I have been reading all the posts and the back and forth banter going on. Unfortunately, society allows us to form opinions without the need for facts. I was on the lake Saturday night around midnight. I must say that I would not have attempted to go anywhere that evening without GPS. Even with GPS, I was very cautious and traveling at a slow speed. It saddens me to think that someone with her experience would not have this technology at her disposal. Regardless of the side that you have choose to take, there is an innocent person no longer with us. Everyone is focused on the boat and what it looks like. What about the idea of the anchor being propelled into the side of the cottage on impact?

Best wishes to those involved as the pain will always be there.

Looks like it has a nice one, looks like a Raymarine C80 display and it is highly unlikely it came without a GPS antenna:

http://thumbs-ash.vehicle-web-servic...41_5276636.jpg

It may not have had the Winnipesaukee chart in it though. Can't say.

Im sure it had the proper electronics but like anything else accidents happen. It doesnt matter how well you know the lake; things are different at night. “familiarity breeds contempt”
GPS is not foolproof.. :(

I wish the victims and their families a speedy healing

Sorry FLL,I'm a little touchy right now.You have certainly made posts in the past along the same lines that lacked good taste.I accept your last post and hope you are sincere.

Stephanies Obituary
 

I thought I would put a link to Stephanie's Obit from the Laconia Citizen Online.She really was a wonderful girl with the most infectious smile.God Bless.
http://www.legacy.com/Citizen/DeathN...onId=111728081

I understand that a GPS is not fool proof. However, an ounce of caution can go a long way. Each year, I am baffled by the stupidity of people on the lake (tubing with young kids in the middle of the broads on a busy summer weekend is just 1 example). I'm not sure if I agree with the statement " accidents happen" as many of them can be prevented with patience.

It is what it is... ACCIDENTS do Happen regardless of whether there is someone acting foolishly or following all the rules..
You apparently believe that all accidents are due to people doing stupid things.. must be nice in your world.

Give me an example where an accident happens when someone is using common sense with patience. My world is a great place because I choose for it to be. Try reading the book Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.

ok... your driving down the lake... a submerged floating object takes out your prop... who is being negligent causing this accident?

Your driving down the street... A rock gets kicked up from a car in front of you.. your windshield cracks.... who is being negligent causing this accident?

Try reading the book.. boating for dummies... I think it will do you some good

BTW I will not respond to anymore of your inane posts... its disrespectful to the people involved in the ACCIDENT.. Go somewhere else and spew your hate and ridicule.

Gee,there's a tough one.I walking on a path and a big branch of a tree suddenly breaks off and falls on me.Maybe I was lacking comman sense by walking near those trees and was not patient enough to wait for that tree to fall before walking by it.Hopefully,if you use all your comman sense,a tree does not drop on you.

I believe Less' statement here and want to apologize for calling him ghoulish. Less, that statement is still in that article, I would be outraged if someone did this to me. I suggest that you call the Union leader and ask them to remove it if you haven't already. I'm sure that the UL ip logs the responses it receives, maybe it would be possible to associate that IP with an IP used in this forum, who knows.

I still stand behind my ghoul statement for the person who wrote that response, no matter which side of the SL debate they are on and the others, who were waiting for this tragedy to say "see, I told you so".

I would also like to point out that hitting an immoveable object like a wall at 25 mph with a boat will cause massive damage and probably death. I would be very surprised if this boat was going over 25 mph. If you don't believe me, drive your car into a concrete abutment at 25 and see what happens.

No seatbelts
 

Also don't wear a seat belt while driving into the abutment.

ITD... you are so right... I was thinking last night about what happens to a car in a low speed crash... I saw a picture of a corvette this morning that hit a wall at 30 MPH.. As you know corvettes are also all fiberglass... The car was crushed almost beyond recognition.
Got me thinking that this boat was not going that fast at all... probably less than 20 miles per hour... Had it been going at any significant speed there wouldnt have been anything left and there would have been much more significant damage to the underneath of the hull and not just the bow.

kthy66

those are examples of life and things that happen, not accidents. the only disrespect is you not understanding that everyone is entitled to an opinion. everything happens for a reason, so there is no accident! the reason sometimes is not as OBVIOUS as others.

What is the definition of the event in this article, if it wasn't an accident? God help the poor girl who was the victim of this falling rock - she did not cause this event. Of course there are accidents!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...had_to_happen/

SIKSUKR, my condolences on the loss of your friend and my apologies for bringing this up; I thought I had already said all that I needed to say or that I was going to say in this thread but the quote above really angered me.

How can someone get "first hand" information from a deceased victim? I don't understand that. By now, we've all looked at the picture of the damaged boat in post #8; if that boat was "airborne??", why was the entire hull bottom not destroyed instead of just the first 8-12 feet of it as we see in the picture? Looking at that pic, I don't believe that for an instant! Imagine the force it would take to cause a 15,000 lb boat to become airborne!! People that admit to not being boaters should not be speculating; allow the professionals to investigate the accident and file their reports, based on their experience, expertise and knowledge.

DaveR, regarding your comment about speed being an issue since "obvious(ly) the boat was closer to Diamond Island than 150'," allow me to suggest to you that given the darkness, rain, fog and maybe an inaccurate GPS reading, Ms. Blizzard may have thought she was much further away from land than she actually was. We know GPS is not 100% accurate (it can vary as much as 50 ft) and there was also a report of another boater getting inaccurate readings in the same vicinity as this accident. There have been many comments about her abilities at the helm of a boat and I believe those comments; does anyone actually think a boater with that much experience would intentionally make a mistake like this?? I don't believe that. My thoughts are, she probably thought she knew exactly where she was, the only problem was, she was drastically mistaken. Yes, I know, I'm speculating myself. Enough said.

FatLazyLess, as much as I disagree with most of your comments on the speed limits threads, I believe you were being honest and sincere when you said you did not make the comment on the Union Leader article. I just felt it was important for you to know that I believed you and, setting the speed limit issue aside, we can all agree this was a very tragic accident.

Finally, my thoughts and condolences go out to all the families of the victims and to the friends of the victims that have lost someone so near and dear to them.

like i said,,, it must be nice in your world

half empty or half full, it's a simple choice with profound outcomes. the decision is yours and only yours!

I came across Dr. Rock's story at the accident scene. Thank goodness he was there.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/p...PAGE/806170304

FLL, looks like a lot of people condemning others for jumping to conclusions .... were jumping to conclusions.

A different story when it includes the human element... So sad...

Thank God Dr. Rock was there. He possibly saved 2 lives.

Dr. Rock
 

Wow. If you read the story of Dr. Rock, no matter who you are, there is just no way your thoughts can turn to who to blame, or speed limits, or anything other than how tragic and sad that scene must have been. My heart bleeds for these girls and their families...

The boat could not hit Diamond Island unless it was closer than 150 feet so we know it was within 150 feet. If it was exceeding 6 MPH, it was going faster than the law allows. That's it. I wrote that in response to claims that speed was not a factor. I never implied that the operator was aware of her position, nor did I imply anything else.

Your point makes sense to me Dave. To the posters comparing a falling tree or a random rock kicked up on the highway those things are largely out of your control. This accident, while I am sure there were many contributing factors, was within the control of the boat operator.

Simply put she thought she was heading in a different direction or in a different spot. This is operator error plain and simple. I don't think this is jumping to a conclusion. What the contributing factors were that caused the confusion can be debated, but whether or not she is at fault how can you debate that???

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of a life and certainly don't think Erica should be condemed for life or smeared through the media. Discussing it to make a safer lake should be viewed as a positive not a negitive.

4Fun

Very well said. My comments are not to cast judgement or identify fault. I simple stated that this tragic situation may have been prevented. Unfortunately for Erica, she will always live with this pain, regardless of the circumstances.

My hat goes off to Dr. Rock and his wife for their help in this situation, which may have saved some lives.

No feul to the fire, but...
 

As I very recently stated, the only thing that matters is the fact the lives of the two survivors have changed forever, and another girl has lost her's. You have to feel for them. However, it seems people just want to talk about speed, and the definition of the word "accident".
My take is this....at some point, responsibility is going to be accessed by the proper authorities. A woman has died, after all. And the finding will not be "oh, just an accident". I'm sorry. That just won't be the case. As a precident, I would look to the incident (not accident) involving the son (as opposed to the daughter) of the owner of a Marina (Irwin or Channell, I forget) who ran over two people in Meredith Bay at night, killing one. He was held responsible for it. Yes, he was drunk. But if he was not drunk, I believe he still would have been held responsible for the "incident".
This is a terrible, terrible thing that has happened. But unless there is severe mechanical failure, someone will be held accountable. Simple truth.

Here is the information on donations in the event someone is interested. I can tell you first hand that donations like this will mean a lot to the family.


For those who wish, the family suggests expressions of sympathy in Stephanie's name may be made to the American Cancer Society-Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, c/o Eileen Willet, 2 Commerce Drive, Suite 110, Bedford NH 03110, on memo line of check please insert MSABC-Laconia-Laconia Clinic Team-In Memory of Stephanie D. Beaudoin, or visit www.cancer.org/stridesonline or to the New Hampshire Humane Society, PO Box 572, Laconia NH 03247, or visit www.nhhumane.org.

Thank you BI for posting that info.

By a strange coincidence Phillip, the Bear on Bear Island came up in another thread. When our son died many years ago we asked that donations go to the Bear Island Conservation Association. The money donated was used by the association to have the Bear carved, put in place, and a plaque at the base. Over the years it has been wonderful to see children get a kick out of that bear.

I mention this by way of passing along the idea that a living, working memorial is the best kind. It can be a park bench, playground equipment or a wooden Bear.

Wow, they just can't help but weave the speed limits bill into the article. "News" publications with such an obvious agenda are really irksome. Add the Concord Monitor to the list of tabloid trash reporting.

Enough Is Enough!
 

Stephanie Beaudoin is my second cousin. Please respect the wish of the family and cut the chase with the speed limit crap!

Good Gosh
 

Please leave these families alone. I am sure there are many thoughts and prayers being said at this time for all involved.
May God be with all the families and friends at this time of sorrow.

Accidents are just that accidents !!!

You and Dave R should both use your heads with this 150' 6mph thing.
What would you bet SHE DIDN'T REALIZE THE ISLAND WAS THERE?
That doesn't take rocket science to figure out.


My condolences to all involved.

I respectfully disagree...
 

I thought the article was well written - and was / is a contradiction to otherwise reguallry reported news articles which do focus more on agenda issues. This article really gives you a true sense of Dr. Rock's heroic actions at 2:30am in the morning. How many of us can say we'd have jumped into action - how many would have simply rolled over and shrugged it off to lightning or "someone elses problem." The mention of the speed limit bill was appropriately placed with context, and was not out of place in this article.

Just my opinion....

Getting back to what matters, does anybody have any recent info on Ms. Blizzard's condition?

Some of the news reports had her listed as "critical"; it would be nice of friends of the family kept the rest of us updated on how she's doing.

Silver Duck

of course
 

Cal...of course she didn't realize it was there!!!! To believe she did would mean she intentionally killed someone. And the time for all this is certainly not now. But, as has been discusssed on this forum countless times after boating mishaps...the captain is responsible for EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING!
First and foremost the safety of all passengers. It was her responsibility/job/obligation to know exactly where she was. The only way this comes out OK is if they find severe mechanical failure. see my earlier post

Obviously. Please use your own head and read between the lines.

ITD and RI SWAMP YANKEE.....are you really buying FLL's denial ?? That post is right in line with his previous postings. So, some stranger just happened to dream up the name FL Less and make a post that is very typical of his views.
Sorry....I don't buy it FLL......GUILTY AS CHARGED