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Peter Kovats' sailboat overturned in Lake Michigan for the second time in less than a year.
A sailor and a friend were rescued from the waters of Lake Michigan Wednesday afternoon near Chicago, nearly a year after the same sailor was plucked unconscious from the water when the same boat overturned.
Both episodes ended without substantial injury or death, but now conservation police officers may look into whether Peter Kovats should be fined or billed for his second water rescue in a year.
Kovats and a friend were in the 19-foot sailboat -- Peter Pan -- shortly before 2:30 p.m. when the craft listed, capsized and took on water about a quarter-mile from the Montrose Hook off Wilson Avenue.
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"When we arrived on the scene the two gentlemen were struggling," said David Johnsen with the Chicago Police Department's Marine Unit
Authorities ultimately were able to pull the 62- and 63-year-old men, who were clearly showing signs of fatigue, from the cold water.
"I'm no expert on hypothermia, but these guys were definitely -- you could tell by the condition of their hands and their skin -- they were cold and wet and they were happy to see us," said Johnsen.
Both men were taken in good condition to Weiss Memorial Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital. The boat was towed back to shore.
Last May, Kovats and two other men went out on the lake as part of a birthday celebration. A storm moved in and flipped the boat. Kovats was later found by the Coast Guard, unconscious but in a life preserver.
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America has lost all of its common sense. The conservation officers who are getting a paycheck because of we the people (who pay taxes) and are given a job to perform functions as they did are thinking of charging for those services. They have no common sense that we already are paying for it in the form of taxes. The dumbing of America has reached alarming levels. What took us a couple of centuries to build will be undone in a couple of decades. We are headed to become the dumbest nation in the world. With people like those officers having no clue what they are talking about. MORONS.
PangS: Yeah, and you're a genius, huh? The idiot boater SHOULD, with NO QUESTION, be charged. You were correct about lacking common sense: you and the boater prove that beyond any doubt.
This guy needs a new hobby.... on land!
Led by PangS, the king of all idiots. Starving for a cause are we? Any chance of convincing you not to procreate?
Time to check out a new boat ... or maybe a set of Leggos instead.
This guy needs to start playing bingo
How many times do you think rescue workers should risk their own lives to continue to rescue these inapt sailors? At some point enough is enough so others can be protected as well, by not tying up resources. They should be saved EVERY time, but at a cost/fine after the freebies run out.
Wow. Ever heard of furling the sails when the wind kicks up. How about flying bare poles if need be or sheeting out. Question the validity of his captains license, if he has one that is.
Please...take his boat away.....DUH!
How about he writes a check for $7500.00 for a "You get it back when you land" deposit. But not the boat if there is a problem. All is taken care of.
The world would be a less challenging place should we eliminate all adventure because of associated risks. The criteria for a person or persons being charged for a rescue should hinge on whether they were negligent in their pursuit of a given activity. Such negligence could include elements such as experience level vs. the activity at hand, having or not having the proper equipment, disregard for environmental conditions, hazards, failure to heed warnings of unfavorable conditions such as weather, visibility, high seas, flood conditions, etc. Also to be considered is if in fact their activities place others (including rescuers) at extreme risk due to negligence.
I have spent much of my recreational time hiking, whitewater canoeing, boating, fishing, hunting, rock climbing, etc. I can say that in two incidents involving rock climbing and canoeing, I came close to what could have been tragic results. I was lucky. If I had been injured or killed, it would have been my own fault. I did learn from those experiences and I am now more considerate of all factors that might place myself or rescue personnel in peril. I also went on to a career in which search and rescue operations were part of my job duties, so I understand the issue from multiple perspectives.
The taxpayers do not need to be burdened with rescues attributed to stupidity. Take proper precautions before and during high risk activities and consider the safety of those that might have to risk their own lives in trying to rescue yourself.
Perhaps he should give up boating.
As far as calling authorities idiots for wanting to charge, why? Obviously you're paying their salaries. But it's not all that. There's other costs to consider as well. They're gladly there to help, but when it comes a reoccurring thing, the person has to take responsibility for constantly putting themselves in these positions.
I think you need to reread the article the idiot boater who should never leave dry land just cost we the taxpayers thousands of dollars to rescue his dumba#s yet again.
"The world would be a less challenging place should we eliminate all adventure because of associated risks."
and yet, the world would suck if everyone took all the risks in the world, knowing someone else was always paying the price for it.
at some point, you have to conclude you are not capable of doing something...because of repeated failures. or, you fork over the money because you love what you are doing and dont mind paying the cost associated with your risks.
personal responsibility should still exist, he got his first get out of water free card...he's done. if he wants to keep sailing, he does so with the knowlege that it'll cost him if he continues to suck at it.
Jessica, if you read past that opening sentence, that's exactly what Mike said...
Sheesh, are we, as a society, to burdened to read past a few opening sentences?
Maybe he's suicidal?
Bull you probably don't pay taxes and the purpose of my taxes are not to weaken the gene pool. The first time is an accident the second time it is evlolution trying to tell us something. If he is that stupid either he pays or let him drown.
Oh. You AGAIN? Will that be cash or MasterCard? hahahahaha
Sorry but I can't avoid the obvious comparison with Obama's presidency! His first term could be characterized as a capsized boat... not quite righted yet. Can we really aford to give him another chance to capsize our 'boat' again?
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me!
Neither Obama or Kovats should be a captain of another boat!
I agree. You don't get free rides in an ambulance and this kind of nonsense should always have some cost, even if it's minimal, say $1,000. The bill for my ambulance ride after being hit head on was over $500 and the hospital was aboout 2 miles away. Insurance paid it of course, but then I've been paying them policy premiums for 35 years. Furthermore, my ambulance ride didn't put the EMTs lives in danger though the boater rescue had considerable risk for rangers .
Rub, I believe it is spelled 'afford', but other than that I completely agree... both Kovats and Obama seem to be good guys, but they are obviously over their heads in their respective endeavors...
If not President Obama, then who? Mitt Romney? Of course he can use his experience in the private sector to strip the states down and sell them off to China. We will be speaking Chinese in no time. Remember corporations are people too, some why not do people like you do corporations if he can make money from it right.
Charge them and scuttle the boat. Obviously the boat is as unstable as the "skipper".
I know what I would call someone rescued twice in a year. And sailor isn't it.
Funny our taxes do go to weaken the gene pool . Liberals believe in handouts such as free health care, food stamps,unemployment comp. and welfare. You must not know how your tax money is spent Danny boy.
Is anyone else sick and tired of these idiots who go off boating or hiking or getting into things (and places) that they have no business doing in the first place?! They SHOULD be charged for their own stupidity!!! We need to start fining the ignorant, who inevitably end up costing the rest of us a lot of money. Why don't we start with PangS (Deep South) who seems to be as ignorant as the people he is defending?!
When, dear God, are you coming back to cull the human herd??! It's time . . . .
God has nothing to do with it. Our government, in its wisdom and glory, has insured that the weak and the stupid are no longer culled.
If people were charged for their stupidity, the national debt could be paid in about 3 months!
Amen to that!
They'd be able to start with most of the comments here on msnbc.com ;)
Are the comments as much of a barometer of stupidity as the journalistic articles?
It sounds like most here are for eugenics........very popular during hitler's reign.
Before you all go off hatin', we don't have the whole story. He might be an idiot, or just a victim of real bad luck. Hopefully. he'll be more careful next time. Either way, the Search and Rescue people do a fantastic job. Kinda unsettling is the fact that they negate the Law of Natural Selection. We could use a few more Darwin filters here and there... (Go ahead and feed the bears!)
that's why we need to stop saving these people. they're a danger to themselves and the rest of us. Darwinism should be able to prevail. Frankly we don't have the resources to keep all of our idiots alive.
Yes, we should just let people in distress just die, for fear that they will distract us from counting all our tax dollars. What a great society it is you fantasize you should live in.
Ray, no one spent millions of dollars rescuing the settlers who went off on their own in the plains, woods, mountains etc. They had to be smart enough to survive their adventures on their own and/or with the help of the group that may have accompanied them. Just when was it we decided that someone can go alone rock climbing in Canyonlands with inadequate supplies but should have the government backing their risk-taking?
This is the next time and hope didn't prevail. I'm thinking that at 62 or 63 years old it is too late to teach this old dog new tricks - like sailing.
Don't discriminate against those of us who are older, thinker, (its call agism), there are plenty of young idiots, too. (Many of them don't live to be Senior Idiots!)
Darthdon - I'm sorry I didn't make it clearer. I wasn't discriminating against all old people as being idiots - just this particular one.
Sounds like this idiot doesn't know WTF he's doing in a boat.
Conservation officers get paid by how many hunting and fishing licenses people buy. moron
PangS,
Really? I have gone sailing, yachting, deep sea fishing, etc a million times in the past 40 years and never required emergency rescue. If you need rescue twice in one year it is because you are careless and irresponsible. MY tax dollars are to be used to save people who need assistance due to NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN......not to keep saving some idiot over and over again. Not to mention they had to salvage and tow his boat back for him. If you have a car accident, does the state tow your car to your repair center for free? Yeah, didn't think so.
PangS,
Done a bit of sailing myself, which make it really hard for me to believe that you have done these activities "millions of times in the past 40 years". That would require you to have done them 140 times during each day of the past 40 years.
He's obviously not much of a sailor. Send him the bill and he'll have a new hobby by the next day. Maybe Basket Weaving is more up his alley
Maybe this guy needs to take some sailing lessons and get a pilot's license, before taking to the waters by himself again! If he already has a license maybe he should mount it on a wall and sell his boat.
Dude is either 62 or 63. Maybe its time to stop sailing (sinking).
Yes, because 63 is just so damn old. Why doesn't this guy just curl up and die? Or maybe we can burn him up like they do all the old people in Logan's Run? We could be heating our homes with the carcasses or our old people! Energy Indepedence!
Ray Butt
Soylent Green.
Time to stop sailing the boat and start sale-ing the boat? hahaha
Ray Butt--- You just divulged the new and improved Tea Party/GOP plan were suppose to be quiet about that so the sheeple won't know until it's too late.
Mr. Kovats, my suggestion is that you do whatever sailing you want to do in a bathtub. Obviously, you're not of the same calibre as Admiral Nimitz and have no knowledge of or ability to accomplish the task of sailing.
Don't forget that old adage... the third time is the charm. You've been lucky twice... will you go for three???
This guy needs a bigger boat -- one with a motor and some outriggers.
Suggestion, save your life you have had two bites of the apple don't look for a third. Stay safe on shore, boating is not your strong suit. Maybe you should be billed for the rescue. The taxpayers shouldn't have to pay again for you...One rescue free all others you should be billed for or your vessel confiscated.
Marilyn, check my post above. We are on the same line.
FYI: Sailboats turn over. It's the dynamics of the sport to be expected and prepared. If anyone feels nervous about sailing it would be a good idea to learn more about it.
No, this is a keelboat, the dynamics of which are NOT to turn over. These guys just lack common sense. I've been sailing in this area for 13 years. This accident is a result of 1) Winds gusting over 30 knots, with a small craft advisory issued, 2) Boat under full sail, both main sail and jib (see photo), and 3) Heading and position of sails when a strong gust came up. This combination could cause a poorly managed small boat to heel (tip) so far over that the sails filled with water and water came in and flooded the cockpit and cabin. And this is pretty hard to do even if you are trying. In these conditions most sailors would have reefed (made the sails smaller) or taken one of the sails down completely.
Judging from the white caps and apparent weather conditions in the photo, it seems to me that the wind was a bit too much for a 19' dingy. Hypothermia from the cold water is the biggest worry. Righting the boat and getting out of the water is a must and should be practiced before sailing offshore.
Maybe it's time to either get a bigger boat that won't tip over so easily or accept the fact that maybe he's too old to be out on Lake Michigan?
Someone doesn't know how to sail.
Was the captain Italian? ( sorry!)
There are lots of modern plastic sailboats that can turn over in a breeze but not take on unremovable water and swamp or sink. This chap needs help from a real sailor. That being said, many good sailors have drowned in the icy waters of Lake Michigan when nature had her way with them and their equipment failed under extreme conditions. Most were lost in the old days when you were on your own, buddy. Nowadays your cell phone and the Coasties might come and get you if you are unprepared.
The fact that you can afford the boat doesn't make you a boater. I remember a customer's test drive on the US East coast at dusk; he went full throttle toward Portugal, and when he finally turned around he was looking directly into the setting sun with the shore invisible, no clue where he was, where he'd come from, nor how to get back.
As Ron White said - "You can't fix stupid".
First time should have been a free lesson that mother nature cares not about men and their plans, and will kill you dead in an instant. I'm fine with footing the bill if the idiot learned from it.
Second time - stupid gets the bill for that one.
Anyone that requires a rescue should be billed. Bill him for the first and second times. If he can afford a sailboat, he can afford the rescues.
Once is an accident...after that you are being stupid...
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Or as George Bush says, "There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again.
As a seasoned Lake Erie boater I think all boaters, sailboat or otherwise should require classes and licensing the same as drivers. Irresponsible boating is unacceptable. This will still not make everyone a safe boater but it may help. I have seen too many boaters out there who really don't belong.
Yeah because drivers never have accidents requiring emergency assistance...... </sarcasm>
I agree Powerboat operators over a certain size should be licensed but lets don't get all crazy with the big brother crap. What are rescuers there for if they aren't rescuing someone once in a while. Don't want any bench warming jock to come try to fish me out of the water and make things worse because they are no better at rescue than i am as a rescuee...
You can't fix stupid.