Memorial Day Accident

Only 24 hours into memorial day weekend and we've already seen our first accident. Another indication of why drinking and boating don't mix!

How did that happen? Did he forget to stop?

Why is that numbskull sitting in the open bow? That's a terrible way to treat a perfectly good Sanger.

I bet that dude in the bow was in the boat when it wrecked and he's still too drunk to get out. Where was this?

What a bunch of dumba$$'s. lol.

Mark, just in case you're not a dumbass, it's "dumbasses."

I blame it on the slanted sunpad. Stupid Sangers.

B-

hmm looks like a doubleup sticker on a sanger..must be cali or WA ,Figures !

HAHAHAHA!!!!

Honestly I have never seen such stupidity in all my life. Good thing the cops were incompetent and didn't take Blood Alcohol readings from the driver or he'd be in jail. His story is that he was putting along and the dock came at him at 35 miles per hour. Even his keen boat driving skills were useless to avoid it. Freakin' moron.

Driver of boat,please suicide self.Thank you.

Wow...and they call ME and ass...

Wood stringer.

Hopefully he has insurance.

wow, things like this is making people to want to get out of boating. Why cant people just wait until they are in for the day to drink? It might be fun for a while, but in the end the result usually isnt good like this one

Because I was BBQ'n and saw this moron do this I'm going to chime in again. Here is the formula:

Moron + Excessive Booze + ITS' 8:00 p.m and DARK + 30 mph = Boat on DOCK

Nice work dip$hit.

~Out

I can't believe they didn't give him a drunk test.

Joe,are you refering to me?

(Honestly I have never seen such stupidity in all my life. Good thing the cops were incompetent and didn't take Blood Alcohol readings from the driver or he'd be in jail.)

Good thing they did'nt give him a test? What are you thinking? I would hope like hell they would give him a test, and dump his dumb a$$ in jail, if either he was drunk, or driving like an idiot (which obviously, he was). He could be the one who takes you or your kid out!
I hope the cops hammered his butt! I do not know the final outcome, or that they were incopetent, and did not test him. I hoe they did, for everyone's sake.

Buzz - I believe Holby was being facetious in his statement "Good thing the cops were incompetent and didn't take Blood Alcohol".... Yes, indeed the Police should have tested for alcohol and many of the Lagoon's residents are upset that they did NOT!


So here's the scoop.

This happened on the local lagoon, where after dusk the speed limit is 5 mph. The dock/barge (we'll just refer to it as the "barge") these gentleman ran into is actually used by the home owner's association to do work under the over-hangs of the homes on the water. This barge has a 5 hp trolling motor so it can be motored around.

The driver of the barge waited to move the barge until 8:30 p.m. because the lagoon was busy due to the long weekend. At the time of the accident the barge driver was circling around about 50 feet from the homes to bring it back to the dock.

The barge driver saw the boat coming his way and proceeded to waive his arms while holding a light and yelling. At the time of impact the boat (pictured above) had about 9 people aboard, the stereo turned up, and they were at full plane (we estimate about 35 mph)

To give you an idea of the force of the impact. The barge is constructed with 2x8's and 3/4 inch plywood. The skegs of the boat cut into the barge a total of 2 sheets of plywood (or 8 feet) and also ran right over the trolling motor. The whole weight of the boat and it's occupants were support by the barge to the point where only the rudder and prop were in the water.

Anyway, the barge driver had to jump off at the last minute and swam to shore (which was only 50 feet away). The boaters tried a few time to reverse off of the barge, but were not successful. Our crew offered the boaters to tie up at our dock to make sure everyone was OK, but they insistently refused and motored back to their house. Luckily no one was killed or hurt!!!!

To add insult to injury, these were the same boaters that were flying through a 5 mph / no wake zone at 30+ mph earlier that day.

So the Harbor Patrol had been closed for about 3 hours now and the local Police responded to the call. The thing that we don't understand is that when the police arrived at the boater's home he had already taken a shower and changed clothes. Hmmmmmm….? The fact that the boat driver was clearly breaking the law by driving 35 mph at night and after hitting another object should have been enough to warrant an alcohol test.

3 people died at berryessa jumping off the rock this weekend. Talked to med flight when they flew in.

Died from impact of hitting the water? Died from drowning because they were drinking?

More details please. Thx!

Here is an article about it. This one claims that one life was lost.

Has anyone jumped off the rock (by the waterfall) at Don Pedro? I haven't seen the rock at Berryessa but I'm curious to know if it's like the rock at Don Pedro. Anyone know?

http://www.napanews.com/templates/index.cfm?template=story_full&id=F69D040C-7D35-4F42-91A7-329094851AC2

Yeah Mike, let's get the story on that. How do three people all die by jumping off the same rock?

On the boat wreck; Most importantly, no one was injured or killed. Looks like the guy should get himself a rubber raft with oars and practice in his bathtub.

1 of them actually hit the rock when jumping. The other 2 went in like a pencil and got their feet stuck in the mud. The guy in the chopper said they hit with such force that the their feet were suctioned and they drowned.

I was in the cove for about 3 hours and saw probably 30-40 people jump from the rock and didn't think much of it, until med flight flew in.

ahahaha

This is a picture of where the were jumping of the rock at Berryessa this was at around 2pm. The rock is on the right side it's 40-50ft high. There were about 100 boats in the cove when we were there.

Since when does the speed limit at night change and did the barge have an anchor and nav lights on it?? Yes i know he said at the last minute the guy was waving a flashlight and the boat was playing loud music. Loud music did not prevent him from seeing the barge and a flashlight is not a substitute for nav or anchor lights. Now that being said he should not have been drunk and driving either. I really like to know ALL the facts before directing blame.

Bob I think there are some rules for vessels that are under different means of power. For instance canoes and possibly vessels with less than 5hp (trolling motor) can have a flashlight instead of nav lights.

"Since when does the speed limit at night change" -- This is mandated by the rules and regulations governing a specific lake.

I'm not sure about other states, but in CA not all lakes have a 5 MPH nighttime rule.

Im a little confused with the picture and the timeline of the story. In the picture is the boat on the barge or back at their own dock? I thought this happened at 8:30 PM when it is dark but the picture shows it being bright outside like it is early afternoon. When was the picture taken?

Buzz, incase Kung-Fu Wake didn't explain this, I was being sarcastic.

As far as the boating after dark, our particular waterway has a 5 mph max. This may be different on other California waterways I'm not sure.

AP - it was dark and we couldn't take pictures or for that matter find the moron that night so we motored over there in the morning to see the carnage before our first passes.


(Message edited by holbywan on June 02, 2004)

(Message edited by holbywan on June 02, 2004)

AP,
I assume that these pics were taken the next day.

Mike, the story about getting stuck in the mud sounds a little fishy? we used to jump from the rock and never even got close to hitting bottom.
And the water is way up right now too.

A.P. -

In the picture is the boat on the barge or back at their own dock? The boat is stuck on the barge which is parked on the ramp in front of their house. I guess they did this because they though the boat was going to sink..?

I thought this happened at 8:30 PM when it is dark but the picture shows it being bright outside like it is early afternoon. When was the picture taken? The next morning at 8 a.m.

Thanks.

I wasn't doubting the story it's just that it seemed a little odd.

Walt- just going off what med flight told me.

A buddy of mine was at Berryessa yesterday. He and his friends were jumping off the rock when a sheriff boat pulled up. The sheriff was poking the water with a pole and then put on the scuba gear. The deputy dove into the water and returned a minute later with a body. Apparently it is the missing person that jumped off the rock and didn't come up. I heard that this guy jumped off the rock and did a flip but didn't come back up after hitting the water. I assume he broke his neck or knocked himself out and drowned. I'm just guessing that is how he died.

Fish on.

That barge should have a light every 5ft across it and I think it's pretty insane that it doesn't 50ft long?!?!?!?

NOT sure the cops were incompetent- If there's any amount of time and with the change of location (at his house) a breath or blood test wouldn't hold up in court to well. He could argue that he began drinking after the accident and/or that his alcohal level rose above the limit because of the time between the accident and the test. They(cops)should have just beat him.