Blogs

07-12-13 LAKEWOOD, OH Sailboat capsizes in Lake Erie near Lakewood; Coast Guard rescues two The USCG rescued 2 people in Lake Erie when their sailboat capsized Fri. afternoon (07-12). The 16-ft. boat overturned about 300 yds. offshore from Lakewood around 3 p.m. The CG said the 2 victims were sharing a lifejacket because they only had time to grab one when the sailboat capsized. Emergency crews checked out the boaters at Edgewater Marina. The sailboat is still in Lake Erie. It is mostly submerged with only a small part of the hull sticking out of the water. No pollution from the vessel was reported. Read full story here. 

07-11-13 COSHOCTON COUNTY, OH Man still missing after search suspended A local man was still missing Fri. (07-12) after a recovery mission was suspended. Mark Walters, 53, of Coshocton, was reported missing Thur. evening (07-11) after the boat he was in capsized along the Muskingum River near the former Coshocton Ethanol Plant, now Three Rivers Energy, on County Road 271. Crews searched Thur. evening and throughout the day Fri., but by 3:30 p.m. Fri., Walters and the boat had not been found. The next step, said Ty Stewart, assistant chief for the Franklin-Conesville-Virginia Volunteer Fire Dept., is to let “nature take its course” during the weekend. Officials would alert other depts. along the river about the situation, hoping something will be reported. If nothing happens during the weekend, local crews may use tools from the Ohio DNR such as sonar units. For the 2 other people in the boat — Chris Holder, 48, of Warsaw, and Kay Dinger, 53, of Coshocton — the afternoon started out as a boat outing with friends. Holder, who was at the scene Fri., said he has known the Walters for almost 20 yrs. The trio took the 12-ft. boat out on the river around 3 p.m. When Dinger stood up, the boat capsized. Holder grabbed Dinger and took her to Tyndal Island, where she was later rescued. He said that he never saw Walters, and that the boat sunk. While there were life jackets on the boat, no one was wearing one. Holder swam to shore, where he called 911 at 6:53 p.m. He waited for responders, but left the scene not knowing if they were there. He later was found at his home with minor scrapes, for which he did not seek medical treatment. The first crews arrived on scene at 7:05 p.m, said Sgt. Troy Bricker, with the Coshocton Co. Sheriff’s Office. Dinger was found on Tyndal Island, near Tyndal off Ohio 16, by a rescue boat around 8:30 p.m. Thur. She was transported by Coshocton Co.EMS from the boat ramp on South 2nd St. to Coshocton Hosp. for treatment for possible hypothermia. Dinger was released during the day Fri. The initial search Thur.was called off around 9:15 p.m. by Conesville Fire Chief Randy March. March said emergency personnel in Muskingum Co. were alerted because it was possible Walters had floated downstream to Ellis Dam if he had not made it to shore or been snagged along the river. Thur. search included assistance from the Dresden Fire Dept., MedFlight, the Salvation Army and the Coshocton Co. Emergency Agency. The search resumed about 9 a.m. Fri., with a staging area around 2nd St. in Coshocton. Stewart was in command of the search, which involved units from Coshocton City Fire, Three Rivers Fire District, Walhonding Valley Fire District and Jackson Township, as well as a boat from the Guernsey Co.Sheriff’s office. Muskingum Co. law officials were not a part of Fri. search efforts but units were aware of the situation. First responders reported a lot of debris when they returned to shore. “It was very hard to maneuver around in the boats,” Firefighter Brian Daugherty said. Daugherty rode with members of the Guernsey Co. Sheriff’s Office on the air boat they brought in. They traveled from the access ramp across from the Wastewater Treatment Plant through Conesville to the Muskingum Co. line. Around 3:30 p.m., Coshocton and Walhonding boats were pulled out of the water. Guernsey Co. boat and the Jackson Township Fire Dept. left the scene around 2 p.m. Coshocton Co. Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Charlie George said officials were able to speak to Dinger and begin to match up her accounts with what Holder had reported. At this time, there is no local investigation nor any charges filed. Coshocton Co. Sheriff Tim Rogers said Fri. morning that alcohol was involved. Read full story here.  

07-11-1 LAKE OF THE OZARKS, MO St. Joseph man, child injured in boat accident A St. Joseph man and a child were injured after they were struck by a boat propeller while at the Lake of the Ozarks Thur. (07-11). Lily Trammell, 12, was attempting to enter a boat on the Lake of the Ozarks while the boat was in gear around 5 p.m., according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F. David Trammell, 44, jumped from the boat to assist Lily into the boat, but both swimmers were struck by the boat propeller. Emergency responders transported Mr. Trammell to Lake Regional Hosp. with serious injuries as Lily was transported to the same hosp.  with moderate injuries. Neither Mr. Trammell nor Lily were wearing life-jackets at the time of the accident. Read full story here.  

07-11-13 BUFFALO, NY Five Pulled from Water When Boat Sinks in Outer Harbor Five people have been rescued from the water Thur. (07-11) along Buffalo's Outer Harbor after their boat took on water and started to sink. The USCG pulled 4 of the victims from the water.  Lake Erie Towing pulled one out.  No injuries were reported. Investigators say a strong wave hit the front of the boat and caused it to take on water.  It sank a short time later. A small craft advisory was in effect at the time of the incident due to strong storms that were moving across Western NY. Read full story here.  

07-12-13 ST. AUGUSTINE, FL Man drifts to shore after boat capsizes in Intracoastal A man drifted to safety with his boat after the vessel capsized on the Intracoastal Waterway on Fri. afternoon (07-12). The man told an officer it was a wind gust, possibly from a waterspout or something like it, that knocked his boat over, but that had not been confirmed as of Fri. evening, said Lt. Steve Zukowsky with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Comm. The case is still under investigation. The man was not injured, and his name and other information were not available as of Fri. He was on a 14-ft. boat in the Intracoastal around 3 p.m. when the boat capsized west of the Guana River Wildlife Management Area. He said he was on the water alone when his boat flipped because of a wind gust from a waterspout. No one reported a waterspout to the National Weather Service office in Jacksonville, but a severe thunderstorm produced strong winds in the same area where the boat capsized, said Angie Enyedi, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The man was able to stay with his boat, and he drifted with the boat to shore near part of the Guana River Wildlife Management area. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Comm. officers arrived with paramedics. The man was not injured, and he did the right thing by staying with the boat. Read full story here.  

07-11-13 WARREN, OH Rescued men return to Warren park to recover boats The 2 men who became stranded in Packard Park Thur. evening (07-11) returned to the scene of their rescue to retrieve the boats they left behind. The 2 men, Herbert Holliday and Eric Lowenkamp, drifted down the Mahoning River while having a recreational day on the water. "We went over by the bridge and the current sucked me out. And my friend Zip, he kind of came out because he had an ore, so he had complete control and we just tied off together and came down," Holliday says. The men tied their boat and canoe together and drifted down the Mahoning River until they made it to Packard Park. A 911 call was made shortly after 8 p.m. for a request to rescue the 2 men, one of which made his way into a tree and the other still in the boat or canoe that was possibly sinking. When rescuers arrived to the scene, the water was still high. Holliday says the current was too strong to navigate to higher ground, so Lowencamp used his waterproof cell phone to call for help. Rescuers were able to pull Lowencamp to safety, but it took almost 2 hrs. to reach Holliday. Hrs. later a Bazetta Township Hovercraft tossed him a life vest and pulled him aboard. Both men walked away from the long night rescue uninjured and grateful their lives were spared by the water that surrounded them. Read full story here.  

07-10-13 ZILWAUKEE, MI 3 rescued from Saginaw River after boat capsizes near Zilwaukee Boat Launch Three boaters were rescued from the Saginaw River after their boat overturned, according to Saginaw Co.Sheriff William Federspiel. Firefighters from Carrollton and Zilwaukee were dispatched before 2 p.m. Wed. (07-10) to the Zilwaukee Boat Launch after receiving a report of a capsized boat. Federspiel described the vessel as a small sailboat. The boat's 3occupants were able to hold onto the watercraft after falling into the water. Firefighters rescued the 3adults from the river before Saginaw Co.  Dive Team members arrived to retrieve the boat from the water. "They're lucky to have come away with their lives. They easily could have drowned," Federspiel said. According to Federspiel, none of the passengers wore life jackets when the incident near the Zilwaukee Bridge occurred. The sheriff gave kudos to the Zilwaukee Fire Dept. and Carrollton Fire Dept., as well as the dive team. Read full story here.  

07-14-13 ESSIXVILLE, MI US Coast Guard rescues 4 from boat in Saginaw Bay The USCG has rescued 2 adults and 2 children who were stranded for more than 8 hrs. on a boat in Saginaw Bay. The rescue happened early Sun. (07-14). The CG was notified early Sun. that the 20-ft. boat wasn't working and those aboard had been stranded near the Saginaw Bay Channel Light since Sat.  afternoon. A CG boat crew based in Essexville responded along with a Detroit-based helicopter. The boat was found with help from a transmission of the sound of static from the stranded vessel. No one was injured, and the boat was towed. Officials determined the boat was stranded due to alternator and battery failure. Read full story here. 

07-14-13 SYLVAN LAKE, MI Boat runs over tube, killing boy and injuring his 2 sisters An 11-y/o boy was killed and his 2 sisters critically injured when they were run over by a boat as they were tubing on Sylvan Lake on Sun. afternoon (07-14). The father, a resident of West Bloomfield, was towing the 3 kids behind his personal watercraft on the lake about 12:30 p.m., when a 2nd boat ran over the tube. “What was planned as a fun day turned so tragic,” said Oakland Co. Sheriff Michael Bouchard. Both the father and the operator of the 2nd boat, a resident of Sylvan Lake, stopped to help the children. They took the kids to shore and started CPR. They were then taken to McLaren Hosp. in Pontiac, where the boy was pronounced dead. The girls were taken to Beaumont Hosp. in Royal Oak, where they are listed in critical condition. The accident is under investigation by the Oakland Co. Sheriff Office’s Marine Unit. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the accident. Read full story here. 

07-14-13 NEWPORT BEACH, CA 4 Hurt In Newport Harbor Boat Collision Four people were recovering from injuries Mon. (07-15) after an apparent boating accident in Newport Beach. The incident occurred Sun. night (07-14) around 9:30 p.m. in the harbor located at 1901 Jamboree Road, according to Capt. Glenn White of the Newport Beach Fire Dept. A 25-ft. cigarette-type boat was traveling at a high rate of speed when it struck the smaller, slower boat near the Newport Harbor jetty. One adult male and 3 adult females were transported to hosp. in Newport Beach and Mission Viejo. Their injuries ranged from lacerations to breathing difficulties and a possible fracture, as well as one patient who suffered a loss of consciousness. The driver of the cigarette-type boat was being interviewed by police. Read full story here. 

07-14-13 NILES, MI Man being towed on tube collides with anchored boat on Berrien County lake A 27-y.o Chicago man is expected to recover from injuries he sustained Sun. (07-14), when the inner tube he was riding on Lake Chapin hit an anchored vessel. The hosp. notified the sheriff's det. According to the Berrien Co. Sheriff's Office, sometime between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sun. Lakeland Hosp. in Niles reported a boating accident victim seeking treatment there. Berrien Co. Marine Division learned the Chicago man had been riding a tube behind a personal watercraft operated by a 25-y/o man, also from Chicago, when the watercraft swung too close to an anchored vessel and the tube struck the boat. The injured man was taken to the hosp. by friends and family. He is expected to survive his injuries. Alcohol or drugs were not factor in this accident. Read full story here.

07-15-13 ST. AUGUSTINE, FL Man rescued when boat capsizes in Inlet A man was rescued along the St. Augustine Inlet near Vilano Beach when his boat overturned Mon. morning (07-15). Hamish MacDonald anchored his 34-ft. sailboat near the sandbar and decided to get closer to the beach in his dinghy, a 13-ft. 1998 Carolina Skiff with an outboard motor. But heavy waves and a strong current capsized the boat and sent MacDonald into the water, between 500 and 700 yds. away from shore, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Comm. An FWC officer approached the scene and rescued MacDonald. Emergency Medical Services was originally called but stopped after it was clear that MacDonald did not have any significant injuries. MacDonald and the officer tied the dinghy back onto the sailboat, and MacDonald was able to pull away from the sandbar without any additional help. The officer originally believed there were multiple people in the water, but he later realized the bobbing objects were just debris from the overturned boat. Read full story here. 

07-14-13 CANYON FERRY LAKE, MT Sunday marks Helena's first injury boating accident in 2013 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is investigating a crash on Canyon Ferry Lake that occurred Sun. afternoon (07-14) when a jet ski jumping wakes ran into a boat, throwing both passengers from the craft and resulting in minor injuries. A Billings man was operating the Jet Ski, and his passenger was a woman from Alberta. Both patients refused transport, according to Brenna White, an FWP game warden with the law enforcement division. No one on the boat was injured, which was carrying multiple people reportedly from Bozeman. The boat is believed to only have sustained cosmetic damages. "Luckily nobody is dead," said White, adding that the crash could have been a lot worse. The crash occurred near Kim's Marina, 8015 Canyon Ferry Road, where nearby boaters took the injured parties and met with law enforcement. Investigators are trying to determine if the operator of the personal watercraft was in violation of distance regulations that require a 100-yd. clearance between crafts. Read full story here.