Two men have been killed after they fell out of a 36-foot catamaran on the Potomac River Saturday, according to Maryland Natural Resources Police. The crash happened about noon near Fairview Beach in King George County, Virginia. Police have identified the boaters as 49-year-old James A. Melley of Buford, Georgia, and 61-year-old Garth Thomas Tagge, of Atlanta. Melley was driving the boat and Tagge was the throttleman, police said.
A spokesperson for police said the boat involved in the crash is capable of going 190 miles per hour and police are trying to figure out if the men were racing the boat. "MD NRP did not sanction a race, but it looks like it occurred at the Potomac River Radar Run," the spokesperson told News4 in a statement. It is not known at this time how fast the boat was going when it crashed. The boat has an open cockpit, the spokesperson said.
I lose control of a jet ski doing over 70 kph ,and roll on the water just like if it was solid ground. Watch the distance one of them rolling ,long after the boat came back down. The hard part is that you actually feel when the boat starts to lift, he could have backed off the throttle as soon as he felt the lift and avoided this.
Seat belts help only up to a certain point. In an open cockpit boat the seatbelt keeps you trapped in an overturned boat which can break your neck or drown you. The best for racing is a canopy. This incident reminds me of when Mr Solo lost his two sons .
Speed on the water "feels" so much faster, many of you who have driven at 200-260 kmph and above in a car, jump in an open boat and sit back , at anywhere around 45-70 miles/h will feel even faster than land speed, its always a rush, but don't ever forget to respect the ocean and the wind...............
