Fatal boat crash

[JBS]

What Bobby M said is what I've been hearing too around the boating family in Savannah. The Bay boat(22Epic copy) was a Freedom Boat club boat with 6 people aboard heading south on the ICW for the Blessing of the Fleet festival. Supposedly,there was a Kayak in the middle of the river. The 6 passenger boat swerved to miss him and that's what he collieded with the 3 Person boat,a Contender. The person operating the Contender was an experienced boater and served in the Coast Guard. He was taken in for a toxoligy test and it come back 0.0
End result was 5 people died. This investigation will take weeks to figure out . I'll keep y'all updated and be safe out there.

[WaterZebra]

What Bobby M said is what I've been hearing too around the boating family in Savannah. The Bay boat(22Epic copy) was a Freedom Boat club boat with 6 people aboard heading south on the ICW for the Blessing of the Fleet supposedly,there was a Kayak in the middle of the river. The 6 passenger boat swerved to miss him and that's what he collieded with the 3 Person boat,a Contender. The person operating the Contender was an experienced boater and served in the Coast Guard. He was taken in for a toxoligy test and it come back 0.0
End result was 5 people died. This investigation will take weeks to figure out . I'll keep y'all updated and be safe out there.

Kayaks..............too many of them.........anybody can get in one without any training in navigational rules..........worse yet, they assume they ALWAYS have the right-of-way. They have absolutely no freeboard to be seen. If I were running things and regs: ALL kayaks would at least be equipped with battery powered safety strobes attached to the occupant's life vest (if they are smart enuf to wear one?!) Can't tell you how many times I've waved a paddle at boaters who were coming in my direction because they just flat couldn't see me! All my kayaks have floatation vests with Coast Guard approved safety strobes attached to the collar.

[WaterZebra]

What a great procedure! Law enforcement should do this after the SeaFair event in Seattle WA every summer.

[Instigator]

When we lived in Fla, and regularly boated on the ICW, kayaks were becoming more and more common and we were seeing them all the time.

Theyd be half way across the river, acting like they were a 35’ boat w/right-away!

Id slow down to tell them they were about to die…, but they’d wave us off…., because there smarter than we are!

Manatee zones everywhere!

[powerabout]

What rules govern kayaks, none that I can see
They dont exist under the colregs

[doug7488]

EXACTLY!
Almost ran these morons over twice!
Paddling around like retards after dusk in the middle of the bay
No running lights, no flag , nothing
Im surprised there hasn’t been an accident yet
LGB!

[Instigator]

And they’re arrogant like prius drivers, that think we should all follow their life styles!

[JBS]

Boating in congested areas........... I'm sure most of us have been there. We have to share the water with kayaks,sail boats,and jet skis. Alot of the operators have little or no experience. That's kinda the type area where this tragic accident happened. There is three luxury marinas and a public boat ramp in close proximity to the accident.Also,, there is long no wake zone there too. The accident happened clear of the wake zone.On weekends that area can be a real **** show . I stay away from that area and try to boat during the week and go early or go late.

[moatorbotin]

kayaks really should use a flag like a dune flag on your quad

[WaterZebra]

kayaks really should use a flag like a dune flag on your quad

Yep...........flag and a strobe

[WaterZebra]

Arrogant and stupid enough (as a group) to plunge over a dam in Virginia!

[rgsauger]

Arrogant and stupid enough (as a group) to plunge over a dam in Virginia!

Huh?..

[Baker343]

In my 40 plus years of operating a power boat I must have had luck on my side to avoid groups people float down the river on tubes and stuff, family's floating in their boats with people jumping out, fallen jet ski's riders and their ski's and yes kayaks.
Thoughts and prayers to the lost family members.

[bobby minis]

A little more info dribbles out. According to the local fish wrapper the family in the Rent A Boat had moved to the area about 6 months ago. Motorboatn didn't mean for it to be bold statement just a little local knowledge goes a long way in understanding which way the wind blows.

[rgsauger]

So for what it is worth, it appears that the operator of the boat who hit and killed the family was drunk and operating his boat on the wrong side of the channel. He has 10 accounts of homicide against him. The details are now starting to come out. Article below. Makes me sick. So preventable and such a tragedy that will affect that family tree forever.

https://www.savannahnow.com/story/ne...h/10349828002/