Drowning at Croton Point Sat 7/21

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WALSHIE

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We saw the action from our boat...very sad. I initially thought since the article read "one last swim" perhaps the tide went out and it was only a couple feet deep, the guy dove, etc. However, high tide was 4:30pm Saturday. This happened about 6:30pm.

We were far enough away that the kids couldn't see it but through binoculars, I could see folks carrying him from the water then trying CPR. This is the second drowning in a week in Croton (the other death occurred Tuesday night on the Croton River)....both from healthy NYC men. I don't get it, lack of respect for the water? Freak accident, I'm not sure.

For the record, the only responding emergency boat was Westchester Marine, I guess it was too rough for the other guys to work on their tan.

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070723/NEWS02/707230340
 
That's pretty scary, a litte to close to home!

Does anyone have a link on the other drowning from tuesday?
 
Sounds like the guy might have dove into the water from the boat, being too shallow??? he might have broken/hurt his back or neck and drowned.

Not good.

Jonathan
 
That's what I originally thought. Sometimes, you anchor at high tide and there's plenty of water but hours later you jump in and it's only 3' deep. However, high tide was at 4:30 and this happened approx 6:30.

Irregardless, I agree with you, sounds like he broke his neck. I saw them pulling the boat in but couldn't tell where they were originally anchored but I don't think they were too far out.
 
God, I'm a little shook up writing this but I just found out that this boat belongs to one of our newest customers. Apparently the victim was a close friend of his. This is a terrible shame, because those fellows were so excited about getting a nice new boat and they are such nice, friendly people. I can't imagine being that close to my friend and watching him die. This guy must be devastated...

It just goes to show you how easy it is for something to go terribly wrong out on the water and why we need to be especially diligent, dedicated, and educated in our endeavors on the water...
 
People learn things all sorts of ways. Some lessons come easy, others are very difficult or painful with their cost.
I guess we will never know the pain, nor lesson the boat owner learned, but suffice it to say it will be harsh. This is why we don't mind traveling alone anymore. While we have not experienced anything so tragic, we've had our share but we still like boating and it seems like a good trade-off.
Think about slipping because you have wet feet and breaking an arm, or worse. People we bring out on the water are not used to the motion of a boat. And they want to party.
I am NOT inferring anything. I'm just relating how easy it can be to have an accident. I hope the owner gets over this and is able to put it behind him. After all, his involvement was innocent. Jumping into water that is cloudy is never a good idea, although I jump off the aft deck roof of Freedom into the creek. But I don't dive. I only dive in clear water. I'm not sure what jumping will buy me but I'm sure everyone has ideas...
I pass along my deepest sympathies for all those and their families that have met tragic ends.
 
"God, I'm a little shook up writing this but I just found out that this boat belongs to one of our newest customers. "

I guess this won't be a repeat customer :) PS. WTF kinda boat did you sell him :)

Seriously, very sad and my deepest sympathies also. I am truely sad and hate to hear this, accidents happen all day long, this just happens to be one on the water.

Walter
 
50 feet from the beach at Croton is SHALLOW, no matter what the tide is. If he dove in, he probably hit bottom, broke his neck and drowned. A senseless tragedy - what a horrible thing to have happened.
 
Yes, that's exactly what happened, Mike...

Walter, it was a Stingray 250CS. Their largest model. I'm kinda surprised he was so close to shore with it, then again at Croton you can be in 3 feet of water 50 feet from shore or 500 feet from shore. Its such a nice boat, and the customer is such a nice man I feel terribly for him...

But, being nice doesn't necessarily make you a smart boater...

PS - you know, its strange how little twists in life have big consequences down the road. This boat was originally supposed to have been sold to someone else but the financing didn't go through. So along came this fellow and bought it, and a few weeks later this happens. Perhaps had the other guy been able to buy this boat, events would have been different since the guy that actually did buy it wouldn't have been out there on the River that day...
 
Yep,

That's what I figured.

It just amazes me how accidents like this happen. This tragedy could have been avoided by using common sense.

People just don't use their brains.

Jonathan
 
Hopefully it was quick and he never knew what was happening. Sorry Pete, hope your customer gets through this okay.
 
This is a sad and an unfortunate accident.

How long before they officially rope off the WHOLE shallow area at Croton. The outer swimming areas are already getting larger so I guess its a matter of time now.
 
This wasn't the first and won't be the last unfortunately!!!!

A few years ago at Croton we were watching people jump off a high tuna tower into what I thought was not too deep water.

We pulled the anchor and left, only to hear about one of the people jumping getting seriously injured.

Jonathan
 
How the Hell are they going to rope off all the shallow water at Croton? They'd have to rope off a mile or so, wouldn't they???

Like others have said, this happens all over the place. I was chastising some people we were rafted up with on Sunday because they were diving into water that was 2-3 feet deep next to our raftup in the Rondout. They said they were doing "shallow water dives". I said I didnt care what they called them they were still dangerous...

Of course, one of the guys in our Sunday raftup was pretty drunk, so he probably bounced off the bottom and didn't feel a thing. That's just not my cup of tea, though. I'd rather step into the water or jump in feet first, unless I'm in a swimming pool or some very deep water...
 
quote:
Originally posted by PBardunias

How the Hell are they going to rope off all the shallow water at Croton? They'd have to rope off a mile or so, wouldn't they???

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They have a good 1/4 mile roped off already. What's a few more red bouys to mark off the no bating zone?
 
The area that is currently roped off is the swimming area, probably no more than 100 - 200 yards. To rope off the entire shallow area would block well over a mile of shoreline.

Not only would this be impractical, it would inconvience every boater at Croton. One of the nice things is that at low tide, you can stand in the water and walk in to the beach.

How about instead of the government telling us what to do (ie, roping off shallows) we police ourselves and not do stupid things like diving into water that is too shallow???

If you want to dive, there is plenty of deep water further out from the beach. If you don't know how deep it is, DON'T DIVE!!!!
 
Mike that won't help people that dive into submerged objects like logs. If it ain't clear, don't dive. Jump if you have to. And the S.O. wonders why I cannon-ball her all the time. You see this way she moves and if she didn't scream from touching something under the surface the water is pretty safe. As long as she always moves were ok. Duh eh?
I hate to say it but that guy probably loved the water and got too comfortable with it. He sounds like he was a good guy. Tragic.
 
quote:
Originally posted by HOGAN

The area that is currently roped off is the swimming area, probably no more than 100 - 200 yards. To rope off the entire shallow area would block well over a mile of shoreline.

Not only would this be impractical, it would inconvience every boater at Croton. One of the nice things is that at low tide, you can stand in the water and walk in to the beach.

How about instead of the government telling us what to do (ie, roping off shallows) we police ourselves and not do stupid things like diving into water that is too shallow???

If you want to dive, there is plenty of deep water further out from the beach. If you don't know how deep it is, DON'T DIVE!!!!



Click to expand...


We have been kicked off the beach numerous times. The lifeguards and the local police say we can not go on the beach from the boats. Probably because we didn;t pay the admission to the park or something.
 
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