Tragic Event

[Hunter53]

We have been on the Ducks and yes there are pfd's. I am sure during a crisis people panic which doesn't help the situation at all.

Prayers for all involved and their families.

[176champion]

They had issues with the ducks in Washington and Arkansas some time ago....PDF's are under the roof if i remember right.

Prayers for all involved..

[GNSfishing]

The PFD’s don’t do any good unless they are worn. I see lots of people in boats not wearing a life jacket while their boat is underway. My son and I were on the lake when the storm blew through, we put our rain suits on and our life jackets it’s just 2nd nature for us to wear our life jackets while the boat is underway. Just one of the requirements while tournament fishing to wear life jackets and use the kill switch.

[shrapnel]

Sounds like 11 confirmed dead now.  These storms were well advertised ahead of time, there's no sugar coating it, someone made a very bad decision.  I don't know that a life jacket would help in 5 footers with a 70mph wind shoving water in your face.  The county went under a warning almost 30 minutes before this happened.

[176champion]

http://www.ky3.com/content/news/CAUGHT-ON-CAMERA-Viewer-captures-Ride-the-Ducks--488687431.html

[Ellros]

Remember the law, and think how many fishermen and other boaters ignore it....   You just have to have PFD's in the watercraft.  Only children 12 and under MUST be wearing them.  Anyone else chooses whether or not to wear one.  In this case, they chose poorly.   In my opinion, someone (the operator of the Duck or whoever), should have had the foresight to advise the passengers to don PFD's when the waves starting coming.

  There were a lot of other boaters caught out in the waves. Saw a pic of one of the docks near the Kimberling Inn that got torn loose by the winds while boaters were trying to get to shelter.  To my knowledge, the Duck was the only tragic incident that occurred.

[Bill Babler]

Should not have been out there as the warning was at least 30 minutes old.  Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the ride on the lake lasts 30 minutes.  There are several issues that have happened other than the Arkansas issue, I  would not want to ride one.  In a panic situation, I'm sure there is total madness.

Reports are that in nose dived into a 4 footer and went down and did not capsize but that is just what we are hearing.  I'd say you have almost zero response time if that is the case.  After watching the video that was brutal.  There are only a couple of places on the Rock that the wind can generate waves like that and the State Park stretch  is probably number 1.  A strong NW wind there has several miles to build and generate some monster waves and you can fully see their impact.  That is a bad stretch with any North wind.

Thought and Prayers to the families.

[MickinMO]

We were just in that area two weeks ago for a day of pleasure boating. I had not been on that area of Table Rock in 15 years. Saw many Ride the Ducks in the water that day. It seemed to me they would be in the water about 15 minutes looping around the island off the Belle. They don't move very fast and trying to go against the wind and current would be even slower.  I can't recall if they were using the state park ramp or the one behind the Belle. SDC sold Ride the Ducks last year. From the video of the boat that made it back it looks like they were trying to get to the ramp behind the Belle. Even if wearing life vests, that is no guarantee you can get out of the boat in time or even survive open water in those conditions. Not to mention if you get knocked out hitting the roof, side, or person thrown into you. The people on the boat that made it back certainly don't appear to be wearing them, but by the time the boat is rocking it would be hard for many to stand up to get them and then get them on in those conditions.

[Quillback]

This is one of those things that when you hear it you say to yourself "How the heck could this have happened?"  

I was watching the new last evening and the weatherman was talking about that storm as it approached, he said it was racing in at about 55 MPH, and I thought to myself that it sure could be an issue for anyone out on the water.  

Going to be a tough one for friends and family of the victims.

[vernon]

I've never been on one of those things as I thought they looked liked death traps from the first time I laid eyes on one. However, I was a city firefighter at the time and definitely viewed them through the eyes of a first responder rather than as a tourist.

As Wrench alluded to, if the roof doesn't come off I don't see how thirty plus people could possibly escape through the windows in a matter of seconds and especially in a moment of panic.

While watching the video I couldn't help but think it might have made more sense to drive those things up on the island to wait for help as opposed to heading to a more distant shore in open water.  I have no idea if that would have been possible much less practical but, hindsight being what it is, it was the first thing that occurred to me and I would hope that the driver/operators are trained to consider such contingencies in the event of a rough water emergency.

And what they're doing out there with weather warnings in effect for the area is baffling to me.

Thankful for the one that made it back but it disturbs me to no end to imagine the horror that needlessly took place on the one that didn't.