Lake Lanier (North Georgia) tradgedy (might be Pirates of Lanier Poker Run related?)

[25XS]

A fast catamaran wrecked around 4:15pm today just around the corner from the Pirates of Lanier Poker Run event. The big, fast boats have been arriving for a few days and today is the first day of the three day Poker Run.First reports say four people are missing from the boat and one man was pulled from the water (condition unknown at this time). Corps of Engineers Rangers or the Georgia DNR had towed the boat to shore by the time the news video below was shot.http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/hall-county/dive-teams-search-lake-lanier-near-overturned-boat/402766737( Lots of pics from today on this other S&F thread: http://www.screamandfly.com/showthread.php?318915 )Update: from another site:Complete details are not available at this time but PowerBoat Nation is live at Lake Lanier and confirms a catamaran belonging to Art McMahan was reported overturned. The initial reports are that 4 or 5 occupants were onboard and two bodies have been recovered. The Fire Dive Rescue Team is on scene working the incident. We will provide updates as accurate information becomes available. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their family and friends.From a friend who was there, Art and his wife, and his good buddy Anthony Reese (Saddle Up) and his wife Tammy are all gone

[PARKER RABE]

sounds like 4 people dead. mabye 5........thats so awful.....so awful

[Wildcat700]

That sucks. Gotta think they blew over/rolled or something Assume if they only found 1 person the others probably got knocked out on impact. maybe no vests.

[Baja170]

Very Very Very Sad. No words.

[PARKER RABE]

there using a side scan to scan the bottom for bodies, dont know how deep it is , but a garmin side scan will is a very neat peace of equipment, i use them at work with powerful transducers, i can pick up a beer can at 50 feet ,some times they will lower probes into the water for a wider range, if the bodies are on the bottom they will find them pretty quick.

[Mr. Demeanor]

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/bo...ants/274562698

[Mrzip]

The information i am receiving is Art & his wife. With Another couple on board. None wearing vest.. Sad

[LongShot]

Tragic. It can all happen in the blink of an eye. Kill switches and safety vests folks....Please!

[Scream And Fly]

I was just talking to Jeff. That's horrible . Dave is absolutely right.

Very sad
Greg

[WillySteve]

A very sad situation
Life Jackets Please!!!!

[Mrzip]

My info is telling me that last 2 Male persons were recovered in the AM..

[Mr. Demeanor]

Was this in the actual poker run? Im pretty sure race jackets and no booze are required by most of the run organizers.

You know FL has some crazy laws regarding events and liability (i know this wasnt in FL). Its one of the reasons as a business I wont organize or sponsor. In FL, any sponsor or vendor at an event, race, etc. can be named and held liable in the event of something like this. When two were killed at the Key West offshore race a few years back, every sponsor of the rave was named in the lawsuit. Technically, I think Greg as the S&F owner and even guys like Freeze Frame could be named in a suit at one of our events. Say for instance River Ranch. Greg and Freeze Frame set up a time to take pics every event on Saturday morning. Someone blows their boat over and they could be sued by the family. I hate we live in world like this.

[Mrzip]

No. Poker run was Sat.. Accident was friday around 4 pm. Is my information. If anyone else has anything i am sure they will post.

[transomstand]

Anyone in ANY state is at risk when you organize a gathering, and every tragedy like this just increases the liability exposure both in real court and the court of public opinion.

People dying at these "fun" events is a far too frequent occurrence. While driving high performance boats is incredibly fun and exciting, more people need to realize it's not an amusement ride and swimwear is not appropriate safety gear. This is serious business with serious consequences for mistakes.

[Mrzip]

serious consequences is under statement .