Report: Losers on a yacht (almost lost my boat)

Post by **Yannick Loranger** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:01 pm

So a dozen or so drunk 20 year olds on a 30+ foot yacht thought it'd be a good idea to NOT slow down as they crossed my 12 foot tinny near Rockland at 50 yards away. Had it not been for some very fast thinking by my brother in law and myself, my boat, motor, trolling motor, battery and 500$ of tackle would be at the bottom of the Ottawa right now.

Their wake was big enough to make my boat look like the cover art on "The Perfect Storm" dvd. By the time we hit wave #3 my boat was 2" away from being totally submerged. Thankfully, my 6'4" 300lbs brother in law was fast enough to sit on the end of the boat to level out the water and I was able to remove the plug, b-line for shore and shift my weight to the front. We were honestly 2 inches away from sinking in the middle of the Ottawa.

Everyone reading this that does have a bigger boat, please keep in mind that the water you're moving IS enough to cause serious problems for smaller boats out there. Please be considerate of other boaters, even the poor-fresh-out-of-college ones that just want to have something that runs and floats so they can jig up a couple fish for table once in a while. We're on the water for the same reasons as you and we deserve the same respect. I know most FHers are well educated in the rules of the sea, but there are still some people out there that believe a big boat means they have the right of way.

Oh by the way, the fishing was lame too. Lots of bites but most very light, we ended up with one hammer handle and a catfish. Take care everyone and remember that life is precious and fragile.
Tight lines,
Yannick

Post by **baz fish** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 11:18 pm

Im sorry to hear that Yannick. But at least your boat didn't sink and you where lucky you didn't lost anything

a good thing your brother in laws was there and think fast on that. Did you had your pfd also let me tell you that me whenever I go in a boat now on Im always make sure to had my pfd on me all the time. Live is so precious and fragile and could be very short also.

Post by **Yannick Loranger** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 11:46 pm

yup, I always wear my pfd unless I'm fishing for pike or bass in less than 3-4 ft of water. Yeah good thing neither of us panicked. Truly a life altering experience.

Post by **MLR** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 7:14 am

That sucks, and the captain more than likely had his boat operators card. Proof that the card does not work!

Post by **Hookup** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 8:06 am

I do hope you were able to get the number or name/make of the boat or something... I'm assuming you were too busy trying not to go under...

This is the #1 reason I try to stay off the Rideau R. on weekends... I used to have a house (pre-divorce) on the Rideau R about 2km south of the four corners... anyhow.. we would sit out there and see yahoo after yahoo race, roll, run by the house... non stop.. Like you said, most FH'ers know this...

The 10km/hr signs are some of the best... I love seeing the 26foot+ boats crusin thru at 10km/hr throwing 4 foot or higher wakes thinking.. yep.. i'm following the signs just like I was taught... IDIOTS...

I just do not understand how people are ignorant of the effect of their boats.. it baffles me... completely...

Sorry to hear the fishing sucked... Just think you could have been fighting PB walleye double headers and had that happen...

Post by **Yannick Loranger** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 8:41 am

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any info about the boat, because as you said, I was busy trying to stay afloat and had to go through about a dozen movements in my head (get on the seat, find the plug, pull the plug, steer to shore, move to the middle of the boat, where's the bailing bucket?, wow the shore is close, kill the engine, find the plug hole, put the plug back in, come up with a passionate swear heavy rant...etc).
I did call 911 when I got to shore, and explained the situation, and hopefully there happened to be OPP on the River last night to at least give these guys a hard time. Anyway, it was a heck of a learning experience, and the fiancee was happy to hear me admit that we need a bigger boat. Anyway, if anyone does see a big white yacht with a dozen topless 20 something guys (gross) on it, try to get a boat # or something, these guys really shouldn't be out there.
Tight lines everyone,
Yannick

Post by **JustinHoffman** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:03 am

Fisherguy - not trying to condone the actions of a boater, as it appears this situation caused you quite a bit of distress. Just wondering a few things:

50 yards is half the length of a football field. That is quite a distance. I wouldn't expect a boat to slow down when traveling that far from me. In fact, slowing down actually causes much more of a wake, at least in my experience with the bigger boats.

How low does your boat sit in the water? Just curious, as a 12-foot tinny (and a 300lb brother-in-law) plus yourself and all of your gear, I'm wondering if you are greatly over the recommended weight for your small boat, rendering it a safety risk for any adverse water conditions. This would definitely cause a greater danger when dealing with any sort of wave action, and I think this might of been the case here.

Again, not trying to condone any actions.

Good Fishing,

Justin

Post by **Yannick Loranger** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:30 am

Hi Justin,
The River in Rockland is about a mile wide, they could easily have moved over further. I've crossed boat sthat big before, and they've always made an effort to minimize their wake. There was no effort on the part of these guys. The boat wasn't overloaded, it runs best with a passenger, otherwise the back is way low and I'm looking at the sky. My points are:

#1 they were going too fast and too close
#2 they were oblivious to the wake they were creating
#3 there was no effort made

even when I cross a decent sized bass boat or big walleye boat guys slow down, and also 9/10 boats travelling upstream in that area will use the north side of the river, boats travelling downstream will use the south side.

What was I supposed to do in waves that big? Anyway, I'm looking into getting a bigger boat for next year because there are more yahoos like these guys and next time maybe I won't be so LUCKY to have my heavy set brother in law with me.

Yannick

Post by **JustinHoffman** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:48 am

Yannick - glad everything worked out in the end..

Yep, grounds for a new, and bigger boat for sure!

Safe Travels,

Justin

Post by **Jimmy_1** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 12:05 pm

Sad to hear that.....

But this is a PRIME example of why the rest of us now need to buy that stupid scam of a boating license....

Post by **troutnmuskiehunter** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 12:41 pm

Jamsers wrote:Sad to hear that.....

But this is a PRIME example of why the rest of us now need to buy that stupid scam of a boating license....

Guys in a 30+ foot yacht "possibly" getting to close to a tinny...how is this a PRIME example of why we now have to register for a boating license and you getting scammed

IF these guys had a boating license, how would this instance have made a difference???????????

Post by **Jimmy_1** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 12:48 pm

Its called behaviour Steve,

By people generally being STUPID by boating and how they go boating is why.....

Why just last night Mark and I were out fishing and some idiots decided to BLAST by us in a speedboat about 30 yrds away from us and had the GAUL to wave....

Its because people act like this that the rest of us were made to get a license...basically sea-dooers doing crazy things....

But because its something I posted you ALWAYS feel the need to retort....

Post by **troutnmuskiehunter** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:41 pm

Not at all James..you must be feeling guilty about something..I haven't been active on this site for a few weeks but I thought I would reply to this post and question your statements which have nothing to do with seadoos

...but, seeing how you brought it up, it just appears that you reply to every and any post and know everything and anything about nothing

...it's just my opinion

Post by **Wallyboss** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 3:27 pm

Personally I would rather have a boat go on plane beside me than them making the big wave that a boat makes when it goes slow. as long as you can have eye contact with the other boater I never slow down because of the wave it makes.

Coming back to fisherguy's issue I used to go on the Big O with a shallow 14ftr and never felt safe about doing it because of the big waves that can come at a moments notice.

Post by **Jimmy_1** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:29 pm

TroutnMuskieHunter wrote:Not at all James..you must be feeling guilty about something..I haven't been active on this site for a few weeks but I thought I would reply to this post and question your statements which have nothing to do with seadoos ...but, seeing how you brought it up, it just appears that you reply to every and any post and know everything and anything about nothing ...it's just my opinion

TMH-FISH-HAWK's CHEAPSEAT...