Drowning victim thrown from boat going 116 mph

Omaha World-Herald ^ | 7-15-03 | Susan Szalewski

[AnAmericanMother]

My parents have a 17' Boston Whaler with a 40hp Evinrude on the back. Speed Racer! (<< not >> )

It's a putt-putt, but it goes plenty fast enough to get into trouble in the tidal rivers and creeks of coastal GA. Nice thing is, with that little motor, if you run aground on a sandbar on a falling tide, if everybody jumps out and pushes you can get it off again rather than waiting 10 hours for the next tide to float you off . . .

It happens to everybody around there sooner or later though. The local marina even sells shirts with the picture of a muddy wet dog on the front and the caption "MUD PUPPY". They say they'll only sell 'em to somebody who comes in with a sunburn, bug bites, and mud to the knees . . . :-D

[Bob Buchholz]

Sorry you couldn't afford a Fountain ;^) Just kidding, but the Fountain boat factory is in my home town (actually across the river) in NC. We always have boats going over 100mph up and down the river. When Reggie is getting ready for a speed record run, he runs about 5:00 AM. The noise really pisses off the people in town, but he is happy to offer to move his factory to some other town that wouldn't mind the noise. He is an arrogant SOB, but he does build a fast boat.

[Sam Cree]

I am pretty much aware that there is no speed limit offshore, and hope there never will be. I've been on the water all my life, sometimes as an avocation, sometimes professionally.

Offshore racing is not my particular hobby, though I admire the boats and drivers greatly. I remember the first "Moppie" by Bertram and most of the Aronow designs, particularly the Cigarettes, one of which is owned by G. Bush Senior, the "Felicity," I think. Lots of those kind of boats were used in the drug trade here in S Florida, still are, I'm sure.

My boat is a 28' Whitewater, 400 HP in twin outboards, and a 24 degree deadrise, bow to stern. It happens to be a ripoff of an old Aronow design from the 60's, the 23' Formula, which also, I believe, won the Miami-Nassau offshore race in those days. A pretty good boat for offshore, even in rough conditions. I use her for fishing, sometimes cruising from FL to the Bahamas.

I have to say that I don't believe 100 mph speeds can be really maintained offshore, outside the reef except in reasonably nice conditions. But then, I believe the offshore racing tends to be inside the reef these days where the seas are a little less. Still dangerous, I guess.

I'm not familiar with the Magic, where is she built? Going to read the rest of your profile when I get a minute, looks interesting.

[Sam Cree]

Whoops, sorry, just scrolled back and saw your boat, what a beauty. Hadn't realized she was a cat. Something like the Blue Thunder boats made by Cigarette for US Customs. Yours is faster than those, I bet.

[Jhoffa_]

If there's no speed limit.. Then I don't care if he was going 1000 mph.

The other idiot should have either been holding on or demanding the driver slow down.

[dead]

The way I read it, he wasn't dead. He was still in the process of drowning when he was thrown from the boat.

[LibWhacker]

My car won't even go 116mph!

[AAABEST]

Ping.

I used to build jet boats. Fast as hell but nothing like this.

[MJY1288]

I raced a Flat Bottom for about 10 years, Best 1/4 mile MPH was 143.36, best ET was 7.43 with a 600 CI, 1,120 HP Pontiac Pro-stock motor, I have a picture of it on my home page, It was a blast, but I'm too old for that nonsense anymore :-)

[AAABEST]

143.36!

Geez Louise. Was that on a lake or did you have a death wish? You're basically airborne at that speed, one little chop at the wrong time and it's lights out.

[MJY1288]

That was at sanctioned races on reseviors and lakes usually, Held by the American Drag Boat Association all over the south and midwest, and yes, it was dangerous, I lost 3 friends during my time racing

[Jimmy Valentine]

No. You can buy a Donzi or Fountain off the show room floor that will do that easily. Same old same old. People buy planes, cars, and boats way beyond their skill set and kill themselves with great profligacy.

I remember when you could buy a 427 Corbra Roadster off of the Ford dealers showroom floor. The car had 427 C.I. and about 425H.P. in a 2,500 frame. People killed themselves left and right in those.

Regards,

[AAABEST]

No. You can buy a Donzi....

"Donzi" was and offshoot of Cigarette, founded by Don Aranow. Hence the name Donzi. I believe he also founded Apache.

We had a shop near his, he was gunned down right in front of it in his Mercedes. The reason for the shape of those boats is because Aranow got started in the business by building them for custom for coke runners who needed something that was faster than anything on the ocean with a hollowed front to hold the drugs.

[MJY1288]

Here is a decent pic of me racing my boat at High Point N.C. in 1998

[Justa]

"Why would he throw a dead body from a speeding boat?"

There's a lot of weirdos out there.

[Sam Cree]

"No. You can buy a Donzi or Fountain off the show room floor that will do that easily."

Ok, I'm familiar with those, and I believe they are based on racing hulls. I think most are not quite that fast, but I suppose you are right that they'll sell you enough power no problem to make 'em do it. I see the "go fast" boats running the ICW all the time, though rarely at 100 MPH. I don't see them so often in my neck of the woods, offshore, as they can't always run that fast in the seas out there.

Donzi and Fountain, though, were both designed along ocean racer lines. Fountains made their reputation racing, I believe.

Donzi, many of whose early boats were ocean racers, was originally built by Don Aronow, who specialized in both ocean racing and building ocean racing boats, including Formula, Donzi, Magnum and Cigarette, which were all designed and built by his company. He also built drug running boats, as well as the Blue Thunder boats for the U.S Customs to chase the druggies with.

Yeah, it's true, people hurt themselves all the time with high performance machinery whose capabilities they don't understand.

[jim_trent]

What ever happened to a "safe and sane" speed limit. The death of one person certainly makes one wonder if the driver was being safe OR sane.