Friday, 10/13/06- Hit the water about 5pm. Rain in the forecast. Light wind and waves to Las Vegas Wash. No sign of shad so we headed out to the channel to soak some frozen shad. Used the electric motor to stay on top of fish while the wind tried to blow us around. Off in the distance lighting flashed. Soon the wind picked up. TIME TO GET OFF THE WATER! Stowed all gear and off we went. As we made our way the weather became progressively worse. Into the marina without any problems. Light rain started to fall as the boat made its way onto the trailer. As soon as I slid into the driver's seat to drive home........CRASH, BANG, BOOM! It hit us! The flag over the marina looked like it was going to tear away because the wind was so strong. Rain drops hit at a 45 degree angle and bounced back up! It was like someone was sitting on the hood of my truck spraying a hose on the windshield! Slowly made our way along Lakeshore Road as the storm continued to blow. The windshield wipers were getting a great workout tonight. I could not keep from thinking about these two guys in a 12 foot plastic boat that was tied up to the green channel marker near Hole 33 when we sprinted out of the area.
What luck! The second Friday night in a row that the weather has been a challenge. Oh well, maybe things will be better this Friday night when I get back out on the water!
BaySport
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Not trying to start anything, just a comment. I've seen guys in a similar fix to the pair in the little Coleman Crawdad and have gone & gotten them. Also have been on the receiving end.
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Naw, your not starting anything. I agree with you. If someone needs assistance I'm the first to lend a hand. I've towed many boats off the Lake. My son and I once came across a guy who was floating in the middle of Boulder Basin on a jet ski. He told us he had been floating on it for several hours. He was happy to get a ride in.
If those two guys in the little plastic boat were in need of help I would have been glad to assist.They were not in need of assistance when I last saw them. I did not know that the weather would take such a bad turn. I thought that it would be prudent to get off the water because of the presence of lighting. From the time I left Hole 33 to the time the boat was loaded onto the trailer was about 35 minutes. I hope those guys would have the good sense to untie there little craft from the navigational aid, put their PFD's on, and head into one of the coves that was not very far from there position, if necessary. With the water temp at above 70 degrees, the air temp around 70 degrees it would be just a matter of riding it out. It would have been imprudent for me to relaunch my boat in those conditions to go and help someone that may not have even needed help.
I'm so glad that there are boaters out there that are willing to help each other when necessary. I've been towed in twice in the past four years and I'm thankful that there was someone out there willing to help me.
BaySport
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Boy, do I know what you're talking about!!! The weather that night was absolutely horrific. I was the lead car on the 15 freeway less than an hour from the CA/NV border when we were pelted with hail. There was about 3 inches of ice, slush and sleet on the roads. Immediately turned on the hazards and got everyone behind me to slow down. Good thing, too, because the roads were icy. Must have been barely moving at about 2-3 mph. Put the SUV in the lowest gear...too bad it wasn't a 4 wheel drive. Weather got better when we got closer to Vegas. The following day (Saturday, 10/14) was pretty clear except for a few hours of severe thunderstorms and more hail. It was clear that night though. Fishing was decent despite the bad weather.
On a side note...I would have left those two on the lake. j/k Seriously though, there was no way that you could have known that the weather was going to get that bad. But heck...people have to be smart out there. If you see the warning signs of bad weather....then get the heck out of Dodge. Now if they were stranded or flagging you down or had tied themselves to the buoy from drifting across the lake, then yeah, I'd say you should have lended them a helping hand. But from the sounds of it, they were just too busy catching fish. Catching fish is SECOND only to Safety first.
Best regards,
Paul
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