Something going on in Alton
 

I am listening to a scanner right now and something major appears to happening somewhere in Alton Bay. It's hard to follow but lots of first responders including Marine Patrol are there.

2 Marine Patrol boats just went by the house at full speed

What frequency are you listening to MP on? I haven't been able to get them at all this year. Was fine last year, not sure what has happened, haven't seen anywhere that they have changed frequencies.

My wife went down to the Bay post office about 11:15 and did not see a thing out of the normal. I had alerted her so she did visually scan the lower bay.

They are using a State Police frequency. Next time it pops up I'll jot it down for you.

This post was edited out of respect for the family and situation.

152.330 I think....

One can only hope...Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

Fatal accident
 

Didn't mean to thank the previous post.

Unfortunately, per WMUR, there were two families heading frm Alton Bay to Wolfeboro when one adult fell out of the boat and was killed instantly. Still under investigation.

Very sad.

Dave

from the Union Leader today
 

From the Union Leader online:

Hopefully posters will remain respectful of the grief being experienced by these families. I cannot imagine their horror.

Dave

From WMUR:

Tragic event.

Damn...sad to hear.

Boating accident in Alton
 

That is so sad...cannot get this off my mind. Poor souls trying to enjoy their vacation. We are constantly preaching “safety, safety, safety” to our grandkids because you have to be vigilant all the time. Despite best efforts, these awful things can happen. My heart goes out to that family.

Same with me Sue Doe Nym…..when I think of a happy family outing turned tragic I can't get it out of my head.
I still think about that accident last year in Paugus Bay when that dad backed into his son, not knowing he was in the water. Hoping they have recovered
Got to say that the thought of these accidents have turned me into a safety fanatic. Motor shut down when anyone is in the water.....always count heads before starting up. Watching at 360 at all times when towing tubers and skiiers. Always looking for the unexpected.

WMUR article with video report:

https://www.wmur.com/article/man-kil...alton/22827382

Very sad occurrence. Wonder if they forgot to release a dock line. I saw that happen last year at the docks, fortunately no injuries as the boat turned when held by the line.

----------------------------------------------------

I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic

Oh....
 

That makes sense now. Couldnt picture how a sudden turn results in going overboard then getting run over. Seems like the person & motor would be going in opposite directions. A rope pulling tight might explain both.
Yikes.

Keys
 

We go to the extent of taking keys out of ignition when people R swimming

Same here, I think about this one multiple times a day, and also regularly recall other less recent tragedies.

To your point about being a safety fanatic--twice this Summer inexperienced passengers have stood in a place/time on my boat that indicated that they had no idea how easy it would be to fall. I got them down in time, but it was my bad.

I also started taking a safer approach last year. Whenever we stop for swimming etc. i say "Keys out" and remove the keys from the ignition. My "crew" now listens for this as a way, before anyone is in the water, to ensure the boat can't be started. And of course "Keys in" when getting ready to start so that all are aware.

And I too am very saddened by any accident of this nature. Can't image what the driver and family are going through.

Death in Alton Bay
 

So very sad... prayers with the family.

This was almost 5 years ago. It was pretty awful, but he has recovered well

Thanks for sharing that......good news indeed.

It would be nice if the media could give some DETAILS as to how something like this can possibly happen, so maybe fellow boater's can learn, (unfortunately), from someone else's misfortune, so as to not make the same mistake, and possibly save a life in the future. First thing that comes to my mind is I wonder if alcohol is involved in these incidents. There are so many "reports" of people dying from (tragic accidents) that the media NEVER has an explanation (for) as to how it happened, that I would almost rather not even know about the tragedy, than to have to "guess", or "wonder" how it happened because the media just moves on to the next story, and NEVER does a "follow up". Very frustrating. Media SUCKS. They are NOT doing their job at all anymore. My condolences to this family. Can't even imagine what they are going through.

I agree, wholeheartedly. The media does suck.

an option
 

Perhaps the Marine Patrol could compile an online anonymous listing of accidents and causes with names and dates omitted. This would give the public a good idea of things that should be avoided and be a major contribution to boating safety. The most interesting and useful articles in aviation magazines is the recap of events leading up to accidents so that pilots can avoid the same mistakes. Relying on the media to provide this (accurately) is a fools errand.

This is not accurate, fair or constructive. We regularly receive follow ups on lake tragedies. If memory serves, the most recent ones were the sledders who went through the ice, the drunk guy and the woman who sued each other, and the boat that ran atop another on Winnisquam.

Further, when you say "the media" I take it you mean the local newspapers in this case. Those folks are under incredible attack from internet disruption. We're lucky they have survived at all. Of course, this Forum is part of the media--it's an excellent source of information.

In this particular case, I am referring to wmur's report. It tells us NOTHING. Absolutely useless. Unless I missed something, please fill me in on the details of this tragedy..., and let me know the source so I can look it up myself the next time something like this happens again. FWIW, I don't feel "lucky" at all that some of these newspaper's still exist. Quite the contrary... Too much fake news. I will be happy to name names if I must, but I would have to go "off topic" and be accused of "having an agenda"... BTW, I agree that newspaper's are up against it trying to compete with the internet, so you would think that they would be willing to work harder to stay in business and have BETTER reports than what you read on line, or hear on tv to keep people buying their newspapers...

This is a GREAT idea, but, unfortunately, when something makes too much sense, it never becomes reality... Seems like "Man" does everything bass ackwards!! I'll just wait for flyingscot and/or JanN to fill me in on the "details" of this one...

For the WMUR story to have all the details, they would have had to either interview one of the family members who witnessed the accident or a police rep . Until a proper investigation is done, the police rep is not in a position to give out a detailed account of the accident. Interviewing the family at this point wouldn't be a good option either. A full account of the accident would undoubtedly be very helpful in educating boaters to help prevent future accidents, but the account needs to be complete and accurate to do the most good.

I agree with everything you said, except, interviewing the family at this time would not be a good option. Although I agree it would never be a "good time" to interview family members that were on the boat at the time of the accident, it is the reporter's job to get that interview asap. I freely admit that I could never be that type of reporter, but that's what they get paid to do. Isn't the interview with people in the middle of a crisis, crying and sobbing uncontrollably, the one that get's all the "ratings"??? I hate those reporter's that have the microphone right in the face of the sobbing "victim" after they just suffered a tragedy, but somebody has to do it... Personally, if I ever happen to be that "victim" and a reporter is sticking that microphone in my face, he will regret it. I will make sure of that, but that's the chance reporter's have to take if they want to make a name for themselves. That reminds me of the only good thing that came out of the Station Night Club fire was watching Jeff Derdarien getting a good dose of his own medicine when he was crying like a little baby when the reporter's had the microphones in his face!! Karma is a Bitch... Orion had a great idea that is so simple, and makes so much sense that I can't believe it hasn't happened already, which is why I don't ever expect it to happen.

Boating tragedy
 

Returning to the topic of safety, which we all agree is important: it is vital that we step up when we observe people acting irresponsibly around watercraft. We recently observed some renters, cruising into our cove toward their dock, with several young bikini-clad girls STANDING on the bow, totally unaware of their surroundings...possible ..unmarked rocks, etc. about to end their idyllic vacation. We watched as they docked and it was with relief that nothing happened. We probably should have risked being “busybodies “ and warned them. I will do that in the future.

You could also kill the batteries when stopped

Biggest thing I see that baffles me is people hanging off the front of pontoon boats, usually kids. And every time I turn to whoever is sitting next to me and say "don't ever do that"