Bad day for boat racing

News Maryland

Racing boat crashes into crowd near Kent Island, killing child

By Doug Donovan

The Baltimore Sun

contact the reporter Powerboat Racing Maryland State Police

Child dead, man missing in separate boating incidents Sunday near Kent Island.

Child, 7, dies as racing boat crashes into spectators at Kent Narrows event in Maryland.

A child died and at least seven other people were injured including one who lost an arm when a racing boat lost control Sunday afternoon and crashed into vessels of spectators off Kent Island.

Maryland Natural Resources police spokeswoman Candy Thomson said a 7-year-old died. Three victims were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma following the collision Sunday afternoon in the Chesapeake Bay, Thomson said. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known.

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The crash occurred during the Thunder on the Narrows race at the Kent Narrows. Thomson says the operator of the boat lost control and struck onlookers who were gathered on spectator boats that were sitting next to each other along the race course.

cComments

That's sad

EASTERN SHORE FOR LIFE

AT 12:25 AM JUNE 29, 2015

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Paul Schlotterbeck, an assistant chief for the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department, said the organizations that hosted the race the Kent Narrows Racing Association and the American Power Boat Association had emergency response teams on the water during the event. He said at least one spectator boat was struck in the 4:45 p.m. accident and that the emergency boats affiliated with race organizers transported the injured individuals to ambulances from his department assigned to the event.

Walt Crouse, a member of the Kent Island Yacht Club board of directors, said the accident happened far off shore. He said it was clear something happened after several flares were fired from the water and emergency boats raced to the scene.

Many of the injured were brought to the yacht club, where ambulances were waiting. The Maryland State Police helicopter landed on the yacht club grounds. Crouse said the 7-year-old who died was a girl, and that another person lost an arm.

"It was horrific," Crouse said. "We've been doing this boat race for 25 years and nothing like this has happened."

Stacey Ferreri, a manager at Fisherman's Inn & Crab Deck, a sponsor of the race, said the entire day was festive until it became evident that something horrible had happened.

"Everybody was having a great time and then all of a sudden something's not going right and everyone is running," Ferreri said. "It went from a joyous event to everyone being sad and going home. It's a sad day for the Narrows."

Schlotterbeck said at least 20 fire fighters and medics responded to the accident, many of whom were already assigned to the event. "We always have a medical unit standing by," Schlotterbeck said.

The race on Sunday was the 25th anniversary of the Thunder on the Narrows event hosted by the Kent Narrows Racing Association. The event included the eastern divisional competition of the American Power Boat Association, a governing body for power boat racing in the United States that sanctions 150 races nationally.

An APBA press release in advance of the event quotes Kent Narrows Racing Association President Wheeler Baker as saying that Maryland racers as well as teams from Ohio, Michigan and Florida regions were taking part in the event. He added that the weekend would be "quite festive," and "Up-close and personal racing action that is fun for the whole family."

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the crash.

Thomson says the incident is unrelated to another capsized boat on the other side of Kent Island Sunday afternoon. One boater, a 32-year-old man from Silver Spring, was missing following that incident, Thomson said.

Baltimore Sun reporter Sean Welsh and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

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by Taboola. Prayers go out to all who are involved in this accident.

Eyewitness reports said it was a GNH coming off the far turn when something broke sending it into the spectator fleet at full throttle. That class can run upwards near 150 mph.

I always wondered why they let vessels that close to the race this is sad

I spoke to one of the drivers and he said there were spectator boats along the outer course markers. There is supposed to be a safety zone between the spectators and the outer course. Very sad for everyone involved.

Crappy drone video of the race course. Skip over to the 5 minute mark. How close is too close??

It's always been a tight place to race , but I guess not far back enough. Back in the day when 6 and 7 liter boats ran here in my area my dad and I experienced similar situation...a 7 liter boat going full bore literally exploded in front of our boat throwing metal and wood parts everywhere. Dad was cut on his hand and the boat windshield was cracked. I never wanted to be out on the water during a race after that. We were anchored well behind the course area.

Chilli,

That is too close. I can see that they are right on the outer course markers. How old is this video?

The narrows race usually doesn't get the big boat classes there but this year they were the host of the eastern nationals which will bring every class except unlimited and GP. Personally I think Cambridge is the place to hold a big event or Hampton,Va.

My Gypsy said:

Chilli,

That is too close. I can see that they are right on the outer course markers. How old is this video?

Click to expand...

It's from last weekend.

The Lake Washington hydroplane course is almost too tight as well. To keep the spectator boats off the race course, there are log booms that are used to tie off to but, with the size and speeds the unlimiteds can hit, it's too close as well. When the log booms were installed, the boats were smaller, lighter and a lot slower. As far as I know, the only boat ever hit, on Lake Washington, by a racing boat was a Coast Guard utility boat that was hit by the Miss Thriftway back in the late 50s after the Thriftway had broken it's rudder and driver Bill Muncey had bailed out