Trojan Boat Forum

Musta been forty years ago. I had a 15 foot Larson bowrider with a 40 horse Mercury outboard that I kept near my inlaws cottage on the Ogunquit River in Maine. At low tide the boat sat in the sand. At high tide I could go under a low bridge and enter the Gulf of Maine. It was always turbulant at the river's mouth. I expected it, transited many times by timing the large incoming waves. But one time I miscalculated and somehow got siedways in front of a six footer. I knew I was in trouble when I saw it break moments before it hit me dead broadside. It felt like a ton of water hit me and knocked me for a loop but somehow the little boat stayed afloat with me still in it, probably because I had a death grip on the wheel. The water was knee deep at the helm and I was soaked head to toe but I was shocked and pleased that the motor was still running. I quickly turned into the next wave and powered outta there.

CLOSE CALL / boating bullies

Last season I was heading out of shark river in Belmar NJ. I just finished gassing the boat up at the island and proceeded to go out to the ocean for a day of fishing. Out of nowhere, no horn, or other signaling device, this party boat shoots out right in front of me while underway narrowly missing my pulpit forcing me to reverse at 2500 Rpms. Then I hear a horn behind me , right behind me ! To make matters worse a second even larger party boat got on my rear and both of them where in a mighty hurry to catch the bridges. I have no room to get out the way, and I was forced to WOT in a no wake zone! This is not an ideal situation ( for lack of a more profane phrase) . As soon as the boat ahead of me cleared the last bridge opening it floored it in the small inlet. The undertow that it created took my little f26 and spun it to the left violently, still at WOT directly towards the rock barrier wall. At this point my first reaction other than to get up as the force threw me and my passenger out of our seats was to get to the helm. I quickly backed off the throttle threw it in reverse to straighten out and got the hell out of the way of the ass behind me. I have never been more scared on a boat ever!