Several Boat Crashes, Sinkings

A burst of warm weather or perhaps one last hurrah had many boaters out on the water this weekend, but blustery winds and other factors changed many people's plans quickly...

The 38-foot "Odes of Joy" sank offshore of Barnegat Light, NJ, after striking the northern jetty 
Thursday. Four people were rescued from the boat. U.S.C.G. Photo.

We have been fortunate not to have had to do a weekend rescue roundup in a while, but this past weekend seems to have been particularly busy on the water. Perhaps boats had been out of commission for too many days in a row of cold and rain, or maybe a few anxious boaters didn't expect the winds that we had here in the northeast and in many other parts of the country. In any event, hopefully by sharing these stories from Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and California, we can help at least one person be a safer boater the next time they head out on the water...

Sport Fishing Boat Sinks
On Sunday, a 40-foot sport fishing boat, named the Samantha Mae, sank off the coast of Salisbury (north of Boston, Mass.) The last of the six passengers were safely rescued, but only about 10 minutes before the boat went completely under. According to the Daily News of Newburyport, the yacht lost power and then drifted until striking the rocks of a jetty.

Tragedy in California Three women were killed and four were injured in a jet ski vs. powerboat accident that occurred Saturday afternoon at Puddingstone Lake in Bonelli Regional Park (San Dimas, California.) Three women aboard the Sea-Doo jet ski were killed; three men and one woman aboard the powerboat were injured but have all been released from the hospital. Witnesses said the boat appeared to strike the jet ski as each were making high-speed turns when they collided, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The reservoir has been shut down while authorities investigate the cause of the accident. Details about this accident were compiled from KTLA-TV, foxnews.com and the Los Angeles Times.

Sailboat Capsizes
Okay, we don't have much information from this 20-second video news report (which follows a 16-second commercial - sorry), but from the picture the sailboat that went over on Lake Menomin in Wisconsin looks like it's about 20' or so...       For basic boating safety information, check out FirstBoat.com as well as the many boating safety articles on the Daily Boater.

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