Favorite Photos past & present

**Mark75H** · 03-22-2005

Val, please go back and read that story in the link and then take a critical reread of Wayne's post.

Let me know if you don't see my problem.

-Sam

**Ron Hill** · 03-22-2005

Harris, Val and my friend...had a place at Havasu...actually, Harris probably still does....Harris's neighbor drown his kid by pulling him when the kid was holding on to the swim step....(Filled the kids lungs with water, no jacket ...lost his 12 year old)...

I have family rules...at the river...you NEVER dive into the river without a jacket..100 plus degrees, to cold water hearts sometime stop..with a jacket, you float and never know you "DIED"...Learned this a bass Tournament years ago... Also, we, my family, daughter, son and wife..no Broc at the time, all dove out of the boat, with our jackets, damn wind came up and blew out boat up stream...we floated for more than a mile, before our boat "Caught up" with us...

Cliff Diving...evey year kids die, if they'd dive with a jacket and did a "Belley Flop" their jacket would float them...they "Belly Flop" no jacket and drown...

Val, wasn't pointing a finger...just pointing out that sometimes...stuff happens...

Hell, I almost killed my neighbor trying to Jet Ski....he had a jacket, he was just too heavy for the ski and jacket....

Chad, my son, almost killed himself blowing sand out of our water lines on our 30 footer...steam went down his throat and he ended up in the Havasu Hospital. You don't blow in plugged water lines of big block, 502 Chevy's...I know that now...

**Miss BK** · 03-22-2005

There was quite a discussion on Offshore only a few years back about the transom exhaust after a someone passed out and drowned. I read the article I posted, and a man who lost his son said, "If someone would have told me how dangerous this was, I wouldn't have kept doing it".

That dad was angry that nobody spoke up. I sure didn't mean anything mean spirited by posting the link. I just knew what could (does) happen. Wayne said they play: "just behind the transom". That's right where the poison is. Just trying to help.

**Miss BK** · 03-22-2005

Dang. Looks I posted the F150 stuff to the wrong thread.

I've moved it over to the "Mod-VP" thread now.

Sorry about that!

**Master Oil Racing Team** · 03-23-2005

When the guy waved me over he said what we were doing (he called it a name, but I didn't get it) was dangerous. He said a lot of people had been killed doing it. I told him that I knew it was dangerous and that's why I don't teach anyone else how. I taught a surfer friend in the mid 70's, my daughter last year, and I was teaching her boyfriend that day.

Anyway I told the guy in the boat how easy it would be to get into the prop if you didn't know what you were doing. He told me "no, it's the danger from the exhaust fumes. You may be doing fine now, go to bed, then wake up in the morning dead." I kind of smiled and was polite & thanked him for the warning. He said he thought at first we were some wild and crazy kids & didn't know the dangers. I told him when I first started doing this in 1968 I was, & still know the dangers.

CO is not an issue in this case. First my boat exhausts under water. Secondly, in South Texas we almost always have wind & when we wake surf we are always moving. Also, no one is allowed on the platform, on top of the seats or the motor cover while under way. In the seats, sitting down only. We work with the deadly H2S in the oilfield. It doesn't take long for it to kill you at levels over 100ppm. At over 700ppm you go down instantly, and rescue people only have minutes to get you to fresh air. The effects are totally reversible if you are able to get fresh air into your lungs. CO is the same. If you were accumulating CO while wake surfing, you would lose your coordination and not be able to stay with the wake long before you would become sleepy or nauseous.

The real danger is the prop. I used to do it behind a 16' Larsen with an Evinrude 75. Not much wake so the nose of my board was ducktaped up from running into the transom. The big inboard allows us to stay back. BUT, it still requires a skilled driver (hand always on the throttle), a spotter to handle the rope & look for other boats( the driver has to monitor the surfer constantly), and the surfer has to know how to fall away. Besides the prop, there is a danger of getting tangled in the tow rope if you pull too much in and fall before you toss it in the boat.

I have never heard of anyone else but one guy doing this so I never thought much about the danger to anyone else. As long as it was under my control I figured nothing would happen. But miss BK's post hit home and I started thinking about other kids and parents that would watch me. Iv'e done it enough that I can pop up, catch the wake, throw the rope in the boat and surf for miles, including turns and going through wakes. It may look easy, but it can be difficult to learn. As we all know there are a lot of people on the water that don't have a clue to safe boating. I don't want some kid hurt because a parent tried to teach him/her how to wake surf. I decided I would confine my wake surfing to weekdays when no one else is on the water. I haven't ever seen anyone else try it, but it I wouldn't want anyone hurt. I told my neighbors son he would be my last student, but he is in college now so I think I can beg off.

**Miss BK** · 03-23-2005

I'm glad you didn't see my post as a personal thing. Sorry if anyone did. What popped in my head when I read it was our discussion on OSO a while back. I was one of those that was amazed at how often this happens. So I wanted to let everyone know who might not have known. (like me)

And when you read the stories, most of the deaths weren't due to CO, it was due to the kids getting dizzy and falling into the water. They didn't have enough strength to swim or get back to the surface. Then they vanish into the depths within seconds. One girl said she was feeling sick, and was half way in the boat when she suddenly fell backwards back into the water. It was days before they found her.

Ron pointed out the solution to all those tragedies: Life jackets. If they had jackets on, these kids would probably have gone home with just a bad headache.

Anyway, I'm sorry I've got the thread off track....at first I had decided not to comment, but then I remembered what that grieving father said about nobody ever speaking up....

now...

Back to hydros and runabouts!

**Miss BK** · 03-23-2005

Does anyone have any pictures from Needles from the 70's? I've only got a few, since I had a really bad camera. My brother, Mike Longwell, raced there often and would love to see some of those. Brawley too.

**Pop990** · 03-23-2005

We have Ed Lanes scrapbook. Let me know what to look for and I will post some of them. Bill

**Miss BK** · 03-23-2005

You have his scrap book? That ought to hold some memories!

Here is a photo of our group from a race in Needles in 1977. This was my brother's 2nd year of racing and nearly won that day.

There's a very funny story that goes with this picture, and deals with Ron Hill. I'll have to start another thread to tell that whole story though.

Whe I have more time I will...

PS This race was in February! But don't let the bikini's fool you - that water was COLD as ICE, and it bit you til your legs turned scarlet red.

**Ron Hill** · 03-23-2005

Is that Ron Hill's head in the back row? Is that Doug Martin in the middle? Is that blond on the back row George Hill???

I remember Needles in February....Looks warm, but no way, Jose!!!!