Boat Accident on Falls Lake

[Sam]

My bass club members were complaining about the cost of fuel when towing our boats to our club tournament destinations far, far away from Richmond Virginia.  So what did they decide to do? They voted to not fish Buggs Island and continue down I-85 to Falls Lake outside of Wake Forest, about an additional 60 miles.  Makes sense to me.

 

11 guys pulling six boats traveled past South Hill past Buggs Island and on to Wake Forest on Friday, April 22nd for a two day tournament on Falls Lake, a body of water no one had ever fished before.

 

Saturday, April 22nd had rain and mist on the windy lake at blast off time. One of the six boats had an engine problem so the nonboater changed boats and got set up in a Triton. The guy with the motor problem fished around the ramp on Saturday and came home on Sunday, missing the second day of the tournament. And the guys agreed to fish close to each other in case there was an accident or someone needed help until the rain, wind, and foggy conditions ended around noon.

 

So what happened at blast off? Everyone went their own way as fast as they could. The boat in question (a Triton went right and was about 11 miles from the ramp when the accident occured.

 

Here is the description of what happened from the nonboater:

We left the ramp in the Triton and stayed as close to the ramp as possible but we could not wait to hit the places where we caught bass on the Friday practice day so we took off on our own.

 

About 11 miles down lake we were looking for a creek by a bridge to our right when out of nowhere came a white bass boat that was running to meet us at full speed as we looked for the creek to our right. The white boat did not have his running lights on and was traveling about 30 to 35 miles per hour.

 

He did not see us until he was on top of us as our boater turned the steering wheel as far and as fast as he could to the right to try to avoid the impact.

 

The white boat held its course and lucky for my bass club guys, hit the Triton on the passenger side, tearing off the first layer of thin metal and gouging a hole in the side of the boat. Lucky for the two guys that the Triton did not sink on impact and was still usable.

 

The nonboater was sitting right where the white boat struck the Triton with such a strong impact that two rods were broken, three reels damaged, and the nonboater thrown to the floor where he incurred some bruises and cuts. Had the Triton's driver not swerved to the right the white boat would have skipped over the gunnal and into the passenger and driver's seats, seriously injuring or killing the two guys .

 

North Carolina game wardens came to the accident scene, took photos; statements; confirmed the injuries; and noted the destroyed tackle. After about two hours they left as the boater told them that he could make it back the 11 miles to the ramp.  Being much smarter than the Triton boat owner, they traveled with the Triton back to the ramp.

 

The game wardens knew the owner and operator of the white boat as he fished Falls Lake often. No one got a ticket as far as the owner and passenger knew.

 

The damaged Triton was trailed and towed back to Richmond where the insurance company is deciding to repair the damages or calling the damage a constructive total loss which is too great of damage and the adjuter will total the Triton.

 

This could have been an awful accident with bodily injuries and property damage on a large lake in decent weather. Boat owner is waiting to hear from his insurance carrier and the nonboater is trying to see how he can collect between $1,500 to $2,000 of rods, reels, and other tackle that was damaged or destroyed when the white boat hit the Triton.

 

Story just goes to highlight that you have to be diligent when on the water and look out for problems before they occur.

[12poundbass]

No citations leaves me scratching my head 

[Bird]

Glad to hear no one was seriously injured.

 

Often fish with a guy I'd consider a renegade.

Everytime we're on my boat I have rules that he shrugs at.

I won't get on plane unless PFD's are worn and pedestals are removed.

He claims that it costs us precious fishing time.

Boat traffic will steadily increase as summer approaches, slow down and stay safe.

[Glenn]

Your sandbox, your rules.  He can take it or leave it.  Don't compromise on safety.

[slowworm]

8 hours ago, Bird said:

Glad to hear no one was seriously injured.

 

Often fish with a guy I'd consider a renegade.

Everytime we're on my boat I have rules that he shrugs at.

I won't get on plane unless PFD's are worn and pedestals are removed.

He claims that it costs us precious fishing time.

Boat traffic will steadily increase as summer approaches, slow down and stay safe.

 

I have the same rules, though I don't fish competitively, and no-one I fish with minds the rules.  I fish a lot on my own and always have my mustang auto inflate PDF on.  I'm a decent swimmer, but you can clonk your head going in, and the wind can push the boat pretty fast.  I refuse to drown.

 

7 hours ago, Glenn said:

Your sandbox, your rules.  He can take it or leave it.  Don't compromise on safety.

 Yup.  Don't like the way I run my boat, go get your own....

[Log Catcher]

10 hours ago, Bird said:

Glad to hear no one was seriously injured.

 

Often fish with a guy I'd consider a renegade.

Everytime we're on my boat I have rules that he shrugs at.

I won't get on plane unless PFD's are worn and pedestals are removed.

He claims that it costs us precious fishing time.

Boat traffic will steadily increase as summer approaches, slow down and stay safe.

I always put the front pedestal and seat down when running and have my PFD on. I used to fish with a guy that would not wear a PFD for any reason. He wouldn't put any seats or pedestals down when we  were in his boat either.

[Woody B]

20 hours ago, Sam said:

The white boat did not have his running lights on and was traveling about 30 to 35 miles per hour.

 

There's 2 questions I'd like to know the answer to.  

1. What time was it?  I have my light on when it's cloudy and raining, but NC law says it's OK to not run them after Sun rise.  

 

2. How fast was the Triton going?   It sounds to me like no one was paying attention.   

 

I'm glad no one was hurt.  It only takes a second for something bad to happen.   

[Sam]

8 hours ago, Woody B said:

 

There's 2 questions I'd like to know the answer to.  

1. What time was it?  I have my light on when it's cloudy and raining, but NC law says it's OK to not run them after Sun rise.  

 

2. How fast was the Triton going?   It sounds to me like no one was paying attention.   

 

I'm glad no one was hurt.  It only takes a second for something bad to happen.   

Woody, as far as I know, the weather had cleared up from the earlly morning fog and rain.

 

The guys in the Triton were looking to their right for a creek, and the white boat was traveling from their left towards the Triton. Yes, seems neither expected the other to be in their path.

 

No idea if either boat had their running lights on but I would think they were not on since the weather had cleared up and visibility improved greatly from the morning conditions.

[Sam]

[Bankbeater]

To me, it sounds like neither of the captains was paying much attention to what was going on around them.  Very lucky no one got hurt.

[TOXIC]

Boat on the left was the “Give Way” vessel per USCG rules.  They should have received a citation.  Although not a factor in this accident a lot boat collisions happen because operators don’t know the proper avoidance procedures which often times result in them turning into each other, sometimes even after multiple corrections.  Guiding on a very busy recreational lake, I was given some advice by an old experienced guide.  He told me it doesn’t matter if you are right if you are dead.  When approaching another boat always assume they do not know the proper avoidance techniques and make your move to the most open water regardless if it is the proper move but make it in an exaggerated maneuver.  Show them the side of your boat and what direction you are going.  It has served me well over the years.  

[VolFan]

Most of the bridges on Falls cross the main lake body. If they were going right to left, looking to their right, they wouldn’t see somebody coming down lake. Bad place to be if visibility isn’t good. Glad everyone is ok. Summer is coming - be safe out there

[airshot]

Lucky it was a glancing blow or they would be swimming!  Years back my 18' aluminum boat struck a barrel submerged slightly while on plane, the bottom pushed up about two feet into the cockpit, the kids had minor injuries from being tossed forward.  The point is....when my insurance adjuster came out, he stated...be glad you didn't have a fiberglass boat !!  In his years of experience he found the glass hulls typically shatter and they sink on impact....where aluminum hulls typically cave in or dent but normally stay afloat.  That convinced me to go aluminum only, not trash talking glass boats, but definetly something to think about !!

[A-Jay]

Constant Bearing And Decreasing Range kills. 

Collision Course with a Crossing Boat?

How to Know Here are a couple of ways to manage the chronic headache of 'constant bearing, decreasing range.’ The bearings of these two boats aren’t changing as their distance apart decreases. They’re converging on a single collision point.

The give-way boat should take action to avoid the stand-on boat, and make the action obvious so there’s no doubt in the mind of the stand-on helmsman. How to tell if you’re on a collision course in a crossing situation. For people new to boats, or who don’t have much experience at the helm, it can be a bit alarming that boats on the open water are allowed to scamper around with no traffic lanes, no stop signs, and no traffic lights. The Rules of the Road are there for a reason, and anyone at the helm of a boat should know them. However, knowing them and knowing how to gauge situations and act on them are different things. One of the most vexing problems for new boaters is the crossing situation, and knowing how to judge who’s going to cross whom. If it’s not obvious, then it usually comes down to the concept of “constant bearing, decreasing range,” which is the perfect definition of a collision course.

Here’s how to tell:

1. Hold your course.

2. Take a bearing on the other boat, either by sighting across an open compass or with a hand-bearing compass.

3. A little while later, take the bearing again.

4. If the second bearing is the same as the first, your courses are converging on a single point. It will be a collision or a close call.

5. If you’re the give-way vessel, start altering your course sooner than later, so the other boat knows what you’re up to. If he’s the give-way vessel, watch him like a hawk and be prepared to avoid him. Most people on the water don’t appear to know the right-of-way rules.

6. If the bearing is changing, you won’t collide. The faster the bearing changes, the farther apart you’ll be when you cross.

 

But wait, there’s more. If you can see land behind the boat you’re converging with, you can gauge the danger of a collision without compass bearings. Some people call this concept “gaining land” or “making land.”

1. Again, hold your own course steady.

2. Watch a feature of the distant land near the bow of the crossing boat, and keep watching.

3. If that land feature disappears behind his bow, he’s gaining land on you, and will cross you.

The faster the land disappears behind him, the more distance he’ll cross you by.

4. If the land feature draws ahead of his bow, as if he’s falling behind on the land from your perspective, then you’re gaining land on him, and will cross him.

5. If the land feature stays right where it was on his bow when you first started looking at it, then you’re on a potential collision course.

See point five above.

Radar, AIS, and other electronics can help you gauge range and bearing to other vessels, but they all require you to take your eyes off the water and look at them.

In normal boating situations in decent visibility, and especially if there are a lot of boats milling around, your eyes, your compass, and fixed references will serve you better.

 

 

Stay Safe

A-Jay

[airshot]

What is wrong with just steering away to avoid a collision ??  When I boat, I don't wait to see, I make my move away from danger asap...  Gotta be on the lookout constantly when on the water!!

[Functional]

I was always told 2 things.

 

1) doesnt who was right if you are dead (similar to above)

2) people wont notice subtle course changes, make em big to show obvious change. (of course, within a safe reason)