Close friends Dad Dies after Boat goes under this past weekend in Freeport LI

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/n...cued-1.9200276

What they do not mention is that there were only 2 life vests for the kids. Both my friends Dad and mom did not swim. it was 3 brothers 2 of there wives with their mom and dad and 2 kids. My friends dad started to panic when the boat started taking on water. He was so afraid that he could not swim that he had a heart attack and went in the water. I am going to the wake Friday and I have no idea what to say to him. I have not talked to him in over a year. At one time we saw each other every week to play cards. I know the mom and dad for about 25 years. The brothers are so upset that there was no life jackets. If there had been he may not have panic as he did.

[catwgirl Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close catwgirl]

I am so sorry to hear this. What a horrible tragedy.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

so sad to hear this tragic story

[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

How awful. Such a sad story.

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

So sorry for your loss, Frank....this is a dreadful thing, so easily resolved with adequate boat safety. The family must be beside themselves with grief, with guilt, with anger....your presence will help, regardless of your words.

[easyrider Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close easyrider]

That is a bummer Frank.

The silver lining may be that your buddys dad passed away in a better way than most people. Most older people end up passing away without family members with them. Most older people pass away slowly while going through the dwindles. Most older people pass away not doing something they like. Your buddys dad hit the trifecta and passed away doing something he liked, with people he loved and didn't suffer through a debilitating or humiliating health problem.

[jackio Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close jackio]

Oh my, how awful. So sorry for your loss, my condolences to the family.

[Laurie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Laurie]

Frank, my condolences.

There's a wonderful Canadian artist named Loreena McKennitt who years ago lost her fiance to a tragic water incident. She then set up a fund to promote water safety education, and a portion of her income and life's work has been about this since then. I believe she/they have raised over 4 million dollars, but this is a Canada-specific endeavor as far as I know.

I don't know whether that's something the family and friends would like to know about, but more info is here: http://www.cookreesfund.com/about001intervEn.html and here: http://www.cookreesfund.com/home001En.html and here: http://www.cookreesfund.com/about001bkgEn.html

"More than 500 water-related fatalities and many more injuries occur in Canada every year. With increased education, research, and public awareness, many such incidents could be prevented. For anyone who has experienced such a tragedy, one of the few consolations is to hope that one can assist in changing things for the better."

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Frank, that is so awful, I am so sorry. Especially since it was avoidable with just simple precaution. Horrible.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

The family member who owns the boat must be feeling just awful. And how horrible for them all to see the dad have a heart attack and die right in front of them.
Boat safety should not be taken lightly, this is a tragic example of why it matters to follow safety protocols.
My condolences.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Very true what Pat wrote and must be hard to live with just like causing a tragic car accident. We know someone who killed a pedestrian late at night but he crossed the road and it was pitch dark there so wasn't found guilty but she cannot get over it after all these years. This is a tragic accident for everyone concerned.

[billymach4 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close billymach4]

We had so many good times boating when my good friend had his boat in Merrick. Then Sandy washed it away. Many times it was clear to all of us that safety was taking a back seat. Lost jewelry, Cell phones, drinking, eyeglasses, wallets. On the south shore when the tide was low you could suddenly bottom out. Once there was an incident by Gilgo beach when we were cruising along at least 25 mph or more then suddenly we ground to a halt. There was a lady on board that face planted and blood was pouring out of her nose. Mind you there is no such concept of seat belts on most boats. She was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Boating as fun but there are so many hidden dangers. We are all breathing a sigh of relief that Sandy took his boat, since he was absolutely obsessed about boating. Now we find other activities to pass the summer weekends.

Please share my condolences.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

So sorry Frank. So tragic.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

It was pretty bad tonight and just barley standing room, My friend with his other brother are so upset at the brother who had the boat. He had to many on that boat plus no life vests for the adults. I have a feeling that once the wake is over that this is not going to end it. I do think my friend wanted to kill his own brother but I think he feels he is going to have to live with what he did and most likely I think that they are no longer going to want anything to do with him.
I am so happy that I went tonight. cause we felt we took some of the edge off. We talked about how much fun we had playing UNO to 7am. There kids are so tall and good looking. I had not seen them in years, In fact one lives in Boston and they do not hardly see him. It looks like we are going to try to get the old crew together to play UNO again. I am going to try to make the Church in the morning.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Frank, it must have been heart breaking to see a family so upset about a tragic accident. Your friend could use some support because he didn't mean to cause a tragic accident to happen on his boat. On the other hand, the family may forgive each other but never forget what took place in front of their eyes.

So sorry that you had to be part of this tonight but that's what friends are for.