Power boater friend found dead

[higgs]

Officials are speculating that this boat hit something submergered. but the damage suggests to me it hit something very hard at the hull/deck joint. What do you think?
http://www.wkbw.com/news/Womans-Body-Found-on-Boat-Off-of-Olcott-Beach-210384331.html

 

[Rick D]

Sorry....

...for what happened. Your friend obviously hit something very solid.

 

[Roadking Larry]

Either she hit something going pretty fast or something hit her going pretty fast.
Sorry to hear about your friend but have their been any boats reported missing, if she had a collision with another boat it also would have had massive damage.

From the story

it was discovered the vessel had heavy damage on the front bow

I guess that would be as opposed to the "other" bow.

 

[rajhnsn]

I've seen damage like this to a motor boat that hit a navigational buoy at high speed. Occupants of the boat were also killed in that collision.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Wow. Very sorry for your friend Higgs.

By no means am I an accident investigator, but from the looks of that, I can't help but conclude that somewhere, there is another floating entity that suffers from that impact as well. And unless it pitch-poled, it certainly does not look like it was submerged..

 

[tommays]

That was a big collision

Around here the unlit green cans are REALLY hard to spot at night

 

[25yearslater]

Sorry about your friend Higgs. Heard about this at work yesterday. That impact can't be a submerged object. There is no impact damage at the waterline nor the bottom. That was a bow on impact at the shear line. I saw this exact same type of impact on other boats that hit the pier in Rochester. If you are ever in Point Breeze look me up. I'm at the Marine Park dock 19. Sheriffs on one side and Border Patrol on the other.

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Very sorry for your friend Higgs. Having been on board a power boat that hit an unlit buoy at speed at night, I witnessed the same type of damage. So I do not understand the speculations about hitting something submerged. hitting something submerged does damage under the water line, not at the hull/deck joint. My guess would be she hit, or got hit by, another boat and that other boat would have extensive damage as well. Or she hit a navigational aid (spar or marker type as a can would be lower). Again there would be signs of the collision on the spar or marker. Hope the investigation finds out so her family and friends can bring closure to the tragedy.

 

[Ross]

That one quick view of a concrete jetty makes it a good candidate.

 

[Merlin Clark]

Sorry for your loss Higgs.
I'd have to agree that whatever she hit was above the water.

 

[kenn]

That one quick view of a concrete jetty makes it a good candidate.

Many of the harbours (oops harbors) on the south side of Lake Ontario have concrete fingers extending into the lake, at least one (Oak Orchard) also has a breakwater in front of the harbor entrance. And of course red and green buoys indicating the channel.

Unfortunate, and of course, sorry for the loss of your friend.

 

[25yearslater]

I sail out of that harbor kenn and can attest to the breakwall across the channel. In poor visibility or night it would be easy to navigate by the lights on the jetty believing the breakwall further inland with it's marking. I also agree there are an abundant number of private jetties along the shore near Olcott as higgs describes. One of the reasons I head waaay out before going east or west.

 

[Bad Obsession]

That is sad. I am sorry to hear that.

 

[txtowman]

the pic is gone.
So sorry this happened. Hope they find the cause.

 

[anchorclanker]

I got a call last year to look at a 35 foot twin engine I/O boat. The owner had run aground at night, traveling over 100 feet on shore and sheared off both out drives. I ended up waking away from the job for personal reasons, but was also angry. This guy said he went out at night to try and help a buddy who also ran aground. How fast he had to be going at night to run as far ashore as he went is unknown, he wouldnt say, but he was definitely hauling butt.

There is simply no reason to run over 5 knots in the dark. Especially near a shore or harbor, you simply cannot see well enough to avoid all the hazards, and sadly, accidents like this are the result. Even out in open water, floating logs or other water hazards can cause a great deal of damage if you strike them hard enough. At least in daylight you can see and avoid. Hard to see a black floating log at night.