>>Ridiculous to run those things during a thunderstorm. Pure greed. <<
The reports are clear: When the duck entered the water the lake ws calm. The whitecaps started inside of 5 minutes and the duck started going back.
This was a freak squall that could NOT be avoided.
You must be from California. I was born and raised there and I, too, did not understand instant weather until I started traveling and experienced it first hand.
This was not a freak squall. It was accurately forecast — hours in advance of when it hit. NWS tracked the squall line and predicted exactly what happened. It was gross negligence on the part of the boat operator not to monitor weather forecasts and radar. The Branson deaths could all have been avoided with safety precautions that are standard for any boat owner.
They also chose to do the water portion first instead of the normal land portion first implying foreknowledge of the dangerous weather. Trying to beat the storm instead of refunding the tickets.
This was a freak squall that could NOT be avoided.
There's also a report, based on interior video aboard the boat that sank, of the captain reviewing weather radar a half-hour before shoving off - and telling the rest of the crew that they were going to "...do the water portion of the tour first", or words to that effect. Sounds like he saw the threatening weather approaching, but tried to beat it.