Best set ever turned deadly!!!

Hey everyone just kinda sharing my night here. I've been messing around with backrolls for a month or 2 and tonight it clicked. I landed 7 put of 8 perfectly. I hit all my tricks perfect only fell once, i was pumped. Near the end all 8 people on board are watching to see if id throw anythign new. In all the distraction over the perfect set, my dad, whos driving, fails to notice a pontoon about a 100 yards away. I point it out but he doesnt see it untill about 50 feet from the boat. We missed that boat by less than 5 feet. I almost •••• myself watching my family and friends cheat death. 5 Years of almost nonstop boatdriving pretty much every day and my dad has never had a problem...sorry for the long post jus kinda venting but I'm sure the guy called the cops. can they do anything? We have way more friends than enemies on the lake since were constantly towing people in but this guy was pissed, and rightly so. Anyone else have confessions?

The best idea is to hunt that guy down and make a personal apology to him. Its far better to find him and make it known that you realised you screwed up, rather than waiting for the law to get involved. Its hard to be angry at someone if they apologize unprompted.

(Message edited by ralph on August 13, 2006)

I said sorry for my dad many times and my dad drove over to him and apologized and all he said was just get off this d@mn lake...which isnt happening since we have a slip there.

Give it 24-48 hours and then take him something as a sign of apology(if you know who he is/where to find him) like a apple pie or something. lol that sounds kind of funny, but you need to show that you are sincerely apologetic (MAKE SURE THE DRIVER OF YOUR BOAT GOES WITH YOU, otherwise this is useless). I think most people would have re-acted the same way within a given amount of time after the incident.

Personally I would say "hello sir, please hear me out for a second before you say anything. I know we probably look like complete morons after what happened (insert date here). I just wanted to come over and show you that we are sincerely apologetic and have learned that no amount of experience can substitute a lack of focus for even a second. I honestly have no real way of expressing how sorry we are about what happened. We are on this lake very often and would never intend to put anyone in danger, or disrupt anyone's day in a negative way. Again, I am very sorry, please take this gift as a sign of my sincere regret for what I have done."

I think well let him settle for a day, hope he doesnt call the po po, then head over to his dock and apologize. Its a very small lake so hopefully he doesnt tell everyone but who knows.

So who was killed?

Yeah what mcfatty said? Where does the deadly part come in?

I think you're lucky no one was killed and the pontoon driver is rightfully upset. I agree to waiting a day or two to let them cool down and then go back over and sincerely apologize, tell them your boating experience but that you realize there was a lack of focus and how glad you are nobody was hurt on either boat. If they contact the police, I'm guessing the most your dad would get is a ticket and a fine. I would just continue to be nice to them regardless how they act toward all of you, even if they do call the police. Just "be the bigger dog." Others on the lake will see your actions and your remorse and it'll pass over time.

No one got killed but had my dad not realized what i was pointing a few people on the pontoon boat wouldve been as well as possibly my friend, mom, and sister in the bow of our boat. If id been thinking I woulda let go of the rope when my dad came to close but my mind went blank.

Nobody on the boat, including the driver, was watching where they were going? The only person watching was the rider (you)? Maybe your dad should re-think his role as a boat driver!

Next time your driver isn't paying attention, throw the handle.

He was watching both, a little glance forward glance back thing. Same thing most drivers out here do. We live on one of the busiest lakes around here and ever since my friend almost lost his leg by his driver not paying attention, my dad has been the best driver out here. He said the excitement of me landing something knew distracted him. Bottom line-we are buying a mirror today.

Personaly, driving without a mirror is simply absurd. Looking back at the rider is not an acceptable driving practice. Good job on getting a mirror, and practice safe driving.

No mirror? I have never heard of a driver watching a rider by turning around.

I see it all the time. It is a very popular, and dangerous method. 99% of the time it is an I/O boat. standing up out of the seat, looking over the shoulder. Have had no less then 5 close calls from people driving this way. Last year, we would have been totally taken out by a lady driving like that. Luckily, her rider fell and she power turned about 15 feet from us.

Greg:

Been there, done that, managed to live to tell about it.

Life is much better now that I have a really nice mirror and Perfect pass. The combination really make a big difference.

I have been driving ski boats for over 30 years, and most of those years were with no mirror. Yeah, the driver can get involved looking back and fail to see what is in front of them. My worst experienece was running aground in a shallow spot that I should have seen if I had been paying attention to what was in front of me.

A good mirror (one that isn't shaking so bad that you can't see anything) is really great! Not only does it save the driver from getting as sore neck but it allows him to keep an eye forward.

Perfect Pass is another great invention that allows the driver to more attention to where he is going. I can manually hold speed well enough, but it does require me to pay close attention to the speedo. With Perfect Pass that is one less thing I have to worry about and I can watch where I am going and the rider.

Oh, and like Matt said: If you see a bad situation ahead, throw the handle away!

You guys are pricks man! He NEVER said they didn't have a mirror. His Dad just made a blunder during all the excitement from the killer run....the only other thing is maybe his choice of the word deadly. I think he was just sharing his story, which is bold considering how many kooks post on here, and maybe after some opinions on how to deal with the pontoon owner next time they see them.....not to throw his Dad under the bus, or have someone make up a "lack of mirror" side to the story!

You guys sound like Napoleon Dynamite telling his Wolverine hunting story!!! Stop drinking Haterade when you're on here dude!

Greg.....SWEEEEEEETTT on your killer set! Congrats for making a BIG jump up the progression ladder.....back rolls are HUGE! Your Dad is probably a great driver so, tell him not to sweat it...the first time my son goes that big, I may run the boat on shore!!!

Give it until next weekend, then cruise over to the pontoon when you see them...apologize again, and offer to go fill their gas tank up. Say....."Hey...just wanted to apologize again....I had this killer trick going and my Dad was stoked watching me and just lost concentration driving. We hope we didn't ruin your day on the water, but if we did....maybe a full tank of gas will give you another great day".
Cheaper than a ticket, and better than having a mad pontoon stinking up your riding spot every weekend!!!

OK....I missed the mirror part. But still, ya'll need to act right!

Ya it's dangerous and stupid not to have a mirror I know that now. Also the standing up watching is 90% looking forward, 10% checking back to see that our spotter hasnt dozed off. I guess the habit started from having my sister not pay attention when shes spotting and my dad would check back every once and a while. How he didn't see the boat is a mystery to me but we got lucky.

Oh ya forgot to mention my dad doesnt look back when pulling tubers during the day, only when pulling me at night with no boats out. And since I know someone will ask, yes we always have a spotter or 2.

UPDATE:

I guess my dad went back to their house at 11 last night because he couldn't sleep. They were alot nicer about it and glad we came and apologized. Aparently their boat had stalled there or else they would've moved it. The reason my dad didn't see them is because I pointed straight ahead of our boat, my mom saw it and thought it was a signal but didn't know which one. She then told my dad I was signaling something and she didn't know what. Naturally my dad turned around to look at me, lost sight of the boat, then realized what I was signalling just in time to cut the engine. Mirror is on order.

Greg...props out to your Dad for sure! A lot can happen at 20+ mph, in a short distance...sounds like you had some mis-communications on the boat. Not even a mirror would help that, but I can see how a boat full of fired up people watching you kill it could cause that. Glad it all worked itself out with the other boat crew.

You just learned 4 valuable lessons:

1: Your dad is human, he makes mistakes once in awhile, but he is also an adult and owns up to his mistakes.

2: A good set of signals is important for rider to boat communication.

3: You can nearly run over people, but if your polite and take responsibility for your mistakes, they might be kind in return.

4: You should throw the handle in situations like this..this one I'm debating, b/c what if your dad turned around more to find out why you chucked the handle?

Rooster.....hit all four nails on the heads!

I'm glad the pontooners were nicer when your dad went back last night. I'm sure it just scared the hell out of them (and you guys)! And ya, props on the trick!

BTW, thanks for calling us "pricks".

He just wanted to share the story and get some advice and you want his dad to:
"re-think his role as a boat driver!"
It was an accident.....so yeah, sounded kinda "prickish" to me dog! You'd kick your Dad off the boat and hurt his feelings for coming close to having an accident?? Nice.

Not calling you a dog bro....like the cool version of dog.....like "Hey dog". Just wanted to clarify!

Greg I am so glad to hear you and your family are fine as well as your neighbors. Your Dad did the right thing.
I will vouge for Greg and his Dad they are good boat people we have had them both on our boat many times.
Just goes to show you a second in time is a lifetime of regret.
ITCH

I have a mirror... but don't use it that often... OOOPS....

Ya went out today saw the people out there and they werent nasty or anything, nice people in the end.

Rick, congrats on tying the knot soon. I saw greg at the backyard jam the other day, said we need to ride soon. Gimme a call sometime I'll be there. (with gas money)

Ya went out today saw the people out there and they werent nasty or anything, nice people in the end.

Despite getting a visitor at 11pm?!

You think they were mad my dad came and apoligized? He was coming to see that everything was alright and explaining himself but I guess you just cant win on this site.

Congrats on ripping out the back rolls! You'll remember that exact spot on the lake/river for the rest of your life.

And, sh*t happens.

I guess we can all take a bit of lesson from this, if your driver is on a collision course, let go of the rope, he'll roll off the throttle and turn around. By no means am I faulting you, Greg. Things happen so quickly at times, and it's easy to assume "the driver will see it" but time and distance keeps fading away. I don't know if I'd have the sense in real-time to let go of the rope.

Yes, there is a lesson to learn here. It would sure suck to accidentally kill a few people. Even with a mirror, we need to remember how things can go very bad very easily (even without drugs and alcohol).

another reason not to powerturn

Or pull a tube!

To the guy that said "It would be cheaper to fill his boat with gas rather that get a ticket". I think you need to think about that one.

OK Kyle....I'll play, 11 days after the thread pretty much died.

WHY...do I need to think about that?

I think it would be way more cheaper to pay the ticket rather that fill his boat. Gas at the marina is 4.20 a gallon.

Fox, Ya need to get off the negative dude, and at least try to see the education of this whole story..Life is short and anything that can be learned should be learned. I agree, DEAD THREAD!!! MOVE ON!! Concrats on the new trick. If it was my son I would be PROUD!!

Kyle.....it was a pontoon. The average size of a pontoon gas tank is around 12 gallons or smaller. Let's only assume that this tank was not empty, seeing as how they were out in the middle of the lake.....but even if it were empty, you're talking $50 max. Here in SC, I don't know the exact $ amount but I'm sure a "reckless operation of a watercraft" fine would be at least $25, not to mention the automatic, no appeal 6 month suspension of your boat registration. I'm also fairly confident that such a charge would result in an increase of your insurance premium as well. So...HOW would all that be cheaper than a tank of gas???

Scott....I defended Greg from the start of this thread because of all the negativity he was getting back from the others. Guys suggested that he toss his Dad under the bus for coming close to having an accident! And you think I am negative??? Whatever bro. I'm only negative towards those who have no TACT with some of their comments regarding situations like these. Sort of like you thinking I am being negative for totally defending Greg and his Dad....TACT...key word of the day...look into it!