spotondl
In a Purple Haze
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2007
- Messages
- 2,081
- Reaction score
- 768
Let me preface this with a few statements/observations...
1. Everybody who witnesses any sudden event sees sees things differently. Single event, multiple stories, sometimes VERY at odds with each other.
2. Even if you are the driver that is involved in an "incident" you will have a very different and also very narrow perspective of what actually happens.
That said, here is what actually happened from my perspective, viewed from the air, in the helicopter that was probably less than 100 feet away and directly on top of the rollover. Unfortunately, due to some stupid technical problems I was unable to capture any of this on video. Jay Nichols/Naples Image has a great still sequence of the entire event from start to finish however that if he so chooses will share and will corroborate the narrative that follows...
The silver DCB's were running together, side by side at about 75 MPH behind the pace boat, with the 41 that Tony was driving to the right and about 3/4 of a boat length ahead of the 35. The first group was running very organized, all together in what is probably one of the best starts that I have ever witnessed at Desert Storm. Nobody jumped or even tried to jump the start. Absolutely GREAT cooperation and driving from the first group.
When the first group made it to the natural left turn at Pilot Rock the boats were released and had just started spooling up. Very shortly after being released, the boats were probably running about 80 - 90 MPH, Tony had to make a very slight course correction to the left to avoid another boat ahead of him that was on the lake either as an unaware lake user or as a tardy spectator. Tony, in the 41, bore slightly to the left, just enough that I could see that the spacing between the 41 and 35 was narrowing. He did nothing out of the ordinary and certainly did not cut anybody off or unnecessarily cause anyone to take evasive action. Just a very gentle left drift to avoid an obstacle ahead.
The 35, rather than bearing left in parallel with the 41 and the rest of the group for that matter, chose to back out of the throttles and bear RIGHT, crossing fairly close, about 15 or 20 feet, behind the 41 and over the wake of the 41.
Once the 35 hit that wake the whole program got loose. The nose of the boat was rising and the boat started to "tail walk" for lack of a better term. The 35 chined side to side on the tail several times, perhaps 5 or 6 times, with the nose progressively rising higher and higher with each chine... Left, right, left, right, nose higher, higher, higher until the boat was pretty much vertical... sponsons pointed to the sky.
Once vertical, the rear right corner hit the water and pulled the boat back down, perfectly on its right/starboard side.
The boat then rolled to the left bringing the boat upright and going straight on its original course having slowed down significantly. Both the driver and the navigator were still in the boat at this point and we in the helicopter were actually thinking that he was going to actually save the boat from rolling. We even had time to verbally say to each other over the onboard intercom system, "Holy shit!!! He's gonna save it!!!"
At that point the boat pulled hard to the left and hooked, rolling the boat hard over to the right and at that point the driver and navigator were pitched out of the boat and the boat crashed upside down on the water surface, wherein it then swamped and sank to a sponsons up attitude. The whole sequence took several seconds to develop. It was not a fast crash. One thing led to another over the course of some time, enough so that we in the helicopter were able to have our own commentary along the lines of "Whoa!!! Whoa!!! WHOA!!! WHOA!!! HOLY SHIT HE'S GONNA SAVE IT, OH SHIT!!! QUICK, LET'S GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!
Almost all of the first group boats stopped and circled around the 35 in a protective and aid rendering mode. The DS rescue & safety helicopters and boats were on top of the 35 within seconds, with one rescue diver deployed and another ready to go in. Both the driver and the navigator were accounted for and safe with only cuts & bruises. Once the safety of the driver and navigator was ascertained everybody that didn't have an immediate involvement in the rescue/salvage process was released and proceeded on with the rest of the poker run. The safety plan that has been in place for all of the years of DS worked perfectly and the people involved were safe and the boat had been recovered and on its trailer by late afternoon.
Everybody is safe, priority number 1. And THAT'S the truth....
1. Everybody who witnesses any sudden event sees sees things differently. Single event, multiple stories, sometimes VERY at odds with each other.
2. Even if you are the driver that is involved in an "incident" you will have a very different and also very narrow perspective of what actually happens.
That said, here is what actually happened from my perspective, viewed from the air, in the helicopter that was probably less than 100 feet away and directly on top of the rollover. Unfortunately, due to some stupid technical problems I was unable to capture any of this on video. Jay Nichols/Naples Image has a great still sequence of the entire event from start to finish however that if he so chooses will share and will corroborate the narrative that follows...
The silver DCB's were running together, side by side at about 75 MPH behind the pace boat, with the 41 that Tony was driving to the right and about 3/4 of a boat length ahead of the 35. The first group was running very organized, all together in what is probably one of the best starts that I have ever witnessed at Desert Storm. Nobody jumped or even tried to jump the start. Absolutely GREAT cooperation and driving from the first group.
When the first group made it to the natural left turn at Pilot Rock the boats were released and had just started spooling up. Very shortly after being released, the boats were probably running about 80 - 90 MPH, Tony had to make a very slight course correction to the left to avoid another boat ahead of him that was on the lake either as an unaware lake user or as a tardy spectator. Tony, in the 41, bore slightly to the left, just enough that I could see that the spacing between the 41 and 35 was narrowing. He did nothing out of the ordinary and certainly did not cut anybody off or unnecessarily cause anyone to take evasive action. Just a very gentle left drift to avoid an obstacle ahead.
The 35, rather than bearing left in parallel with the 41 and the rest of the group for that matter, chose to back out of the throttles and bear RIGHT, crossing fairly close, about 15 or 20 feet, behind the 41 and over the wake of the 41.
Once the 35 hit that wake the whole program got loose. The nose of the boat was rising and the boat started to "tail walk" for lack of a better term. The 35 chined side to side on the tail several times, perhaps 5 or 6 times, with the nose progressively rising higher and higher with each chine... Left, right, left, right, nose higher, higher, higher until the boat was pretty much vertical... sponsons pointed to the sky.
Once vertical, the rear right corner hit the water and pulled the boat back down, perfectly on its right/starboard side.
The boat then rolled to the left bringing the boat upright and going straight on its original course having slowed down significantly. Both the driver and the navigator were still in the boat at this point and we in the helicopter were actually thinking that he was going to actually save the boat from rolling. We even had time to verbally say to each other over the onboard intercom system, "Holy shit!!! He's gonna save it!!!"
At that point the boat pulled hard to the left and hooked, rolling the boat hard over to the right and at that point the driver and navigator were pitched out of the boat and the boat crashed upside down on the water surface, wherein it then swamped and sank to a sponsons up attitude. The whole sequence took several seconds to develop. It was not a fast crash. One thing led to another over the course of some time, enough so that we in the helicopter were able to have our own commentary along the lines of "Whoa!!! Whoa!!! WHOA!!! WHOA!!! HOLY SHIT HE'S GONNA SAVE IT, OH SHIT!!! QUICK, LET'S GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!
Almost all of the first group boats stopped and circled around the 35 in a protective and aid rendering mode. The DS rescue & safety helicopters and boats were on top of the 35 within seconds, with one rescue diver deployed and another ready to go in. Both the driver and the navigator were accounted for and safe with only cuts & bruises. Once the safety of the driver and navigator was ascertained everybody that didn't have an immediate involvement in the rescue/salvage process was released and proceeded on with the rest of the poker run. The safety plan that has been in place for all of the years of DS worked perfectly and the people involved were safe and the boat had been recovered and on its trailer by late afternoon.
Everybody is safe, priority number 1. And THAT'S the truth....
