Hunter Bland and Conner Young of the University of Florida Bass Fishing team were ejected from their bass boat at speed during a Collegiate tournament in January 2017.
A steering system failure caused the boat to abruptly turn to the right. Hunter was operating the boat and had the kill switch lanyard attached. Both young men were wearing life jackets.
Today, July 10, 2017 the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC) released a great kill switch Public Service Announcement (PSA) featuring Hunter Bland.
They were returning to shore after Katyln’s first boat ride. The house boat engines were started and reversed, Katyln was entangled in the propeller, Patrick tried to rescue her put both his legs were cut off by the propeller.
Gibson houseboat in the Katlyn Oliver accident photo bty Brady Carrol in KTEM
Katlyn Oliver, 4, was swimming behind a houseboat at Temple Lake Park, on Belton Lake near Fort Hood Army base in Texas.
On Monday 26 June KWTX reports Katlyn and her father were swimming back to shore after taking a ride in another boat. Katlyn was excited and anxious to tell others about her first boat ride. They were in about waist deep water in the area behind the houseboat.
Katlyn, wearing a life jacket, become entangled in a houseboat propeller as it was backing up. Her father, Patrick Oliver tried to rescue her. Both his legs were amputated.
Authorities were called for help at Temple Lake Park at 6:47pm Friday evening 23 June, 2017.
Katlyn and her father were taken to Baylor Scott and White Hospital in Temple Texas. She died at 7:45 pm, about an hour after being struck by the propeller.
Update – Katlyn’s father Patrick Oliver died Thursday morning 6 July, 2017 from his injuries.
Yu Chen, 43, an accomplished wakesurfer (Sail Surfer) was teaching lessons on Lake Mendota in Wisconsin about 6 pm Wednesday 31 May 2017. The University of Wisconsin maintains a Lifesaving Station on the lake. Their boat was returning from a rescue to Governors Island when Yu Chen was struck between the UW LifeSaving Station and Edgewater Hotel.
The accident is under investigation. Among the agencies involved are Dane County Sheriff’s Office, University Police, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Yu Chen was struck by a University of Wisconsin Lifesaving Station Boat. He was thought to have been wearing a GPS watch on his left arm which was severed from his body during the accident.
While the accident is still under investigation, media reports indicate he was struck in the neck by the propeller and his left arm was severed by the propeller.
Three people were thought to have been onboard the rescue boat.
The people on the rescue boat tried to help Chen, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Read More →
Deputy Devin Hodges of Anderson South Carolina Sheriff’s Office drowned while entrapped on a boat propeller on Lake Hartwell, 1 June 2017. We previously covered the accident at Deputy killed by boat propeller.
As a well liked young man, serving in law enforcement, leaving behind a wife and four young children, there has been a tremendous outpouring of compassion and support from the community and from the law enforcement community around the country.
His funeral will be at the Anderson Civic Center at 1 pm today (Tuesday 6 June 2017).
Anderson Independent Mail published a great article on the upcoming funeral. Most points below have been gleaned from that article.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster spoke in Anderson yesterday (Monday) and ordered flags across South Carolina to half mast on Tuesday in honor of Deputy Hodges. Read More →
Anderson County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) in South Carolina was conducting on water training exercises in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Lake Hartwell in the Singing Pines Recreational area near Starr South Carolina on Thursday 1 June 2017. ACSO Deputy Devin Hodges and another ACSO person were on a USACE boat thought to have been being operated by a USACE participant in the training exercise.
An accident investigation is underway. For yet to be determined or released reasons, all three people on board were ejected from the 19 foot Pioneer patrol boat. The boat unmanned circled in the Circle of Death and Officer Devin Hodges was fatally struck by the propeller.
Deputy Devin Hodges
Some reports say he was struck in the head. Read More →
U.S. Coast Guard recently released their annual 2016 recreational boating accident statistics report.
Total counts for 2016 Coast Guard Boating Accident Report Database (BARD) reported accidents were considerably higher than in 2016.
2016 USCG BARD reported accident statistics were 4,463 accidents, 2903 injuries, and 701 fatalities.
2015 USCG stats were 4,158 accidents, 2,613 injuries, and 626 fatalities.
For 2016 USCG reported 171 propeller accidents, 175 propeller injuries, and 24 fatalities.
2015 USCG stats were 158 propeller accidents, 150 propeller injuries, and 27 propeller fatalities.
Thanks to all those at USCG whose efforts helped make this annual statistical report of boating accidents possible.
We would also like to thank USCG, law enforcement officials, lake patrols, first responders, nurses and physicians, those offering boating safety classes, boat safety equipment check points, safe boaters, state boating law administrators, life jacket loaner program participants, Operation Dry Water, those spreading boating safety messages, and all others who work tirelessly to drive these annual totals down.
Plus thanks to all the state boating law administrators and all the officers in the field filling out the accident reports, and to the individuals that self reported their accidents.
A college student in Sweden, Fredrik Helgesson, designed a test stand to log strike test outboard motors (outboard motors impact floating logs).
The report is titled, Konstruktion av “log strike”-testrigg for utomboardsmotorer.
Back in early 2016 Mr. Helgesson, a mechanical engineering student at Halmstad University in Sweden, contacted us a few times for technical specifications on how the industry tests log strike systems. He said he was working on a thesis focused on that topic. We supplied him several publicly available materials, some thoughts on the topic, and told him that if he was not teamed with one of the major outboard manufacturers he would likely not have access to the exact specifications manufacturers use for log strike testing.
A couple months ago we noticed his paper had been published by Halmstad University.
We then learned his project was more of a design project teamed with a manufacturer of diesel outboards, Cimco Marine AB.
U.S. Coast Guard’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) held their 97th meeting in Arlington Virginia Thursday 23 March – Saturday 25 March 2017.
The meeting was held in the ballroom of the Holiday Inn in Ballston in Arlington.
The meeting room was setup with tables forming a horseshoe at the front of the room, with the open end of the horseshoe facing the public seating area. Each Council member had their own microphone. A microphone stand in front of the public area was used for public comment.
NBSAC97 room layout. See the horseshoe arrangement of tables at front (toward the projection screen) for the Council. Public sits in the back.
U.S. Coast Guard National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) 87th meeting in Arlington Virginia March 23-25, 2017. Part 2 of our coverage.
Thursday Early Afternoon 25 March 2017.
Subcommittee Meetings
Much of the work of NBSAC occurs in the three subcommittees:
1. Boats & Associated Equipment Subcommittee
2. Prevention Through People Subcommittee
3. Strategic Planning Subcommittee
Each Subcommittee presented some topics Thursday afternoon.
Boats & Associated Equipment Subcommittee
Pete Chisholm of Mercury Marine chairs this subcommittee.
Visual Distress Signals
Marty Jackson of USCG presented on Visual Distress Signals.
Traditionally boaters carried flares for visual distress signals. Some LED lights are now bright enough to meet nighttime use requirements. The current lights do not work well in daylight.
The technical criteria they have been looking at does not include affordability or durability.
They are considering flashing them at 4 Hertz (4 times per second) or flashing them to sent “S-O-S” in Morse code.
There was considerable discussion about some LED products currently on the market claiming to be USCG approved.
Besides convenience, an LED light that COULD also work in daylight could eliminate the need for flares. It would also eliminate the need to track flare expiration dates and properly dispose of them.
Life Jackets
Jackie Yurkovich of USCG gave an update on the transition to new life jacket approval standards.
Basically they are trying to harmonize U.S. life jacket standards with Canada AND Canada’s standard is much closer to the international standard.
By bringing the standards together (harmonizing them), those building life jackets will no longer have to build special life jackets for each country. Read More →
