Recent accidents

[boatme]

No need to end the fun just manage it correctly and safley

 

[PARADOX]

Some have hit on one of the major items, the person driving should not be running any harder or faster than the comfort level of his passengers, especially the inexperienced one in the boat. I always run towards the back of the pack in the poker runs just because of the "guy who tripped over a box of money and now I have a fast boat" or the guys who want to race. (Go race then) Some of my friends bust my chops because I don't run as hard.

I have an amazing amount of fun making lots of noise, cruising at 50-60, the girls getting sun (maybe on more areas than they should), and stopping off at a few places. Lifejackets put a big damper on that. I am the first one who would make everyone put them on if there were problems or caught in the rough in a storm or such. Now comes the big problem of people with common sense and how do you enforce that in a run.

I also have a huge problem with people in a poker run putting on a ski vest or even worse the $2.00 orange life preserver that would barely save you falling off a dock. It is a joke! When we raced I got us the real deal with shorts sewn in and the best helmets. But this crap enforced at a poker run is an insult to anyones intelligence. The cheap stuff will only help you find their clothes easier, or maybe just the life preserver.

It always boils down to the guy driving be it you or the guy next to you. You want safety then it means the real deal, jackets with real helmets, lanyards for all, and serious spacing between boats. Then add mandatory safety complete inspections and driver courses.......... who is gonna do that?

Most of all this comes down to speed, water conditions, and the driver doesn't it? Even at 50 you can get pretty hurt, it gets exponential from there.

I sell boats for a living and spend more time that just about any salesman preaching control, learning to dock, trim.... Most people on a sea trial just grab the throttles "to see what she will do". There is no easy answer to this but cheap life preservers is no fix.

Sorry, this just gets me burning

Yuo made some good points.
My hat's of to Lenny, (he's got a Slingshot) and all like him.
Short version: Sarasota run.. seas are nuts. Coming back from lunch.. Stormy weather. He and I running back to the Hyatt. He was ahead,, at times side by side.. seas are gettng worse.. then he slows.. stops.. I turn around and check on him.. He was putting his life lines on and making his passangers do the same. We let the PR bunch go and we both had our PFD's on.. Benig sensible make you more of a man/woman or captain then getting to be first at the dock. The right safety oriented state of mind. :seeya:

 

[Lucididee]

I'm posting here and I have NOT read any post on here in it's entirety. Those that know me know that I have been directly effected with those that have lost their lives. And this is why I am going to post.

There is NOTHING one person can do. Performance boating, whether you want to believe it or not IS an extreme sport, no matter how fast you performance boat goes. As a young child (6 years old to be exact) I was involved in an accident. Small craft adviseries my butt. We speared a wake, took on water, lost all power and every instrument was wipped out on the dash. Thank god for fishermen that saw us. The water ripped me outta my mothers arms (who was preganant with my sister & myself without a life jacket). My parents tell me I was scared & crying the next time I was on the boat. My father made me get on the boat as I was crying about how scared I was, but I learned to get over that fear.

Also remember I was the one that also got on a 46" Skater and went 190mph, and actually said to myself "I could die on the ride if things go wrong." I got on. (We had pfd's & oxigen) But no way would I have survived if something went wrong. I also am not married and do not have any children.

With that said, I believe that's it's our thought process that needs to change more than anything. Everytime I get on a boat, no matter what speed the boat is capable of, I do say to myself that it could be my last ride and maybe that's where I'm different, I accept that it could also be my last. Ok, that's all I'm gonna say on this topic, and I probably will not come back and reply to any quotes. But just do me a favor, before we think that we can change the world, just everyone take a look at themselves and look at what you do when you go boating. Just think before you do something.

 

[boatme]

Interesting, a post and run. I hated it when my ex wife would say to me "let me tell you this and I don’t want you to respond when I am done "
It is kind of like saying Here is how I feel and I don’t want to hear how anyone else feels
I didn’t bother to hear what you had to say but here is my opinion anyway then I am leaving hmmmmm Well I am going to respond

Here is the bigger problem although i agree with everything Lucididi said but reality is a lot different. The next problem is family and friends

I am sure that the guys that died at SOTW were well aware of what they were getting into

One of the two men in particular, in my opinion had total understanding of what he was getting into as He signed a waver, he had been at the event 3 years running as a participant, he owned his own offshore boat. But as soon as he died his family started there lawsuit with a 10 million dollar demand

We all need to be responsible for our decisions that is absolutely true , the problem is some ambulance chasing attorney will convince the family that to get closure they need to get MONEY

It is all well and good to say we are responsible for ourselves but when we go to the big lake in the sky there will be someone placing blame. The more opportunity you give a lawyer the more they will jump on it

In deposition for the accident at SOTW we were asked how fast the boats were going in our logo The attorney was trying to prove we were encouraging racing since or logo had two boats side by side with water spraying

Don’t kid yourself, you may feel you are responsible for your self but if there is money to be made on your demise someone will try to get it, and the more ammunition they have, the more likely they will win some big money. To me it demeans someone’s death. not provides closure

The answer is to protect your self from lawsuits. The enemy is the attorneys! We need legal reform, and is one reason I will never vote for any politician that is a lawyer. As long as we do vote for attorneys into office we will never get the legal system changed. They aren’t going to work against there buddies or the profession that they will go back to after they are out of office

 

[ChiefApache]

My wife was actualy in the front seat of your boat when Scott P owned it and ran it in SOTW (The Video i posted)

I watched this again yesterday! We absolutely love the boat. She just performs in a way we never thought possible. I hope we can get some video of us in her one day in some decent water in Lake Erie.

 

[FULL FORCE]

I watched this again yesterday! We absolutely love the boat. She just performs in a way we never thought possible. I hope we can get some video of us in her one day in some decent water in Lake Erie.

You mean better then the video I have of it in 6" ripple?

 

[ChiefApache]

You mean better then the video I have of it in 6" ripple?

This one:

http://media.putfile.com/SABER---2006-SOTW-Poker-Run-60

Sorry for the hi-jack....back to topic.....

 

[FULL FORCE]

This one:

http://media.putfile.com/SABER---2006-SOTW-Poker-Run-60

Sorry for the hi-jack....back to topic.....

yes...lets take her out today!

HJ over....

 

[Lucididee]

Interesting, a post and run. I hated it when my ex wife would say to me "let me tell you this and I don’t want you to respond when I am done "
It is kind of like saying Here is how I feel and I don’t want to hear how anyone else feels
I didn’t bother to hear what you had to say but here is my opinion anyway then I am leaving hmmmmm Well I am going to respond

Here is the bigger problem although i agree with everything Lucididi said but reality is a lot different. The next problem is family and friends

I am sure that the guys that died at SOTW were well aware of what they were getting into

One of the two men in particular, in my opinion had total understanding of what he was getting into as He signed a waver, he had been at the event 3 years running as a participant, he owned his own offshore boat. But as soon as he died his family started there lawsuit with a 10 million dollar demand

We all need to be responsible for our decisions that is absolutely true , the problem is some ambulance chasing attorney will convince the family that to get closure they need to get MONEY

It is all well and good to say we are responsible for ourselves but when we go to the big lake in the sky there will be someone placing blame. The more opportunity you give a lawyer the more they will jump on it

In deposition for the accident at SOTW we were asked how fast the boats were going in our logo The attorney was trying to prove we were encouraging racing since or logo had two boats side by side with water spraying

Don’t kid yourself, you may feel you are responsible for your self but if there is money to be made on your demise someone will try to get it, and the more ammunition they have, the more likely they will win some big money. To me it demeans someone’s death. not provides closure

The answer is to protect your self from lawsuits. The enemy is the attorneys! We need legal reform, and is one reason I will never vote for any politician that is a lawyer. As long as we do vote for attorneys into office we will never get the legal system changed. They aren’t going to work against there buddies or the profession that they will go back to after they are out of office

You suckered me in ......... But I guess that's why she's you ex, you didn't listen to what I said entirely-- just kidding. Plus, I alos have a habit of not going back to posts to see if I've been quoted on anything. I wanted to post something but I didn't want it to turn into a pissing match. I've been around high-persormance all my life. It's the only boating I know. I was not even a year old when I went for my 1st ride on a high-perf boat.
I was very good friends with Pat Reiter and am good friends with Bobby Baumgarten (accident in MD involving 2 experienced racers sea trialing their boat), I only knew Phil DeJana & Kevin Graff from seeing them at the race site (accident in Patchogue, AeroExpress), I traveled in the same circle with Bruce Grimminger (Kyptonite accident at the Hot Toddy run), I saw my friends in Papa Dukes, Jersey Boyz, DockBlood and Extractor get toosed outta their boats, my friend Billy hit a wave wrong crossing the ocean in his 27 Velocity and near knocked his brother unconscious. Not one of the above stories has involved any ambluance chasers and all involved are experieced boaters.

I had friend that went on the CT Fun Run about 2 weeks ago, and all of them very experienced boats, but that did not stop me from worring all day that everyone that left the dock would make it back to the dock. And thank god, they all did. I also watched somewho who is close to me get in Miss Geico and run over 170 MPH, and was just happy he made it back. That's also not to say that I would not have jusmped in the boat if i was offered and ride, cause I would have. But I know that there is only 2 outcomes when it comes to the end of the ride.

I don't take any political sides. I do agree with you that $ does not equal closure. I still say ignorance is the biggest issue. And also that the people that do not have have any knowledge of the sport is the worst ones of the bunch. Some people get in a boat and think it can never happen to them, they just think is just so cool to get a ride in a speed boat.


PS - Never call me a post and run again. Cause when we meet face to face, this conversation will continue, and then you'll understand why I posted the way I did. After all these years on these forums, you should know me better by now.

 

[boatme]

I called you a” post and run” because that is what you said you were going to do. You sad “I probably will not come back and reply to any quotes" this after you posted. I kind of think that is a post and run but we will have to agree to disagree
I have been as close, and as affected as you to deaths and accidents on the water and for you to state "I'm posting here and I have NOT read any post on here in its entirety” makes me wonder how you can respond without reading what is written

I have lost many friends and racers in the past many years and I don’t want to see it happen again thus the reason for my many posts on this subject lately
Not the least is the recent death of friend Kevin Sellers at the Cumberland poker run And racer Randy Linebach A few years ago


I have been in a number of boats running well over 100 Mph and have many friends that own them. I have owned many offshore boats myself and I was thrown out of a boat many years ago at a high rate of speed I know what that is like as well

I have been a poker run promoter, and a race promoter, so I figure I have plenty of insight on this

Do a search on me and you will see my background I have been involved in offshore boating in some way since back in the 80’s

I also have been sued after a boat went over and two men died at our poker run SOTW (gives me a better prospective than most)

If you want to post your feelings then great start a thread and make your position known.
But responding to a thread without reading it to know what it is about fully, then saying you won’t hear any other ones response to your post seems unreasonable and irresponsible

I am sure we will meet at some point, and I am happy to here what you have to say, but I suggest you read before you respond, or start a thread of your own if you care to pontificate from a point of view non responsive to another persons statements

Best of luck and have a great day

 

[phragle]

I have met booth of you... your hearts are in the right place... nuff said.