Boating Safety
 

Remember the running lights

by Dick Werner, Columbia Willamette

I cannot imagine how anything could be quite as disastrous on any beautiful body of water as two boats colliding, five people almost drowning, and a gorgeous 22’ Chris-Craft Sea Skiff ending up on the bottom in 100 feet of water. That sort of thing should not happen on a lake as pristine and quiet as Priest Lake in northern Idaho. Oftentimes I have been out in my boat in the middle of the Lake and there will not be another boat in sight. But, of course, boating accidents can happen on any lake.
This particular accident happened one night last August while a family of five was heading back to their cabin from one of the lakeside resorts after having dinner. It was around 10 PM, a moonless night and the two girls were asleep on the stern bench cushions. The others were sitting behind the windshield watching ahead. Halfway back to their cabin they saw what they thought was a billowing white sail off to their left. Suddenly they realized that sail was a white boat coming on too fast for them to react. Seconds later it crashed into the port side near the bow; the boat started to sink immediately. The two girls in the stern were able to grab accessible life jackets, but the remaining jackets were in the forward compartment, totally engulfed in water. The mother, now semi-conscious, started sinking into the depths of the Lake. Her son, who had taken his shoes off back at the dock, felt her sweater under his feet. He dove down and managed to get her to the surface. All five were able to pull themselves onto the other boat which was still floating. Other than several fractured ribs and collar bones, fortunately, everyone survived.
The county marine deputies cited both parties for negligent operation of their boats: the fiberglass boat for excessive speed and the Sea Skiff for not having its running lights on.

A week later we were up at our cabin sitting around the dinner table with friends from the Lake discussing the recent accident. I mentioned that I could not believe that the owners of the Chris-Craft were out on the Lake at night with no running lights on. One of our guests said, “Dick, people do it all the time. The stars are so beautiful and sometimes you can see the Northern Lights. You don’t want the glow from your stern light taking away the brilliance of Nature’s beauty up in the sky.”
I thought of all the times we have boated on the Lake at night after leaving a lakeside restaurant, oftentimes not having a boat in sight. Not realizing it, I may have had near misses with boats cruising across the Lake with no lights on, the driver probably stargazing. This is a really scary thought.

Make sure your bow and stern lights are working and are on at night or even at dusk. One of our fellow wooden boat owners did not and look what happened. It is very important to have a flashlight on board in case something happens to your electrical system.

Another quick reminder: have your life jackets accessible! Many of us stow them in a variety of out-of-the-way places so that everything looks neat and tidy. The worst offenders are those of us who stow them in the engine compartment. Heaven forbid if we should have an engine fire.

Just remember two basic things: running lights on at night and accessible life preservers. These can prevent accidents and save boaters’ lives.