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Archive for circle of death

Feasel propeller case heard by Utah Supreme Court

On June 30, 2012 Mr Feasel and Mr Martinez were fishing. They were in a Tracker bass boat powered by a Mercury Marine outboard motor on a Utah reservoir. The boat swerved and both men were ejected. The unmanned boat circled in the Circle of Death. Mr. Feasel, the passenger, was repeatedly struck the propeller. […]

Brunswick Neural Network Person Detection patent issued

We continue to salute Brunswick for their efforts to detect people in the water near a recreational boat. Basics of the Patent U.S. Patent 10,372,976 Person Detection in a Marine Environment invented by Troy Kollmann and Jon Nowick, assigned to Brunswick issued on 6 August 2019. The patent’s first claim describes detecting people in the […]

Broussard bass boat kill switch ejection video

Michael Broussard was bass fishing on Toledo Bend Reservoir with his father in 2018. Michael was operating the boat and failed to connect his kill switch lanyard. In April 2019 he posted an on vessel video of the event in multiple resolutions on YouTube.

Kali’s Law signed by Texas Governor: boat kill switch law

Greg Abbot, Governor of Texas, signed Kali’s Law on Monday June 10, 2019 per a Soundings Trade Only report dated 11 June 2019. Named for Kali Gorzell, the law will require mandatory use of kill switch lanyards on certain vessels. Kali’s Law will go into effect September 1st, 2019.

Bass angler ejected: Table Rock

Skeet Reese, well known professional bass angler, shared a video on his Facebook page with some great coverage of a bass boat ejection that occurred right in front of him, and the ensuing rescue of the boat operator. [facebook url=”https://www.facebook.com/skeetreese/videos/288705872018065/”] Skeet reports the accident happened shortly after takeoff of the MLF Bass Pro Tour Tournament […]

Circle of Death Video: ReelJedi

YouTube fishing channel, ReelJedi, was filming on Lake Seminole (Georgia / Florida border) when a nearby boater running at speed in a Bass Tracker boat was ejected. The Bass Tracker powered by a Mercury Marine outboard motor went into the Circle of Death, then ReelJedi and his father rescued him. ReelJedi speculates the boat hit […]

Mandatory installation of kill switches

The Frank LomBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 was signed by President Trump back on 4 December 2018 per Issue 92/Spring 2019 of the U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Circular. The bill appropriates money for Coast Guard expenses in Fiscal Year 2019, as well as includes a few specific regulations. The new act will […]

LifeCord – smart kill switch lanyard

Inspired by the 2013 Milligan accident in the UK, John Barker, a UK businessman did something about the problem. At least in the UK, some boaters, especially those in rougher water want to attach their kill switch lanyard (known as a kill cord in the UK). However sometimes they forget to attach the lanyard. This […]

10 ejected from boat in Lake Gage IN Circle of Death accident VIDEO

Ten people were onboard a 21 foot Ski Nautique on Lake Gage in Steuben County Indiana about 7:15pm Saturday July 15, 2017. Dominique Effinger a 20 year old female was operating the boat. The boat took a hard turn and all ten people on board were ejected. The unmanned boat went into the Circle of […]

USCG Kopytko boat kill switch PSA

U.S Coast Guard has released a Public Service Announcement (PSA) reenacting the June 1994 accident on Table Rock Lake in Missouri that maimed Phyllis Kopyto and claimed the lives of her husband Bob Kopytko and of their fishing guide, Paul Brundridge. Phyllis speaks over the reenactment video. The video is very forceful.