Boating Accident at PWT

[Juls_OH]

I just read on another site that reports were coming in that Jamie Freibel's boat hit a wake while running up river, lost control, and ended up on shore... in some woods. No injuries reported.

That's a bummer. Glad to hear no one was hurt! I hope there wasn't too much damage to his boat and motor...:(

Update: It looks like Jamie and his co were put out of commission today with that accident. Latest word was...the DNR was called in and were on their way to the site.

Juls

[Old CG Captain]

Good grief!
Here is my reaction and I am sure it will be other's, regardless of circumstances (of which I am sure there are many):
I am sorry to hear this and I am thankful no one was injured, but this is unacceptable driving and bad advertising.

[Setter]

Juls,are they O.K.?
Ryan Hale

[WalleyeJason]

Well, I would disagree with the comment that it was "unacceptable driving". Accidents happen, even to the most experienced drivers and pilots.

I am happy to hear that nobody got hurt.

[yoseen]

Like you, I am not quite as quick to jump to the old "it was an accident". When does personal accountability come in to play and when does professionalism enter into the equation. Most accidents can be avoided with clear thinking individuals focused on the business at hand. I don't have any time for indivuiduals that are careless and putting my or others safety at jeopardy.

[skeeter]

I don't know Jammie from Adam but my feelings is I am thankful no one got hurt. Like any other sport no matter how careful you are something could happen to any one of us at any time. My thinking is that pointing the finger and making bad comments really is unacceptable especially when we don't know the whole story. Skeeter


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[GF-not signed in]

This is where no matter what the circumstances, previuos things that have went down, will now come into what one calls, biting you in the BUTT! To those of us who know Jamie understand why I say this,

[Just looking]

When you end up in the trees either bad judgment or mechanical failure is involved.
Give you a break?
The co-angler's lawyer would have had a hay day with this.
The boat landed on shore for God's sake!

[wallytap]

I agree. I've seen it first hand.....

[Done Some driving]

When you have a passenger along, the least you can do is avoid a situation in which you, the passenger and the boat could possibly end up flying out of the water into the trees on shore.
This passenger is owed some degree of personal respect and consideration for his safety.

[Jon Jordan]

Juls, you pretty much summed it up in your first post.

I just got off the phone with Jamie. Jamie and his partner are ok. The boat is in bad shape and he is out of this tourney.

Here is what happened. Like most accidents, they happen fast. As Juls stated, Jamie was crossing a wake and it got rough through a turn. He ended up popping the kill switch cord loosing the power and steering which kept him from re-gaining control. He put the boat on shore, bouncing off a tree and skidding about 40 feet into the shoreline. He told me that neither the DNR or Sheriff are a issuing any kind of tickets. The PWT appears to understand the nature of this accident and is not DQ’ing Jamie. His weight/points should stand.

Jamie is not unlike many of the pros running their boats hard. He is very competitive. He feels terrible for co-angler. Of course, he is embarrassed. No one wants to be the focus of attention like this.

[Good advertising]

Glad to hear no one was hurt!

That's small quarters in that river and one false move #### happens. Like in ANY sporting event at the top level.

Bad advertising? lol Tell NASCAR that the next time someone wrecks. Next should be a shoving match between anglers at the weigh-in. Then the fans will come out!

NOT old

[Juls_OH]

Thanks for the info Jon. That explains a lot! Can't control a boat if it doesn't have any power!

Juls

[slowdown]

The fact remains that as a boater, we need to put personal safety first.
This "ain't" Nascar. Boats need to be driven with respect and you need to be humble. I was almost nailed two weeks ago in Red Wing. This driver was quite lucky that I was watching and avoided the clown.

[brad b unlogged]

Lost steering? Would that actually happen by knocking out the kill switch?

I saw the boat... the entire boat was about 5 (ish) feet up onto the bank. Saw a mark on a tree where he must have glance off. Be thankful no one got hurt with this....

[Terroreyes]

Yes it would!! I had problems with a keyless ignition that kept shutting the boat down and it happened a couple of times at high speeds. You have no steering at all, but mine were luckily while headed in a straight line. If you were turning, it could get pretty ugly!!!!



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[CWS]

What kind of steering doesn't work with the engine off?

[Terroreyes]

The steering wheel and motor move, but has almost no affect on the boat when your moving fast. You need the thrust from the prop to turn it. No agenda here. Just passing on my personal experience.



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[boomrr]

If im not mistaken, verados lose there power steering when the engine kills.

[JLDII]

That means nothing! It is the thrust of the prop pushing water that steers the boat. If the prop isn't spinning the boat WILL NOT STEER! It is not a rudder like on a sailboat.

Its kind of like steering your car on ice. If you lock up your front wheels the car is going to go straight no matter how much you turn the wheel. If your wheels are turning you can turn the car.(somewhat on ice that is).

[Jon Jordan]

Terroreyes has it right. If you are at wot and lose power, it's bad. Especially in a turn. You have the tip of your skeg in the water as a rudder....that's it. You either straighten course or come off plane sideways and roll the boat. There is only one move and that put Jamies boat on shore. Bottom line here. If he does not pop the kill switch, he drives through it just like a 1000 times before.

It was an accident.

[Jon Jordan]

That's a very good anaogly Jack.

[boomrr]

Makes you wonder if kill strings are really appropriate in this situation.

[killgood]

Kill switches are excellent; unless you are traveling way to fast into a blind corner and don't slow the boat down to an appropriate speed for the conditions. This could have been much worse. Approaching boats or a number of other scenarios could have been deadly. This needs to be a wake up call. Our bass brothers have lost lives in tourney events in the past. Let's be careful and under control prior to a serious accident.

[LOL 2]

Glad nobody got hurt.
I like NASCAR, but this is not quite the same.
They don't have a passenger who paid money to go fishing riding along at NASCAR races.

[Old CG Captain]

That would do it.

[Sensible]

Look at it this way, If he drove the boat as should be driven, it probably would not have happen, In the area it happened in, should he have been trying to get around the other competitor or waited a little longer, everytime some one makes a rediculous move it is just an accident, BS, IS WHAT I SAY.

[JustLookN]

This name is a little to close to my registered name, dont need any confusion, thanks..Bob

[LOL]

Yep, Perchjerker & Prchjerker probably know all about that. LOL

[Throwing Stones]

I'm glad so many on here are perfect and have never had an accident. I guess it's not hard to be perfect when you are on the computer typing instead of fishing. None of you were there and none of you know exactly what happened. Quit jumping to conclusions and keep your "expert" opinions to yourselves.

[eyecrazy nl]

I agree 100% with throwing stones.There is way to much of that on this site.eyecrazy

[stonertwo]

what good would our opinions be if we kept them to ourselves? This was not an accident. This was blatant stupidity .

[garbage_bag]

I am very familiar with the area of the river where this happened. The boat ended up parked on land that is owned by my family. No person with any amount of common sense would take that corner that fast, especially in traffic. I can't believe some would simply brush this off as an accident. What if the boat had struck and killed some poor guy fishing out of a 14'? Would that be an "accident" too?

[Sauger Bob]

Ya its a big deal because its a pro, and it was during a tournament. Accidents happen all the time. How many competitors don't run open in a tournament, its unfortunate but its an accident and they do happen. Look at all the idiot rec boaters or fisherman who screw up. Mechanical failures come into play as well. As far as the co-angler suing, thats funny. He didn't get hurt , what are his damages???? His entry fee is about it period. I'll bet the pro was more than willing to reimburse him. Why is there such an anti-pro, anti tournament, sentiment on this site? I've never wrecked a car or boat but all of us have had near misses when we've done something not so bright- and if you deny that you are simply a liar. Maybe some of the tournament organizers outta rethink boundaries, and local regulations when choosing these sites to make things safer and maybe evening up the playing field for a competitors a little bit. Another example was the MWC in Detroit this last weekend where anglers really were forced to travel 30-40 out into Lake Erie to compete. In this instance they should have kept in the River only, or just had the event out of Port Clinton, if they really wanted the big baskets.

[Dam Lucky]

Very good point. Lucky there wasn't a recreational craft anchored on that turn. How horrible would it have been if a Dad and his kids would have been creamed by that out-of-control boat?

That river is dangerous with boats weighing more than a ton flying around corners at 60 MPH. If you ask me, there should be a speed limit on the Wolf.

[incredible]

Sauger Bob,
Some of the posts here are pretty ridiculous. I cannot believe that personal accountability is once again passed over and you suggest that the event organizers have to make the events safer. Bob, you can't be serious here. Safety is of paramount concern in every event and the "pro" needs to ensure that he is operating within safe parameters. Also, simply weighing huge baskets is not at all what these events should focus on. The events should be a variety of locations and styles of fishing with an emphasis of having fun. Working through the variety of locations and bites is the tru essance of tournament fishing.

[garbage bag]

Sauger Bob,

These so-called "pros" are wiping out their boats flying around corners wide open and getting DQ'ed for no-wake violations and you're suprised that some of us have an anti-tourney attitude?

Of course there are plenty of idiots who don't fish tournies, but I would expect a "pro" to be held to a little bit higher standard. Maybe not...

[JLDII]

Who said that some pro's can't also be idiots?

[Hmmmmm]

The problem is, people figure a PRO knows alot about boats and driving them. Maybe they should have to prove it before they can take some poor unsuspecting amateur out fishing?

The fact is, some PROs are very experienced with all kinds of conditions and some are not. Some of these PROs are pretty green and some are reckless until they have a close call or two.

Well, the PRO in question here is no longer "wreckless".

[GET REAL]

Its funny it only took three guys to push the boat back in the water,I watched them from the raft across the river,whats your last name garbage?

[garbage bag]

It starts with an "S"