Runaway Nautique!

[Beg4wake]

People.....PLEASE be responsible while boating! Such a shame it was a Nautique and even more so that people got hurt. All because of some poor decisions.

[bamaboy92]

http://wfla.com/2017/07/16/video-sev...ut-of-control/

[rbalan]

What's the story behind this?

[rlwagens]

http://wane.com/2017/07/15/boat-circ...-on-lake-gage/

Cliff notes: 20 y/o lost control at WOT while allegedly under influence of alcohol. I've heard on different news reports anywhere from all 10 people ejected from boat at the same time, to 4 people in critical condition, to one person with a skull fracture and another with partial arm amputation. Having witnessed someone almost lose their leg in a boating accident, I know that news reports usually never get the full story.

Regardless, I would be beyond furious if this happened on my lake.

[Sailfun]

Alcohol and boating, always a bad combination!

[DaveNH]

What a horrible tragedy. Angers me to think people are selfish enough and have the bad judgment to get behind the wheel of a high powered boat after drinking. Not sure what else to say. Wish one of the other 9 people had stopped her from driving.

[tlarocque]

Wow, that's just horrible. Not unlike giving your 20 yo the keys to a high powered sports car.. they just don't have the maturity or judgement, especially if drinking or showing off for friends. Sounds like some bad injuries and this girl will carry this with her for the rest of her life. I hope her parents didn't give her the alcohol or they may be on the hook as well.

[TGoss]

Lake Gage is the lake I have been going to since the late 60s. Its a small lake in northern Indiana. We have never experienced anything quite like this. I watched from my deck as the Nautique was spinning in circles for probably 45 minutes. It wasn't a horribly busy day on the water. I didn't see the actual accident ....just people helping while the boat was spinning out of control. We were lucky there wasn't more damaged. From what we are hearing there are two injured..the reports are mixed on the severity of the injuries.

Sad day.

[Nautiquehunter]

Power turning can cause serious damage.

[surroundsound64]

Wow, that's just horrible. Not unlike giving your 20 yo the keys to a high powered sports car.. they just don't have the maturity or judgement, especially if drinking or showing off for friends. Sounds like some bad injuries and this girl will carry this with her for the rest of her life. I hope her parents didn't give her the alcohol or they may be on the hook as well.

Meh. Can't lump all 20 year olds in there.

[tlarocque]

Meh. Can't lump all 20 year olds in there.

Meh... this 20 yo I could have.

[surroundsound64]

He's a fool! No doubt

[Quinner]

She actually and I agree age "should" have nothing to do with it. My kids were all better/safer boat drivers by age 16 then many veteran boat drivers I have known!!

Pretty scary stuff, quite lucky the outcome was not worse, sad story for all involved.

[DaveNH]

My almost 15 year old is a very solid driver, lately is driving both an 18 ft. I/O and my Sport, very different boats and she handles them well. But that's different than a 20 year old that's drinking. I agree it's not as simple as just age though.

On a different, and tragic story - on Newfound Lake in NH this morning a 12 year old girl was killed. She dropped (or fell) while skiing, her dad was driving, he circled back to get her and got distracted by his hat blowing off. He put it in neutral but still momentum took the boat over the girl, and she died as they got her to shore. Mom and 14 year old sibling were in the boat. I can't f'ing even imagine how that family deals with this, makes me sick just reading about it.

[tlarocque]

My almost 15 year old is a very solid driver, lately is driving both an 18 ft. I/O and my Sport, very different boats and she handles them well. But that's different than a 20 year old that's drinking. I agree it's not as simple as just age though.

On a different, and tragic story - on Newfound Lake in NH this morning a 12 year old girl was killed. She dropped (or fell) while skiing, her dad was driving, he circled back to get her and got distracted by his hat blowing off. He put it in neutral but still momentum took the boat over the girl, and she died as they got her to shore. Mom and 14 year old sibling were in the boat. I can't f'ing even imagine how that family deals with this, makes me sick just reading about it.

The story out of NH is devastating. That poor father must be absolutely inconsolable (along with the rest of the family). A truly tragic reminder for all of us who enjoy the lake with our children of the care we need to use on the water at all times.

The NH story sounds like a really horrible accident. The IN incident seems like several layers of poor judgement. I never meant to imply that all 20 yo kids are irresponsible. Obviously that would not be accurate. But I know that my judgement (and a lot of other people I know) is a lot better today (I'm 43) than it was back then and the driver in question there seems like she lacked the skill and judgement to prevent a tragedy. Growing up I knew people who had some close calls and some others that didn't make it out of high school. ETOH was a common theme.