CONTINUOUSWAVE

Here's a safety reminder for us all. This is a fellow Whaler owner. Interesting to note that the 17 foot boat was rigged with shrimping gear on the stern but I don't know if that contributed to the accident. The boat was found capsized but the owner has not been found. Apparently, he was alone in the boat.

https://www.katc.com/news/st-mary-parish/coast-guard-searching-for-missing-boater-in-st-mary-parish

There was a similar incident this August in Grand Traverse Bay. A 57-year-old local fellow went out in his 16-foot aluminum boat after launching at the Northport marina ramp about 4 p.m. When he didn't arrive at his destination in an hour, a search was begun. His boat came ashore apparently on its own with the engine still running around 6 p.m., two hours after the launch, and the boat speed must have been fast enough to run the boat about 10-feet above the shoreline, although perhaps assisted by the waves. The boat was found in Ingall's Bay about 4-1/2-miles south of Northport.

The missing boater's body was found several days later in 5-feet-deep water also in Ingall's Bay.

I remember that particular afternoon because I had thought about going boating myself, but decided against it because the winds were very strong, about 20-knots, and the open water of the bay looked very rough. In some newspaper accounts of this incident the wave height was reported to be four to six feet, although that is probably an exaggeration.

The presumption is the boater was ejected from the boat in the rough seas and drowned. It is another reminder that boating alone and in rough conditions can be dangerous. Wear a PFD; attach the safety lanyard to your body; reduce speed in high seas.

jimh wrote:Wear a PFD; attach the safety lanyard to your body; reduce speed in high seas.

Exactly. On my boat everyone wears a PFD. Say no and you stay home. No exceptions. That way if you fall in I can pick you up on my next drift. And when I am alone if I drown at least they will get the body back easily. Although I rarely hear of anyone drowning while wearing a PFD.

Not a good month down here in south Louisiana. Here's another one from yesterday.

https://wwl.radio.com/articles/man-missing-after-boat-sinks-louisiana-coast