St. Clair claims another victim

[ESOX]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9922315&BRD=988&PAG=461&dept_id=141265&rfi=6

Whats that make, three dead on the lake this month?:mad:

[AL D.]

ESOX, just goes to show you people need to STOP drinking and going fast on the water at 12:15 in the morning. There are too many yahoos out there that put ALL of us fishermen in danger, even during daylight hours. Save the drinking for back on the dock. Just my .02~~;) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~><> AL

[Thunderhead]

" 12:20 am The boat went underneath the dock and came to rest approximately 100 feet on the other side of the dock, shearing off the top portion of the watercraft,"

Sounds to me like they were cayying the mail. Stupidity, plain and simple.

I came off the lake last night bout 10:30, couldn't see 40 yards in front of me and was going about 4 mph.
Why anybody would go fast enough to shear the top of the boat off then continue another 100 feet in the middle of the night is beyond me .................

[ESOX]

They were close enough to shore to be in the no wake zone too.
They havent determined weather or not alcohol was a factor, but youthful bravado certainly had something to do with it. Give a guy in his immortal years (late teens/ early 20's) a fast boat and they will outdrive how far they can see almost every time.

[Thunderhead]

Well, at least they wacked themselves instead of you or me doing a little night fishing.

Tho............last night I did see a guy running planner boards with his lights off, then when he heard a boat comming he'd hurry up and turn them on, once the boat passed, off they'd go again. Not sure why he was doing this, but that wasn't too cool either.

[ESOX]

He was afraid of scaring the fish with his lights???
What a moron.

[Thunderhead]

I have no idea..........he had little white lights on his 2 boards, so those were visible, but he was running in the dark.

We were just drifting a crawler and catching fish with our lights on, didn't seem to bother at all.

EXCEPT, .......all at once when we both casting at the same time, about 10 bats swooped at the boat RIGHT over our heads.
Just about crapped my pants. :)

[Jimbos]

Dumb *******, reminds me of the one on the canal in Grosse Ile a few years back. Dude rips up a canal at night and takes his head right off on a low bridge. DA!!!!!!

[Brian S]

"St Clair claims another victim"???

Granted, the details aren't in, but this thread should be titled "Stupidity claims another victim"

Thank God no inoccent by-standers were hurt.

[WALLEYE MIKE]

Darwinism at work!!! Feel bad for the family but not for idiots.

[scale]

Yep, These guys hammerred a new dock which has only been there about two weeks. It is kind of sad though, The guy driving was trying to flee the scene (Get his boat back into the North Channel). He was totally tramatized, and refused help at first. He was the only coherent one.

This happened next door to my cousins house.

[treeman]

The tragic part of these accidents is that they are avoidable with only a little common sense. I have a difficult time having sympathy for these people because these incidents are self-inflicted. I have little tolerance for those that put others at risk due to wrecklessness, stupidiy, carelessness, and drunkeness.
The good news is that these were single boat accidents that did not cause loss of life or injury to those of us that act responsibly on the water. These people are no longer a threat to you, me, or our loved ones. I feel a little safer tonite.

[scale]

I'm with you on this one, I guess most of my sympathy goes out to the guys on the H.I. volunteer fire department. They had to clean up that mess. It really affects the people who live in the area, and especially those who will be reminded of the senselessness everytime they look at that dock.

Anyway I hooked into a few Walleyes right in front of the dock these dudes hit last Saturday.

Great spot to chug. (No pun intended)

[PencilPlugger]

I feel sorry for whoever owns the dock, they'll probably get sued.

[Jumbo]

Speed Kill's, Slow down, take time to smell the air, this is one reason why eye don't fish at night anymore, R I P

[Zofchak]

I dont know why you guys are being so hard on the guy. I dont know the details, but if the dock was new he might just not have seen it. Some of those docks stick out quite a ways from shore. He may have been somewhat familiar with the area and figured he could cruise thru at higher speeds. It does not take much speed on the water to do some serious damage to the top of a boat. I think we should wait to hear all the details before we pass judgement.

[Thunderhead]

It's 12:30 at night. I believe he was in a no wake area, and he hit it hard enough to shear the top of the boat off and still travel 100 ft. past it.

I'd say he was going too fast and careless to say the least.

I know the lake I fish intimately.
You never know who's in front of you with their lights off, like I stated earlier in this thread.

Car or boat, you have to keep your poop in a group at all times, no matter how familiar you are with the lake or road.
He's just damn lucky nobody was on the dock at the time and another life was lost.

[ESOX]

Originally posted by Thunderhead
It's 12:30 at night. I believe he was in a no wake area, and he hit it hard enough to shear the top of the boat off and still travel 100 ft. past it.

.

That close to shore is ALL no wake.

[scale]

I hate to say it, but there is at least one case a summer of someone running aground there. If dock had been there through the years, this would be a common story. With the low water, you can walk all the way to channel bank which is at least 100 yards from shore, and never be in more than knee deep. That is why the home owner put in such a long dock. He rents the property out, and has had trouble renting because its to shallow for clients to dock thier boats on his old dock.

He is a lawyer so I would assumue he did his homework on the legalities of what he had built. Can anyone comment on the liabilities involved? I ask because my cousin was thinking of building a dock for the same reasons next spring.

Thanks

[ESOX]

I'm fairly certain you need a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to build and dock into the water or dredge etc. anywhere on the Great Lakes and connecting waters. They would be happy to make you well aware of the rest of the requirements as far as lighting etc. goes....

[cointoss]

Often at night I hear the "go-fast" boats barreling by in the South Channel off H.I., I often wonder what you can see without a spot light and all the backcast lights from shore make it a very hard river to run at night. I feel for the familys of the boaters and I know the H.I. resue as well and I am sure it wasn't pleaseant for them either. People really have to start looking at their actions and be responsible for them.

[ESOX]

It can be scary out there at night. I always keep a Maglight in my pocket, and a 1.5 million candlepower spotlight on the dash to warn off the speed demons. Usually all you have to do is shine it in the water between you and them, but I have had to light up a cockpit a few times. I only do that as a last resort, since the guy will be blind for a few minutes afterwards.

[scale]

Good call Esox. We're going to do a little sturgeon fishing tonight, and I will be armed with my spotlight as well. All this has me a bit concerned about anchoring out in the channel.

[Reeltime]

Good idea on the the handle held lights. It is not just the go fast boats, I have been out and had a few cruisers that didn't seem to be able to see all that well in the dark. I think depth perception is very hard for most people on the water at night.

[JasonG]

I live on the north channel and sleep up stairs with the windows open. All night you can hear boat moving at a good clip on the water. I think that we are blessed with water ways that are so wide open and spacious that people get a false sense of security. I too would be a little nervous about anchoring out in the channel, just make sure you have a spot light to warn people or you can get moving quick.