes sometimes. The Darwin comment I believe should have been left out of this post. We are all here to help anwser questions and give tips about the area not make fun of the unfortunate. Take care and safe boating.

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Here is another source:

Outdoors » Outdoor Issues

A Global Positioning Satellite can't detect everything.

Submitted by jfischer on May 18, 2007 - 10:23am.

Filed under: Outdoor Issues

Boat hits island, fisherman severely injured

A Global Positioning Satellite can't detect everything, a boater in St. Louis County found out Thursday night.

Last update: May 18, 2007 – 8:51 AM

A Global Positioning Satellite can't detect everything, a boater in St. Louis County found out Thursday night.

Joseph F. Batkiewicz was returning to his campsite around 11 p.m. after fishing on Namakan Lake on the Canadian border in St. Louis County, Minn. He was using his GPS, but the device did not locate a small un-named island. Batkiewicz found the island when he ran his boat into it.

Batkiewicz, 41, of Monticello, suffered severe facial injuries from hitting the windshield, the St. Louis County Sheriff said.

Witnesses directed the Crane Lake First Responders to the scene.

The responders transported Batkiewicz by boat to shore where an ambulance took him to Cook, Minn. Hospital. He was later airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth.

Batkiewicz was in good condition Friday morning, a hospital spokesman said.

Two other occupants of the boat were not injured, the St. Louis County Sheriff said.

The accident is under investigation.

The Accident on Namakan is a textbook reason why we should not completely rely on the little technology devices on the local lakes. This is an area with changing lake lavels, rocks, islands, and reefs. GPS units are getting cheaper and cheaper, combine that with people who are unfamiliar with the lakes and that is a dangerous combination in remote areas. Mix in other distractions and then you have some beg rescue efforts needed for very remote areas.

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Dockboy,

Good point, I removed my commentary. My appologies for my thoughtless remark. Please everybody the lakes are big and full of unseen items be it uncharted items or floating logs. BE CAREFUL and limit your speed at times of low visability.

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There are times when a GPS has severe accuracy issues. You may think you are on course, but you could be as far as 150 ft off! When this happens, look out! Both my Garmin and also my newer Lowrance H2Oc tell me the current accuracy. By the way, I wish they were better. Many times it's about 30 ft.

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We keep a spotlight in the boat for traveling at night. All those rock markers and channel markers have reflective tape, so they are easy to spot. Couple that with a GPS that shows all the markers, it makes it easier. But believe me it's still a little nerve-racking driving accross that lake at night. Glad to hear this guy and his passengers are o.k.

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