May 9, 2003

Before you Boat - Know the Rules

Once on the water, we'll be able to figure out who you are because you'll be the one driving your boat on the wrong side of the river nearly missing rock dikes and pilings. We'll see that it's you again as you pull into the marina with that 'deer in the headlights' look on your face because the ten or so boats directly in front of you are navigating in every direction as they compete for the next available slip.  

To assure you have a safe summer of boating and not find yourself a statistic, you may want to review the rules of the road. More information can be found at the following:
 

Nebraska Boating Guide Rules and Regulations There many boating education classes available. To find a class near you, visit the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Boater Education Class Listing. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission - Boating Education 2200 No. 33rd Street - Lincoln, NE. 68503 For further information on boater education courses contact: Herb Angell at (402) 471-5579 or email: hangell@ngpc.state.ne.us

The following article appeared in the Sioux City Journal on Thursday, May 8, 2003:
 

Man Swims to Shore after his Boat Capsizes By Mike Koehler, Journal staff writer  Emergency officials on the Nebraska shore in South Sioux City's Scenic Park look over a boat that had capsized in the Missouri River Wednesday afternoon. The boater was able to swim to shore, then was taken to a Sioux City hospital where he was treated. A Sioux City man capsized his boat Wednesday on the Missouri River and swam safely to shore. The incident occurred at 1:30 p.m. near the Veterans Bridge where David Macklem, age unknown, was driving his boat upstream and may have hit a piling near the Nebraska side and capsized the boat, according to a report from the South Sioux City Police Department, said Andy Backman, an investigator with the department. "My understanding is he was trapped inside the boat for a short period of time when it first went over," Backman said. Macklem swam to the Nebraska side and was transported to a Sioux City hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Macklem had owned the boat, a 25-foot Bayliner cubby cabin cruiser, for only about two weeks, Backman said. Campers at Scenic Park reported that about 6 feet of the bow of the boat bobbed by in the river current. "It was doing some rolling, and the windshield was cracked," he said. "The thing is probably totaled ..." Capt. Tim Kelley of the Argosy V, the gambling boat that makes up Argosy Casino -- Sioux City, said when he learned of the river emergency he sent two Argosy crew members out on a rescue boat to help. Teresa Beatty, senior deck hand, and Marvin Gustavson, engine room technician, went out on the river in the rescue boat and made sure the boat occupants were safe. "When they made sure he was safe, they attached a marker, a float, to the boat," Kelley said. "It looked like it was going to sink all the way. Then they came back to the boat (Argosy V) and got a bigger, heavier line. The boat was drifting down river the whole time." Once they got the heavy line attached, they tied the drifting boat to a wooden post just near the bank just south of Scenic Park. Once it was attached, the Argosy crew turned the boat over to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and a salvage tow truck was called to pull it from the water. Kelley said crew members from Argosy V help with river accidents several times each boating season. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, South Sioux City Fire Department, South Sioux City Police Department responded to the incident. Mercy Air Care also flew over the river to check for people in the water. However, Macklem was the only person in the boat.

We received more information on this incident from a member of the Missouri River Boat Club in Sioux City. He wrote:
 

See you safely on the river!.