My wife and I took my brother in law out friday to try and catch a fish, didnt happen, but while we were out I notice a nice ski boat paddling,so we troll over and ask what has gone wrong.The lady in the boat tells us the battery is dead ,we pull along side and give the boat a jump start.Then she tells us that she called the ranger and he told her to try and wave down another boat ,Come on state parks what are the fees used for if the ranger wont come help someone in need,this was a lady and four teenagers
[signature]
Not one but TWO high-powered patrol boats at the ready, and they suggest flagging down another boat?
[signature]
I had the same thing happen a couple of years ago, I called state parks on the radio and did' nt get any response, someone came back and told me if they came out they would issue someone a citation so I towed them in.
[signature]
Educate me !! You are on a lake, have a mechanical breakdown, you call the rangers, and IF they respond, they give you a ticket !!! Sorry, it does not compute !! If you are being a dillweed, then I can see getting a ticket, but for a breakdown that you don't have any control over, no way !!!! Someone from State Parks please respond and clarify !!!
To serve and protect - what?
citation = fine = serving to fill the coffer for the xmas party?!
Kudos to folks willing to help a boater in need. I towed a 17ft fiberglass to launch at Newton with my little 12fter. Hey - they hadn't swamped me, and they had fishing poles, so . . .
We have some folks on here that are with parks and recs out at the bay. Maybe they will see his and respond to see what's up with this. Sounds like some kind of explanation is owed to the readers here. Sounds like a bunch of horse malarkey to me. WTH over.
[signature]
Totally agree with the condemnations. [mad]Suggest you guys post "letters to the editor", in the Ogden Standard, DWR, or any other public forums that could bring this to lite. This is not only "not right" but is a safety concern. Needless to say, we the public, pay all sorts of taxes and license fees and we expect much, much better. [frown] It's hard enough for us middle/lower income to pay for all this ________.
[signature]
I had the same thing happen at powell about 12 yeara ago. We broke down in the midde of the lake and were told they couldnt come get us. We had to beg a 6 mile tow from a fella that was kind enough to tow us in exchange for a tank of gas. We were stranded for about 3 hours before we were able to be towed to the marina. Not happy to say the last.
[signature]
Maybe, its just good ole' goverment greed. Hate to see it in Utah, but, I feel, it runs ramped in many of the states. Sounds like the state parkey's are becoming more like the Federal Parkey's (Show me the money), to bad, they are just a revenue source, for the state. Just my 2c worth.
[signature]
Haven't been to a state park in a couple of years now. Things like this are why.
Time to write your legislators to remove funding for them. throw the trump ace so to speak.
When they have to sell that sweet CC with the twin 15K motors to make payroll they will think back to what they are really there for.
Sure they will threaten to close the parks, nothing a set of bolt cutters or an F-350 with a chain won't open again, for good and for free. We own those parks, the land they sit on and the water they surround.
[signature]
Had the same thing on willard happen to a friend 3 years ago..
there was a bit of a storm coming in and a friends boat broke down.. he called me at 11:00 at night and asked if we could bring a boat and come tow him in cause the park rangers were to scared to go out and get him.. seeing how they have a 21 foot boston whaler with twin Yamahas .. (unsinkable )
after arriving at willard with a 1989 ranger bass boat .. we seen the park rangers sitting on their boat in the south marina..
i"ll do your job for you !
[signature]
I had just the opposite experience at Willard some years ago. A helluva storm blew in so we pulled out but some poor folks were broke down over in the southwest corner and were fighting like heck to keep from being bashed on the rocks. I was putting back in to go try & help when we saw the DWR boat going like a bat outta he-- through the whitecaps to the rescue. All's well that ends well, kudos to them, they got there in time & prevented a disaster.
As for flagging down another boat -- forget about it. I broke down on Strawberry and needed a tow. You can't believe how interested every single SOB that passed us was in something out the other side of their boat even though we were waving frantically and flashing SOS at them with the spotlight. I had to call directory assistance for the marina number and luckily someone answered and a kid came out with one of their rental pontoons and towed us in. That cost me $70.00. I'll still bust my butt to offer help if I think somebody is in trouble. If I were to recognize one of those that passed me by and they were in trouble, I think I'd stop, offer my sympathy and drive off.
[signature]
Tom,
I recall the trip you spoke of and agree that in that case the parks guys did indeed respond quickly. I have also heard stories as the ones above. I am not sure if its a matter of personnel or policy but if indeed they are refusing to answer distrss calls it should be investigated. I know you would have headed back out that day in the storm on willard but many people would not. The parks do indeed have some of the best boats available for handling that situation. I can only hope that this situation is resolved.
[signature]
The response policy probably has something written into it that there has to be a danger to life or property.
That would mean if there was danger of a boat being smashed on the rocks, they respond. If it's just drifting along in the middle of the lake, they won't respond, unless there is an injury or life threatening situation aboard the vessel as well as it being broken down.
Coast guard has a policy like this, if your just broken down they tell you to call Sea-tow, if there is danger, they respond.
[signature]
Was it a white and turquoise boat with a cuddy cabin?
[signature]
It was a red and white ski boat very nice
[signature]
I work at Willard Bay and we respond to several boat tows daily. There are times that we are unable to immediately respond to calls and in those cases we may mention that the people may want to try and flag someone down or if they do have someone that tows them in to let us know. We would never refuse to respond to assist a vessel in need especially one that is in danger.
[signature]
There is a state law in place that says publicly owned vehicles, i.e. squad cars, patrol boats, etc. cannot be used to tow another vehicle, unless actual physical danger is present to the other vehicle or its occupants.
I know this because a couple years ago I got my truck stuck in the snow up past the axels. (Yes I was driving like an idiot and deserved to get stuck) When the Weber County Sheriff pulled down there in his nice heavy truck to see what was going on, he told me that about 10 years ago he could have just hooked a chain on and jerked me out. But that has changed now, so I would need to call a tow truck. Luckily he had a good hydraulic jack, and I had snow chains in the back. Once I got them set up I was able to just drive out.
But with a law like that the "serve" part of "serve and protect" is pretty much rendered useless. And I would not want them to risk their job just to tow me in. [
]
[signature]
Obviously there was a miscommunication here. Either your emergency wasn't communicated correctly or they were busy on something else and couldn't respond right then. Call 911 next time if it is an emergency and they will come running.
Looking at others responses I am shocked. Maybe those on this website are no smarter than the average joe. The correct response should be to show how important this service is by supporting what state parks does.
Cutting the funding for a service you want provided? Come on.
You usually get what you ask for. Cut the funding for services usually means less services.
[signature]
What services?
[signature]