Wreck and rescue

In yesterday's paper:

~20 kt wind (according to Colchester Reef station) on Lake Champlain Sunday, 4 kayakers capsized and bailed out of a group of 12 and needed Coast Guard/Police rescue.

They were all from out of state, no mention of experience level. All wearing PFD's, no injuries.

The 2 things that struck me were..

1) It would be nice if they could have recovered amongst themselves.

2) sounds like a nice day.. wish I was out paddling.


While we're on safety.. while vacationing on Lake Winnipesaukee (NH) the big hubbub was a fatal accident in July where a "high performance"* motor boat crashed into an island. The ironic part was that the driver, whose family owns a marina and representing a boat dealer's association, had recently testified to the legislature against the need for speed limits on the lake.

The prior fatal crash (high speed boat ran over a smaller boat) in 2002 also had a driver who owned the marina that sold the boat. Maybe the key is just banning dealers from driving their own boats on the lake?

At any rate, the speed limit law passed (45 mph day, 25 at night) a few weeks before the crash but doesn't go into effect until Jan 1 next year.

*"high performance" meaning a general class with top speed around 100 mph.