Talquin boating accidents. Lessons to remember.
It was terrible to drive through the area this past week several times where authorities were searching for the young boys' body in the talquin boating accident. i feel very sad for him and his family. i did want to say a few things about boating safety that incident brought up for me. i live on lake talquin and fish there frequently. first i know almost nothing about the particulars of the accident. i did see a photo of the boat that was stuck on the right side of the bow with apparently considerable force. wearing a life vest, following the well know rules of the water, and using our boat lights at night or during dim light or fog are what i wanted to bring up. i wear my life vest from the second i board my boat to when i arrive back at my dock when done fishing. i know of no one that plans when he will have some sort of boating accident and then grabs his life vest. i have been using an inflatable vest for over 20 years and it is so comfortable. i really forget i am wearing it. the rules of boating. i had a speeding tournament bass boat pass 20 feet in front of me doing 60+ miles per hour a few month ago. he was on my left, so i had the right of way. because of that day and the recent accident i am looking around in all directions even more often, esp. when up at full speed. lights at night, or in dim light or fog are also a big deal to me. i have nearly run into several boats in dim light or fog when they had no lights on. i am not trying to come across like a nagging parent or law enforcement, but we don't have marked lanes and stop lights and signs and headlights and all the things that help us stay safe when we drive our cars when we are boating. thanks for listening. stay safe. jim
