Teen hurt in two boat accident on Winni 7-22-10

[Skipper of the Sea Que]

From the: Manchester Union Leader Friday 7-23-2010.

MOULTONBOROUGH – A 15-year-old Wolfeboro boy was injured last night when two boats collided on Lake Winnipesaukee.

According to the New Hampshire Marine Patrol, a 24-foot Four Winds piloted by Mark Noel, 55, of Epsom, and a 26-foot Sea Ray operated by Fenton Varney, 53, of Tuftonborough, hit head-on at 9:15 p.m. near the southerly end of Long Island.

The Wolfeboro teen was one of eight passengers on Varney’s boat. He was treated for facial lacerations and released from Huggins Hospital.

No one else was injured.

"Each operator states he did not see the navigational lights of the other vessel until the last second," a news release from New Hampshire Marine Patrol states. "This caused both operators to swerve to the left."

Both boats had "significant contact damage" and were towed to Marine Patrol headquarters in Gilford for collision analysis.

Alcohol was not a contributing factor in the accident, according to the news release. Noel and Varney estimated they were traveling between 20 and 25 mph, Noel in a southerly direction and Varney in a northerly direction. Noel had one passenger aboard his vessel.

The accident remains under investigation.

-0-

Fortunately there was no serious injury. Another reminder to boat safely and be overly cautious particularly at night.

[VtSteve]

They were all very lucky.

"Swerve Left", not usually a good gut reaction.

[Dave R]

Saw it on the news. The 26 foot Sea Ray involved appears to have a radome installed. I wonder if it was operating.

[secondcurve]

Fenton Varney is the high end carpenter/builder from Moultonborough for what it is worth. I'd guess he is an experienced boater having lived right on the lake for years.

[MAXUM]

Wow that's unfortunate. Thankfully one injury which seem as described to be pretty minor is all that was suffered. Just goes to show that accidents do occur even with the most seasoned captain at the helm.

Geesh didn't take long for the comments section of that article on the union leader to turn into a speed limit mud throwing contest.

[OCDACTIVE]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Wow that's unfortunate. Thankfully one injury which seem as described to be pretty minor is all that was suffered. Just goes to show that accidents do occur even with the most seasoned captain at the helm.

Geesh didn't take long for the comments section of that article on the union leader to turn into a speed limit mud throwing contest.

It's always the same people that have to stir the pot.

Luckily there were no serious injuries...

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by OCDACTIVE

It's always the same people that have to stir the pot.

LOL yeah no kidding!!



Probably the reason why the injuries sustained were minimal was the fact both boats were nearly identical in size. Had that been a 18 footer versus a 26 footer the outcome would have been quite different.

I think it's extremely tough to navigate at night and at times it's terribly hard to pick up another boat by their nav lights especially when on a head to head bearing. Good reason why I avoid it. It almost seems like there could be a better way to illuminate a boat at night...

[ishoot308]

There will ALWAYS be accidents whether by boat, auto, motorcycle, etc, etc. Humans make mistakes! There does not always have to be a reason, (I.E. alcohol related). The only thing that can be done is to learn by our and others mistakes and bring awareness and reminders about safety to minimize these accidents. This is where organizations like S.B.O.N.H. serve their best purpose IMHOP, by reminding us we are not infallible and help spread safety awareness to all boaters.

I am glad no one was seriously hurt in this "accident". It could have been much worse!

Dan

[LIforrelaxin]

Out of curiosity what was the weather like up there last night?

This is unfortunate, I am glad to hear that they boy was released from the hospital.

Accidents unfortunately do happen, luckily both operators took some avassive action to make sure it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

[ITD]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Out of curiosity what was the weather like up there last night?

This is unfortunate, I am glad to hear that they boy was released from the hospital.

Accidents unfortunately do happen, luckily both operators took some avassive action to make sure it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Severe clear, it was a beautiful night. I was near there around 8:30, not many boats around. I suspect a little bit of "big lake" collision avoidance theory may have played a part here.

[Lakepilot]

I have thousands of hours flying airplanes and the toughest situations spotting other traffic is when it's coming right at you. What normally catches your attention is later movement i.e. something coming across your vision from the side. Shen the airplane (or boat) is coming right at you there isn't lateral movement. The object just gets bigger.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by Lakepilot

I have thousands of hours flying airplanes and the toughest situations spotting other traffic is when it's coming right at you.

And planes like boats I bet can be tough to pick out on a clear night with a star filled sky as a backdrop. The one thing visually planes do have is blinking lights which boats do not have.

Guess you don't want to play chicken at night with a UFO huh?

[Kracken]

I am glad to hear the injuries were minor. When looking at the amount of boating hours per year on the lake accidents are going to occur. Any activity has some adherent risks. It doesn’t matter if one is driving a car, playing golf or going for a hike there are dangers to any activity. The best we can do is to try and limit ones exposure. The best way to do this is through education and employing best practices. Even by doing everything right, accidents are going to happen.

My concern here is that there might be a knee-jerk reaction by some to legislate changes designed to prevent accidents like this from happening again. No amount of laws will ever prevent accidents from happening. I have heard rumblings over the past few years about limits on size and horsepower on the lake and once again today on the Union Leader. This should concern us all. Taking reasonable risks are part of life. If you drove to work today, you took a calculated risk. If you took a shower this morning, you put yourself at risk…you get the idea.

Short of making the entire lake boat free, there is no way to make the lake safe from boating accidents.

[BroadHopper]

Originally Posted by Kracken

Short of making the entire lake boat free, there is no way to make the lake safe from boating accidents.

Even when the lake is boat free, we will have tragic accidents, such as drowning and falling in the lake.

The lake by its very nature is risky and dangerous.

[codeman671]

Just another example of a night time accident on the lake. Boating at night can be difficult, especially when alcohol is involved although that does not seem to be the case with this one.

The bulk of all severe accidents on the lake have been at night- Blizzard, Littlefield, kayak hit by Sally's Gut, other island crashes, etc. It seems to me that laws should be kept more stringent on night time boating then daytime. I am not trying to spin this into a SL debate because honestly these days I could care less either way.

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by codeman671

Just another example of a night time accident on the lake. Boating at night can be difficult,

Codeman, you have hit the nail squarely on the head, boating at night is difficult. As many hours as I have logged, rarely go out at night and when I do I try my best to stay away from everyone. I am always more vigilant in my look out techniques and everything. I think quite often people don't realize all the difficulties of navigating at night, and don't know how to kick in a extra level of situational awareness.

I am not implying that either capt in this case was at all negligent... just say that night time boating requires a entire different level of awareness.

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Codeman, you have hit the nail squarely on the head, boating at night is difficult. As many hours as I have logged, rarely go out at night and when I do I try my best to stay away from everyone. I am always more vigilant in my look out techniques and everything. I think quite often people don't realize all the difficulties of navigating at night, and don't know how to kick in a extra level of situational awareness.

I am not implying that either capt in this case was at all negligent... just say that night time boating requires a entire different level of awareness.

Quoted for truth ! The "problem" with boating at night is that there's very little visual cues as to how far away a boat is. During the daytime a glance is sufficient to know if another boat is danger close and to assess it's general heading. At night all you have are points of light that must be observed for a period of time to get the above. I'm curious, it was written that both parties didn't see the other's lights until the "last second". That's a bit different from seeing them and not realizing they were too close. While I agree it may be harder to pick out a boat heading directly towards (or worse, directly away from) you, I've found the red/green sidelights standout pretty well from the background of cabin and house and other lights. Also both boats "swerved to the left" ??? Given the damage shown on WMUR's vid, I'll take that to mean each turned to port which is a bit odd (depending on the circumstances of course). I wonder just where btw Sandy and L Bear Is this happened ? That's an open stretch of water w/o obstructions.

ps - I was told in no uncertain terms that the Littlefield "accident" (all by itself) was proof positive that a 25 mph speed limit was needed. I wondered then what would happen when we had one at less than that speed. So ... time for a 15 mph limit ? Or shall "we" start determining the root causes and address them instead ?

[ApS]

"Accident"..."event"..."incident"..."severe accident"..."collision"... Which is the operative term here? To the injured Wolfeboro victim this would be "severe". (And "a collision").

Originally Posted by codeman671

"...The bulk of all severe accidents on the lake have been at night..."

None could be blamed on the absence of neon lights.

Originally Posted by Lakepilot

"...I have thousands of hours flying airplanes and the toughest situations spotting other traffic is when it's coming right at you..."

1) This Union Leader report references at least one "boat" error and omits important "boating" details.

2) Were these two boats following the same GPS waypoints—but in opposite directions?

[fatlazyless]

Originally Posted by OCDACTIVE

It's always the same people that have to stir the pot.

Luckily there were no serious injuries...

For the record, and once again, in case anyone was wondering, none of the Union Leader posts came from me, fatlazyless. Someone for their own reasons, likes to post some very opinionated comments using F L Less as a name, but it's not from me. Interesting, now there's at least one Union Leader post using my real first name, from Meredith, and that's not me either.

It just tells you that you should take internet comments coming from anonymous originators with a built-in filter of skepticism.

[Rattlesnake Guy]

Does anyone know if the front damage was port or starboard? Struggling with the rule of turning right even if it makes the collision worse.

[ITD]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

Does anyone know if the front damage was port or starboard? Struggling with the rule of turning right even if it makes the collision worse.

I'd struggle with that too RG, turn the best way to avoid a collision, there are many situations where a right turn would make things worse. Many times I've been on the lake where a boater will be a half mile to my right, see me, turn, crossing my path, so they can pass me on the right, only to turn back to the left after they pass me. Of course, during their manuevering, I, being the give way boat, have to slow down or alter course, where had the other boat just passed starboard to starboard, we would have been a half mile apart. Not very bright in my book, but what can you do?

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

Does anyone know if the front damage was port or starboard? Struggling with the rule of turning right even if it makes the collision worse.

There was one boat at the Marine Patrol docks yesterday that I saw that had minor bow / starboard damage. Both boats were there Friday but i did not get a good look at them at that time.

Dan

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

Does anyone know if the front damage was port or starboard? Struggling with the rule of turning right even if it makes the collision worse.

There's a video @ WMUR's site. From that it appeared there was some damage on the forward and starboard sides of each. Since both did the same thing ("swerve left") I'll guess that's what looked best. A few feet less offset and there would have been a lot more injuries.

http://www.wmur.com/news/24364939/detail.html

The question remains as to how both didn't see the other until the last second.

[BroadHopper]

If they had maintained course. If they had made it.

In days of old. Most skippers 'maintain course' like they are suppose to do. Signal by hand or horn their intent to change course. Or 'stand down' if the other boat is in the 'danger zone'.

Today there are so many boneheads, that I just 'slow down' and let them pass. Swerving right or left is asking for trouble.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Mee-n-Mac

"...There's a video @ WMUR's site. From that it appeared there was some damage on the forward and starboard sides of each. Since both did the same thing ("swerve left") I'll guess that's what looked best. A few feet less offset and there would have been a lot more injuries..."

While looking up "Rule-5" for a different thread, I found some sketches detailing a similar night-collision between two comparable boats. The sketches support how a decision—and a few feet—can make a very big difference in outcomes.

http://www.boattest.com/Resources/vi...px?NewsID=4231

[Jonas Pilot]

Excellent link. I thought the report was well done. It's worth reading.
Thanks for sharing ApS

[VtSteve]

Originally Posted by Acres per Second

While looking up "Rule-5" for a different thread, I found some sketches detailing a similar night-collision between two comparable boats. The sketches support how a decision—and a few feet—can make a very big difference in outcomes.

http://www.boattest.com/Resources/vi...px?NewsID=4231

Swerving left "generally" is not advised. That was a great accident investigative report. Pointed out the Vessel B did not stop to avoid either. Vessel A made tons of errors, and it was mazing nobody was hurt in the smaller boat, probably because of seated positions, unlike the CC boat. Textbook case of why the original accident in this thread was also avoidable.

Also a very nice summation of all the rules and navigation regs that were broken.

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Wow that's unfortunate. Thankfully one injury which seem as described to be pretty minor is all that was suffered. Just goes to show that accidents do occur even with the most seasoned captain at the helm.

Geesh didn't take long for the comments section of that article on the union leader to turn into a speed limit mud throwing contest.

The UL comments most of the time are absolutely disgusting. There is zero moderation, and people can say anything, true or not. Sometimes the comments can be "fun" to read, but mostly it just bugs me, so I don't even bother reading them anymore.

[Kamper]

Originally Posted by VtSteve

They were all very lucky.

"Swerve Left", not usually a good gut reaction.

I think both operators were not totally competent. You are supposed to reduce speed and turn to the RIGHT to avoid a collision.

[VtSteve]

Originally Posted by Kamper

I think both operators were not totally competent. You are supposed to reduce speed and turn to the RIGHT to avoid a collision.

Yup, supposed to be the case in head ons.

[Lakepilot]

Think about which way you would turn if the angle were a little less then 180 degrees. Say the person coming at you was slightly to your port side, would you still turn to the starboard?

None us us were on on either of the boats that collided. We really can't see the visual picture they saw and then had fractions of a second to respond.