Lund meets breakwall

This happened last August in Conneaut.  New boat and boater.  No one died, but two were life flighted out.

The guy was returning after dark, and it was said he used his autopilot coupled to his gps to guide him back to Conneaut.  He impacted just north of the gap in the west wall. 

Try explaining that one to the wife, let alone to the insurance company. Lund must be well built.

Hope she is alright. They must have been cruising to get completely on the rocks like that.

The wife was not on the boat. My buddy has a cottage on the beach about two miles west of the breakwall and we saw and listened to the whole deal go down. We were sitting on the deck at the cottage drinking a bottle of wine when we saw the Coast Gaurd coming from Ashtabula with the lights on. Out of curiosity I went in the cottage and turned the marine radio on to see what happened. We did not hear the boat hit, but could hear on the radio the conversation between the Conneaut Rescue and the CG. We knew somebody was hurt pretty bad when the Conn. rescue asked the CG if they had any oxygen on board. It was pretty wild scene when the lifeflight helicopters finally took off. One of the copters came right over our cottage on the way to the hospital. The next morning we went perch fishing and took the boat by the wall to get a closer look. We were stunned at the sight of the boat stuffed into the wall. Unfortunately I did not have my camera in my tackle bag.
 
I probably should not post this newspaper article as I see the OH numbers are blacked out, but it is public record.
 
 
Error using GPS system blamed for Conneaut boating accident
By Ron Rutti, The Plain Dealer
August 10, 2009, 10:36AM
CONNEAUT -- A boating accident that left five people injured outside Conneaut Friday night was caused by a navigation error, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Jim Perebzak of Wadsworth, owner and operator of the boat, plugged the wrong coordinates into the GPS navigation system and left the boat on autopilot, said Jim Gorman, an investigator for the state Division of Watercraft.

The 21-foot boat was estimated to be traveling between 30 and 40 mph at the time it crashed into the west breakwall. It missed the harbor by approximately half a mile, Gorman said.
"We haven't gotten a chance to talk to the operator, but he probably forgot the breakwall was there," Gorman said. "It's a common thing people forget, since GPS systems don't take into account things like breakwalls and piers."
The Coast Guard said the harbor lighthouse and all navigation lights were working properly that night.
Perebzak was pulled from the debris approximately 30 minutes after the accident. He suffered face and possibly neck and chest injuries, Gorman said. Perebzak is in Akron General Hospital.

His two sons, ages 6 and 7, suffered minor cuts and scrapes and were treated, then released from a hospital in Conneaut Friday night.
Perebzak and his sons were returning from a fishing trip on Lake Erie with his coworker, Richard Bell of Salem and Bell's 3-year old son. Bell, who had a cut on one leg, was also released that from the hospital that evening.
Bell's son broke both his legs and was flown to Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland for treatment.
All five passengers on the boat were wearing life jackets, which likely helped cushion the impact of the collision, Gorman said.
 
 
 

Auto pilot in the dark? 30 to 40 MPH in the dark?

Seems like a poor choice even for a newb. Praise the Lord they all lived.....an accident like that...at that speed, could have went a very different direction. Thanks for postin' the pics....perhaps it will be a lesson for others.

275 horses on a 21 foot aluminum, he was probably only going half throttle. Still, I can't imagine going that fast at night let alone on auto pilot. That was probably a $40,000+ rig, a shame to see it destroyed. Glad to see that no one was killed. Still a testament to the construction of Lund Boats.

You know what though, I have motored to conny in the dark....To defend this guy, it is not very well lit and can easily be missed...I think they need to take some of that $5 dock charge and put some lights on the breakwall....Atleast 2 people hit that wall per season, what is it going to take? If it's the least bit foggy, you can't see the green beacon on the left side of the wall, barely seeing the lighthouse...Sometimes the channel beacons are not even lit, making it hard to navigate when you are inside the breakwall...Last year someone missed the channel and beached there boat as well....That still does not compensate for the 30-40mph and autopilot in the dark...That is just plain stupid....what if there was another boat coming out of the channel? there is no time to compensate...

Trout About: did anyone notice that the prop shaft is GONE?

yea i saw that thank god the kids werent killed was there any booze involved

onestring, According to the Coast Gaurd and everybody I talked to there was no alcohol involved. Unfortunately the guy had the boat ramp and harbor entrance as waypoints--just picked the wrong waypoint.  

 You can't go that fast in the dark. Someone could have been out there without lights on or broken down with no power for lights. I especially would be extra careful, with kids onboard. Of course easy for us to say sitting on our computers. We have all done stupid stuff. I'm glad it turned out as it did! I have seen guy's on Lake Arthur at night, without any lights on at all. At anchor you have to have an anchor lite on. How about a guy blasting them broadside because he didn't see them until it is too late.! Yes, those gps, go how the crow flies. They don't know there is a breakwall in front of them or an island. Another thing that I thought about. the units that I have had, let you know when you are close to your destination and that's when it's time to slooow down.

Was at Arthur on regatta night to watch the fireworks and when heading back to the launch in th middle of the lake was a kayak with NO LIGHTS WHAT SO EVER **** near ran him over!!! Cruising at 8 mph on a 27 foot pontoon boat He.Never ever seen him till him was right in front of the toon luckily for him he was on my Starboard side.I Yelled where are your lights???????? He replied I DON"T NEED ANY!!! Should have turned real hard to wake him over just for being ignorant to the boating rules/laws.

ORIGINAL: bulldog1
Still a testament to the construction of Lund Boats.

Twin plated hulls from bow to midship.

man that was a bad call i hate coming in at night i find it tough even at ash and connie wow and 30 mph looks like the auto was going for the dock i take mine off at night no breaks and at night most lakes have a 5mph speed

ShutUP, My absolute FAVORITE lake to fish at night is erie. You should try the night bite sometime. It is a lot of fun. And much less ramp and lake traffic to deal with

I bet it is nice, but I just don't trust it....besides I do enough fishing during the days.  However the sound of less launch traffic sure does sound nice!