Colorado River Tragedy

[AlastairLC]

The body of one of four people missing since Saturday when two boats crashed head-on and sank in the Colorado River was pulled from the water Monday as the search for the others continued, the sheriff’s office in Mohave County, Ariz., said.
The boats hit head-on while traveling about 50 mph, according to an emergency dispatcher whose report was broadcast on local TV stations.

Anita Mortensen, a sheriff’s spokeswoman, said Monday that investigators had not determined what role speed might have played in the accident.

She had been missing since about 8 p.m. Saturday when a northbound Hallet boat carrying 10 people collided with a southbound Sleekcraft with six aboard, officials said. The crash occurred on the California-Arizona border north of Lake Havasu. The river was jammed with Labor Day weekend visitors at the time of the crash. Those aboard the boats were friends and family, some from outside the area. No one wore a life jacket.

All 16 were thrown into the fast-moving river as the two boats sank. Several people were pulled from the water by other boaters. One critically injured woman was airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital, officials said, and nine others went by ambulance to area hospitals.

 

[justsomeguy]

Colregs...


Sorry.

 

[The Shadow Knows]

It's VERY evident what role both SPEED boats played.
And, what's up with none having lights on?

Yea, so you wanna hit 50 MPH that's fine but, in a narrow river packed with boats...WTF?
When all the details are made public, you can bet ALCOHOL/DRUGS played a major part.

Aside from this tragedy, how about the kayaking family of 5 on Lake Superior?

http://www.startribune.com/after-family-tragedy-on-lake-superior-a-plea-for-kayak-safety/492265351/

The mother survived, but not so for her 3 children & husband.
Why would a children-packed kayaker wanna travel that far off shore to begin with?
They had PFD's but, nothing for hypothermia.

STUPIDITY IS......WHAT STUPIDY DOES.

This is just soo sad........

 

[AlastairLC]

A woman from Visalia, Calif., is confirmed dead, and three people are still missing after a head-on boat crash that happened near the California-Arizona border Saturday night.

The Mohave County Sheriff's Office found the body of Chrisi Lewis Monday morning.

The missing include Raegan Heitzig, Kirra Drury, and Brian Grabowski.

(Left) Christine Lewis, 51 from Visalia (Right) Brian Grabowski and his wife.

 

[kloudie1]

Some states have requirements now for a few classes in regulations and basic things to consider while boating.. Here in Louisiana, we have a requirement but it applies to folks born after Jan 1 '84 .. so as the population transitions, most folks will have at least been exposed to Colregs and boating law.. I think it has made a positive change but we still have a cultural problem with "impairment"..

 

[rgranger]

Some states have requirements now for a few classes in regulations and basic things to consider while boating.. Here in Louisiana, we have a requirement but it applies to folks born after Jan 1 '84 .. so as the population transitions, most folks will have at least been exposed to Colregs and boating law.. I think it has made a positive change but we still have a cultural problem with "impairment"..

Virginia is similar. We did not have a grandfather clause but rather the regulations caught up with different folk by age. They caught up with me three years ago and I now am a proud card carrying safe-boater-course graduate. I agree with you. I think the change has been very positive. We used to have two or three deaths in Smith Mountain Lake each year. It has been much safer since.

 

[Parsons]

I have no idea (other than these news reports) what actually happened out there on the river, so I'll preface my comments that like those before me, this is all speculation of the worst sort. We've all navigated around boats whose captain's idea of rules-of-the-road is the same as the mall parking lot - make eye contact and wave at each other. This works at five knots in lining up for the launch ramp, but is not good enough for 45 knots at twilight. I've taken a couple US Power Squadron courses and learned: (1) classes are terribly under-attended compared to the enormous boating population and (2) new power boaters know NOTHING about boating, even those motivated enough to come to a USPS class. In the US, power boat seamanship is "taught" by fathers or by boat dealers, the same way as you learned to operate a lawnmower. I'm surprised more of these accidents don't occur in crowded areas such as fireworks shows or busy lakes. I hate to make an argument for more regulation or lawsuits , but I'm for state licensing and suing negligent captains.

 

[walt]

The Colorado river near Park Moabi (where the accident happened) is about 500 foot wide and most of the river has no restrictions on speed either day or night (911 calls shorty after 8 PM, sunset is about 7 PM now). They dont like no stinking rules in that area so its just one of those things where you shake your head.. I think those boats could have been legally doing over 100 mph even after dark.. I spend the winter not far from there and think the poor decision making started just being out on that portion of the river after dark on Labor day weekend. Population density meets no rules..

 

[Jacktar]

Darwin strikes again, 50 mph after dark in boat on waterway only 500 feet wide. Duh.

 

[sailinmikenaz]

I encountered 2 separate nut cases this weekend on Lake Pleasant here near Phoenix Arizona. 1st one was a boat with one of those giant LED light bars blinding everyone for about a mile ahead. Shortly thereafter I saw a shadow approaching coming down the main lake and it was a ski boat doing about 45 with no lights on at all.

 

[AlastairLC]

That’s why I don’t go near Lake Pleasant on weekends.

 

[AlastairLC]

The crime scene:

Not much room to maneuver there!

 

[LeeandRick]

The Feds have been trying to make that section of river idle speed only, like it is under the bridges just down river, for years. Maybe a little more ammunition for them, but then again 40,000 people get killed on highways most years and not much changes.
Sailing season starts in another month, around here, when most of the noisy speed boats get stored.

 

[Will Gilmore]

The Colorado river near Park Moabi (where the accident happened) is about 500 foot wide and most of the river has no restrictions on speed either day or night (911 calls shorty after 8 PM, sunset is about 7 PM now). They dont like no stinking rules in that area so its just one of those things where you shake your head.. I think those boats could have been legally doing over 100 mph even after dark.. I spend the winter not far from there and think the poor decision making started just being out on that portion of the river after dark on Labor day weekend. Population density meets no rules..

Is there anywhere that has posted speed limits on the water, other than 'no wake' and 'under 10 mph'? I've never seen a 30 mph sign, for instance.
This is a terrible tragedy made even more tragic by the inclusion of passengers who did not make bad decisions other than getting in the boat.
I can't imagine what goes through a captain's mind, experienced with boating or not, when they push such obvious limits. I suspect Shadow is right. Some form of chemical impairment was involved. On the other hand, just showing off for a group of boisterous friends can be more than enough impairment to good judgment.

My heart goes out the the family and friends of the missing.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[JimInPB]

I don't know if it is still true or not, but when I lived in AZ, I was surprised to find that it was the state with the highest per capita boat ownership in the US. I found this particularly surprising, since much of AZ is desert. There are many boats there & little space to use them. Most boats in that state sit on a trailer, not getting used, more than 360 days per year. Add this little snippet of information to Lake Havasu's reputation as a party town & top it all off with a holiday weekend... The overview of what probably happened is not too hard to imagine.

 

[walt]

The accident occurred was just North of I40 where there is a popular boating park (power boat.. no sailboats). Lake Havasu is South of there and in between is Topock Canyon. Some areas inside the canyon are in a wildlife refuge and there is some sort of speed limit. The canyon is an attraction for power boats but its more of a scenic attraction. During the winter there is still some boat traffic but it is way quieter. Here is a video that is a little long but its a couple Hobie Islands going from Topock to Lake Havasu marina through the canyon - also gives you an idea how busy the lake is off season

Havasu is a horrible place.. dont even think about moving there and if you have a power boat, your probably even going to die if you come there (we like it just as it is). I almost hate to post this because I hate to see it change.. but during the winter, what describes Havasu better is "summer camp for seniors". The lake changes in the winter to a way more quiet snowbird refuge and the lake is big, interesting, very scenic with pleasant temps. The ramps are all set up for power boats so its hard to launch anything with much of a keel so all the sailboats tend to be seasonal and trailerable.

Im actually thankful the lake has the bad reputation it does and that the town really is unbearably hot in the summer (REALLY) because it would be 10X the size if it had a nice year around climate.

But.. starting weekends in March, it can be a horrible place. Drunk very large and super noisy power boats running even at night.. The major holiday weekends like Labor day.. definitely stay away.

And.. LeeandRick, Im also looking forward to the winter sailing season..

 

[DayDreamer41]

Here’s a quick look at the top 20 states (2016) and the total number of boats registered in each:

• 1. California 1,051,606
• 2. Michigan 1,000,337
• 3. Florida 922,597
• 4. Minnesota 834,974
• 5. Wisconsin 650,280
• 6. Texas 624,390
• 7. New York 529,732
• 8. Ohio 413,276
• 9. Illinois 398,431
• 10. South Carolina 383,971
• 11. Pennsylvania 357,729
• 12. North Carolina 353,625
• 13. Louisiana 327,272
• 14. Missouri 325,717
• 15. Georgia 325,135
• 16. Washington 266,717
• 17. Alabama 264,191
• 18. Tennessee 259,235
• 19. Virginia 243,590
• 20. Mississippi 199,037

 

[Ron20324]

Hey, wait a minute... Annapolis is proclaimed "The Sailing Capital".
Maybe that's because we don't have all those dang boats

 

[Jackdaw]

I don't know if it is still true or not, but when I lived in AZ, I was surprised to find that it was the state with the highest per capita boat ownership in the US. I found this particularly surprising, since much of AZ is desert. There are many boats there & little space to use them. Most boats in that state sit on a trailer, not getting used, more than 360 days per year. Add this little snippet of information to Lake Havasu's reputation as a party town & top it all off with a holiday weekend... The overview of what probably happened is not too hard to imagine.

You're right, its an internet fallacy that has been perpetuated by travel and real estate interests than profit from people believing it.

https://www.tripsavvy.com/arizona-boats-per-capita-2682271

Add to the mix of occasional/lacking boating skills, hot sun, cold beer and your got a dangerous recipe.

 

[Jackdaw]

I'm assuming that the combination of federal and several states with 'oversight' interests make creating set of enforceable boating regs a nightmare. On Lake Minnetonka (which gets CRAZY on the summer weekends) the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District has total control of the regulations that govern the lakes use. Including sensible day and nighttime speed limits.