Jupiter Sunsation

Marc you probably know as much as anyone regarding "powerboating gone wrong lawsuits" and while no dollar amount will bring back the dead it comes down to accountability. I didn't know Joey, I never even saw his raceboat but the nonsense of taking 9 minutes to get him out and the guy drowning in a preventable situation is bull$h!t!

The 2nd lawsuit pending might be a harder sell if the flip killed the two racers.......like broken neck type injury. Not sure anyone could have saved anyone in that situation.

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I would like to know why his air ran out in nine minutes!

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Before everybody goes crazy, Nine min is too long for a rescue but why did the air run out?

Comanche3Six

Getting charged money is punishment, that's the idea. It's up to the defendant/offender whether he wants to improve conditions or continue down the same path. Pretty simple concept.

kidturbo

Where did you read his safety air ran out? Not picking, just wondered if that was from a transcript somewhere, or a general assumption.

A valid question none the less. Suggest the details regarding this small part be researched further by anyone armchair quarterbacking... There is several safety lessons to be learned from this event I've seen. Would best honor the man to embrace and understand exactly what, where, and why, so everyone can learn from it and consider changes. The legal part is over, it could be examined openly, start to finish, without the lawyers now...

-K

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It's also about lawyers making MONEY.

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For anyone that is unfamiliar with what it could be like to roll upside down in a canopy race boat, Richie's description will put chills down your spine... I would think it may not have been much different for Steve Page.

Note: It was JT that stopped his own race boat and jumped into the water to try and help rescue the crew as the divers had not arrived yet.

Unfortunately Tom Gentry never recovered from his injuries from that day. God bless him...

http://www.biggerhammer.net/offshore...st/powers.html




Photo and Article By Andy Newman
KEY WEST - Despite a close brush with death at last November's world championship, Hollywood resident Richie Powers is prepared to return to the world of high-speed, bone-jarring offshore powerboat racing.

Actually, Powers was ready seven months ago at the beginning of the 1995 racing year. But as the season-ending, Key West World Championship is taking place this week, he has yet to find the right racing team needing a veteran throttleman with 30 years of experience punctuated by seven world championship titles.

Of course, some people might consider Powers insane to come back to the sport that almost took his life on the 10th lap of last year's final championship heat.

With Powers and Honolulu real estate developer Tom Gentry at the helm of Team Gentry, the 40-foot Skater catamaran entered turn #3 in Key West harbor closely following two other boats. Gentry attempted to pass the first, a Japanese entry, to the left but quickly ran out of room. Moving to the right, at the turn, Gentry had to execute a quick left maneuver to maintain course. As the boat came around, it hooked and flipped over, submerging both men.

"It was an extremely panicky situation," Powers, 49, remembered. "When that thing went over, there was no oxygen. It was just instant submersion.

"It's like one minute you're walking, breathing, talking and the next thing you're under water and didn't even have a chance to gasp for breath."

Harnessed in his seat, upside-down and disoriented, Powers tried to remain calm and focus on previous training for extradition from enclosed cockpit canopies.

"I opened the hatch, undid my seat belt and that's when all hell broke loose," he said. "The life jacket I was wearing just pinned me to the floor of the boat. So I'm floundering around and got tangled up underneath the dash. Then I got my wits and realized I had to grab some oxygen, because I wasn't going to get out."

Fabricated from the same Lexan molds as Air Force F-16 fighter jet shrouds, many race boats are equipped with canopies to protect against critical injuries in the event of a 100 mph-plus accident. But canopies also can provide significant challenges for crew escape following a roll-over. To help sustain life, most canopy-equipped boats carry emergency oxygen. Gentry's boat had two sources for each crew member including a built-in system with a SCUBA regulator and a small, backup air cylinder.

"I started thinking about Allyson and Samantha, my wife and little girl," Powers recalled. "I grabbed the spare (backup) air, tried to put it in my mouth, but the protective dust cover was still on."

Still floundering, Powers discarded the cylinder and again attempted to get out. But despite the struggle, he could not counteract the life jacket's buoyancy which kept him pinned to the floor of the boat, now above him.

"I had to breathe," he said. "I took one breath of salt water. I thought to myself it's unbelievable, I'm breathing underwater."

With hands and arms flailing, Powers suddenly grabbed an object that felt familiar.

"It's like God handed me the regulator," he said, referring to the breathing apparatus from the boat's permanent air supply. "Thank God, the oxygen was on and everything was working. With the last breath I had, I cleared the regulator and just sat there. Everything was fine."

Soon after, rescue diver Jonathan Nuta came to Powers' aid, helped disconnect lines that fed coolant to his race suit and guided him to the surface.

Powers returned to his hotel, checked out and departed Key West by car. Gentry, 65, was not as fortunate and was taken to Lower Florida Keys Health System hospital. Later he was transferred by air ambulance to Miami's Cedars Medical Center in critical condition.

"I think Tom experienced the same thing I did," said Powers, adding that Gentry did not suffer any impact-oriented injuries. "For some reason, he didn't have the mind to go for the regulator. He tried to get out, but I guess he ran out of time."

Almost a year after the accident, Gentry remains comatose in his home under medical supervision.

READ MORE..........

Greatguy66

If possible does anybody have you tube video of accident?

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I haven't seen any, but what I did find that was interesting, in 2003 Key West, High Risk Skater rolled. Crew were thrown from the boat. A remarkable response by the divers by air and by sea.
Have a look and see how different this rescue went....
I can't say for sure this was a last lap or the racers seen after the accident just didn't appear to be at racing speeds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYMBIZw00Ns

klaatutooyou

Wow I am so glad that 15 years later ,most modern race boats have canopies .
I cant even imagine that mishap early on in the race ...,with 10 open boats behind you .
I don't even watch open boats 3/4 canopy or not .way too much risk there .especially in big water .

Safety has evolved at least that much anyway . can always be safer for sure.