Bad wreck on the lake last night

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4LOJO said:
That's to bad let us know if you hear anything.
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They will all recover it sounds like, but the woman had 3 broken vertebrae in her neck. and two in her back. Her husband was not as bad , and the driver of the boat, , had a bad cut on his forehead, and a broken nose. The kids were lucky and walked away from it unhurt :)
Be careful out there, and never run at night if you can keep from it.
 
I was night (moonless) fishing on Lake Mead a long while ago. We were anchored between two low islands bait fishing for stripers. Heard way off in the distance a cigar boat headed toward us with a full head of steam. I told my partner that guys must really know the lake to be shooting the gap between the islands at that speed in the night.. We quickly pulled the anchor and moved out of his anticipated path. Shortly afterward the was the sound of the engine coming to idle and then the heavy crunch as the boat hit one island and came to stop within a few feet as there was a vertical cut where the water had cut a 5' wall in the island. The bow was one foot into the gravel embankment and the engine was striped from it's mounts and ended up between the two front seats. We immediate went to help and no one had more than bad bruises and cuts. The motor had missed all of them. Think there were six on board. I offered to take two of them to the nearby Lake Mead Marina so they could call authorities/help but the wanted to go to Vegas Wash Marina to get their motorhome. I said no! It was too far away for a night run. Took them to the marina and left. The next day the boat had been towed and I heard no more. Don't even remember them thanking us.
 
I'm sorry that this happened, but it didn't need to happen. Driving fast without detailed charts in the dark? We're all accountable for our actions and whoever was driving this boat is accountable for what happened to those in the boat. Own it. There are way too many accidents on Lake Powell.
 
cfulton said:
I was night (moonless) fishing on Lake Mead a long while ago. We were anchored between two low islands bait fishing for stripers. Heard way off in the distance a cigar boat headed toward us with a full head of steam. I told my partner that guys must really know the lake to be shooting the gap between the islands at that speed in the night.. We quickly pulled the anchor and moved out of his anticipated path. Shortly afterward the was the sound of the engine coming to idle and then the heavy crunch as the boat hit one island and came to stop within a few feet as there was a vertical cut where the water had cut a 5' wall in the island. The bow was one foot into the gravel embankment and the engine was striped from it's mounts and ended up between the two front seats. We immediate went to help and no one had more than bad bruises and cuts. The motor had missed all of them. Think there were six on board. I offered to take two of them to the nearby Lake Mead Marina so they could call authorities/help but the wanted to go to Vegas Wash Marina to get their motorhome. I said no! It was too far away for a night run. Took them to the marina and left. The next day the boat had been towed and I heard no more. Don't even remember them thanking us.
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Yikes.

Friends were night sailing on Havasu, mostly to avoid the go fasts, and heard yelling. Took them awhile but found two guys with no life jackets clinging to a bouy that they had hit in the dark flipping and sinking their boat.
 
I use to run at night all the time, but rerely ran on plane, unless it was a really bright night with full moon. I don't see nearly as good now, so I limit my night fishing to a few hundred yards or less. I have seen people run on plane and fast from Bullfrog to Halls on a jet black night.
 
I do night runs at powell from time to time.

Running inland water at night requires preparation, awareness and common sense.

A recent GPS track is an absolute must. When laying the track swing wide near buoys as to not be in-line for an impact on a night run - i clear buoys on the channel side by about 100 feet on every pass. With the recent low water I laid a permanent track during the week of April 12, 2023 on the buoy line from south lake to as close to hite as I could get. I also laid side canyon tracks in escalante and my other favorite areas.

I have a full glass helm with one 12” center PFD and two 9” side screens.

I have 2 remote long range spots that are aimed at 11 & 1, and I have 75k lumen light bars aimed at 12 low and 12 high. I am able to light up the canyon edge to edge, but for a safe passage you need more than a bright light.

On calm nights, especially on full moons, I set the center screen on dim with range set at 100 meters and stay right on top of the line. The other screen range is set at 1 km and the third is split screen set to instruments and FLIR inspired camera.

My massive lighting is more for spotting ducks and debris in the water and not for navigation - the GPS track represents 100% navigation with virtual zero deviation unless for debris in water - if I go off track I basically show speed to wakeless. The IR camera is short range and is not used a lot but fun to play with, it clearly shows rock temps and water temps but shows nothing subsurface. You need to calibrate the temps with 10 degree deltas or the screen is just a yellow and orange and black blur. It also gets tricky when water and rock temps are within set error ranges.

The top suggestions for night running inland waters is to have a recent GPS track. Next is to NOT get tricked into following the illuminated blinking buoys, do NOT visually go from blinking buoy to blinking buoy (not all buoys are illuminated), use the GPS track as primary like a IFR route. The reason for not driving direct to the next blinky buoy is it may not be the real next buoy and there may be land between your current position and it. NEVER lock onto a blinking buoy on inland waters unless you are 100% absolutely positive you know exactly where you are and you know exactly where the buoy is. There may be several non illuminated buoys between you and the blinking one… It is difficult to determine range to blinking buoys and elevated blinking buoys are very deceiving. Stay on track - always!

Night running powell is very peaceful, a new experience on another level, not a higher level, just another level. The only spook I have every encountered at night are the floating ducks that take flight right in front of you. Every time it happens it is a full adrenaline dump with dozens of ducks in the air illuminated by the LEDS. It is like a flash bang.

Know your limits and be prepared. I always wear a life vest at night.

If you think you are going to make it with just a spot light, you are over confident and very foolish.
 
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