Lake Tahoe Cobalts

[bruceb58]

They might have been too far away from a beach or Emerald Bay. And maybe the engine was swamped. But my comment was that in that sort of situation you should try to get to any sort of land despite the damage to your boat. You disagree with that?

All that said, the situation on the SW part of the lake yesterday was sudden and terrible. I live on the West Shore and feel terrible for that Chris Craft's passengers.

I was just at that same beach a couple days before. That is the primary beach I go to to hang out. It is VERY close to Emerald bay.

We can all speculate without knowing exactly what happened. Hopefully, the two survivors can give insight to what happened. My guess...inexperienced boater and that is why they tried to beach it.

I disagree vehemently that you should beach your boat without pointing the boat into the waves at a 20° to 30° angle beforehand away from shore. They would have been fine if they did that and were off shore.

I have owned my home in Tahoe(Tahoe Keys) since 1989 and have been boating on Tahoe since I was a kid since 1972. I have been in conditions like this in the ocean. Beaching your boat is a last resort measure.

[carrera]

I disagree vehemently that you should beach your boat without pointing the boat into the waves at a 20° to 30° angle beforehand away from shore. They would have been fine if they did that and were off shore.

A Chris-Craft Launch 27 (relatively low profile open bow) is ill-equipped for that situation and I stand by what I said....the captain should have headed for the nearest shore as soon as the waves grew to what they became. He had a $250K boat, filled to maximum rated capacity (10 passengers) that he had only driven three times (including the Saturday ride) and he probably tried to save it, despite the water that came in over the bow.

That said, I am updating all the jackets on my boat to something more effective than the CG orange vests.

Safe boating for all this year and always on the lake.

[bruceb58]

I disagree vehemently that you should beach your boat without pointing the boat into the waves at a 20° to 30° angle beforehand away from shore. They would have been fine if they did that and were off shore.

A Chris-Craft Launch 27 (relatively low profile open bow) is ill-equipped for that situation and I stand by what I said....the captain should have headed for the nearest shore as soon as the waves grew to what they became. He had a $250K boat, filled to maximum rated capacity (10 passengers) that he had only driven three times (including the Saturday ride) and he probably tried to save it, despite the water that came in over the bow.

That said, I am updating all the jackets on my boat to something more effective than the CG orange vests.

Safe boating for all this year and always on the lake.

I again disagree with you. That would be a VERY poor decision. He should have headed to Emerald Bay which is less than 10 minutes away.

[carrera]

I again disagree with you. That would be a VERY poor decision. He should have headed to Emerald Bay which is less than 10 minutes away.

I am done with this, but any decision would have been better than what was made. An inexperienced boat driver battling those swells in a low profile C-C with an elderly group of passengers (at maximum passenger load) should have done anything other than what he did. If Emerald Bay was attainable, then yes...but if not...take it to land.

[Lifelongbtr]

I disagree vehemently that you should beach your boat without pointing the boat into the waves at a 20° to 30° angle beforehand away from shore. They would have been fine if they did that and were off shore.

A Chris-Craft Launch 27 (relatively low profile open bow) is ill-equipped for that situation and I stand by what I said....the captain should have headed for the nearest shore as soon as the waves grew to what they became. He had a $250K boat, filled to maximum rated capacity (10 passengers) that he had only driven three times (including the Saturday ride) and he probably tried to save it, despite the water that came in over the bow.

That said, I am updating all the jackets on my boat to something more effective than the CG orange vests.

Safe boating for all this year and always on the lake.

Sounds like a good plan to me. Do you have a VHF radio on your boat? That is another great tool for something like this, CG radioed prior to this storm (not sure how long before), but that could save lives, or avoid a bad day on the lake. I don't always have mine on but I will now. I also have the weather hardware for the garmins so I can view live weather through satellite.

[bruceb58]

Sounds like a good plan to me. Do you have a VHF radio on your boat? That is another great tool for something like this, CG radioed prior to this storm (not sure how long before), but that could save lives, or avoid a bad day on the lake. I don't always have mine on but I will now. I also have the weather hardware for the garmins so I can view live weather through satellite.

I absolutely do. I don't have it on all the time but probably should. My friend, who I let use one side of my dock is in the Coast Guard Auxiliary and I was standing next to his boat when the PAN-PAN call came in for the Chris Craft being overdue. He was actually supposed to be out on patrol that day but didn't go out because of another commitment.

My radio is portable. If you have a permanent radio, you should set it up with DSC

We use the WindAlert app for planning ahead before going out on the lake.

This storm is also a reminder to not have your boat on a buoy and if you do, have a long tether to the buoy so your boat doesn't get swamped with a high wave. Most of the boats that sunk were on buoys.

[carrera]

Sounds like a good plan to me. Do you have a VHF radio on your boat? That is another great tool for something like this, CG radioed prior to this storm (not sure how long before), but that could save lives, or avoid a bad day on the lake. I don't always have mine on but I will now. I also have the weather hardware for the garmins so I can view live weather through satellite.

Yes, I bought one the first year on the lake. I did a cruise last week for Achieve Tahoe with 7 passengers (program for disabled youth and adults) and all the boats doing the cruise had radios and life jackets for all. Took everyone from TYC to Emerald Bay and then back. Easy day on the lake...nothing like happened a few days later.

Felt a bit dorky at the time wearing a life jacket as the captain going down the west shore, but now I don't feel the same about it.

[Lifelongbtr]

Sounds like a good plan to me. Do you have a VHF radio on your boat? That is another great tool for something like this, CG radioed prior to this storm (not sure how long before), but that could save lives, or avoid a bad day on the lake. I don't always have mine on but I will now. I also have the weather hardware for the garmins so I can view live weather through satellite.

Yes, I bought one the first year on the lake. I did a cruise last week for Achieve Tahoe with 7 passengers (program for disabled youth and adults) and all the boats doing the cruise had radios and life jackets for all. Took everyone from TYC to Emerald Bay and then back. Easy day on the lake...nothing like happened a few days later.

Felt a bit dorky at the time wearing a life jacket as the captain going down the west shore, but now I don't feel the same about it.

Haha, yeah well that’s awesome you did that! I’ll be up for the 4th and will be paying more attention for sure. Funny I have a few of the self inflating vests that are easy to wear, but I have a hard time trusting them….

[bruceb58]

Funny I have a few of the self inflating vests that are easy to wear, but I have a hard time trusting them….

I need to get some of those. My Coast Guard Aux friend uses them all the time he goes out. He never leaves the dock without it on.

[carrera]

I bought a handful of the inflating vests from West Marine. Pricey, but like insurance they are worth it if needed.

Latest tally I heard tonight at TYC was that over 100 boats sunk on Saturday. Most were on buoys. The number shocked me. The annual average in Tahoe is 120.

[Lifelongbtr]

I bought a handful of the inflating vests from West Marine. Pricey, but like insurance they are worth it if needed.

Latest tally I heard tonight at TYC was that over 100 boats sunk on Saturday. Most were on buoys. The number shocked me. The annual average in Tahoe is 120.

Wow! I’ve always heard the buoy ones were because they don’t have enough line and the waves come over the bow because the boat can’t float high enough….I’m sure other stuff happened, broken lines etc. but that’s a surprising number. Is there a lot of cleanup going on, I assume? I have been up this year but will be there next week, wondering if I should avoid any areas, docks, etc. ? I usually try to see the whole lake within a few days if the wind is good.

[carrera]

I've been around the lake and there are salvage operations going on, but I can't think of any specific areas to avoid. Hope you have good conditions on the lake!

[bruceb58]

Wow! I’ve always heard the buoy ones were because they don’t have enough line and the waves come over the bow because the boat can’t float high enough….I’m sure other stuff happened, broken lines etc. but that’s a surprising number. Is there a lot of cleanup going on, I assume? I have been up this year but will be there next week, wondering if I should avoid any areas, docks, etc. ? I usually try to see the whole lake within a few days if the wind is good.

Yep...that is the case. Always want to have enough line so a wave doesn't pull your bow down. You also want to check your hardware on a regular basis. I would probably use safety wire on any shackles. I have seen shackles work their way loose with constant boat rocking. Never leave your boat uncovered on a buoy, especially the open bow area. Make sure your bilge pump is directly wired to a battery and your battery is in excellent shape.

Again, would never want my boat on a buoy.

My understanding is that Camp Rich got cleaned up right away.

The Mastercraft in front of Tahoe Keys was gone after a day.

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[carrera]

It has been dark, ominous and humid for the last hour-plus, yet I've seen dozens of boats still on the lake. Thunder throughout. Some boat owners just don't have any sense.

[carrera]

Unfortunately there have been Lake Wind Advisories the last two days! Hoping Sat is better.