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Lucky Escapes

Four ladies were rescued on a Texas lake after their rented boat became grounded ... ... teetering atop the lake's dam.
BoatRescue-LonghornDam.jpg
'It's going to go over': Austin boaters rescued after nearly plunging off Longhorn Dam

Boaters taking an afternoon jaunt on Austin's Lady Bird Lake got dangerously close to plunging off the 36-foot-high Longhorn Dam on Thursday before rescuers arrived.

Emergency responders saved all four passengers who had been stuck in the boat on the edge of the 60-year-old dam that forms the lake from the Colorado River. No one was injured. ...

The boat's four female passengers had rented a boat earlier that afternoon from Retro Boat Rentals, a company that specializes in renting out fiberglass runabout boats from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The boat drifted too close to the dam and did not have enough power in its electric motor to pull away, Brad Smith, an Austin police Lake Patrol officer, told ABC News. The passengers called the boat company for assistance, but Retro Boat Rentals staff members also got stuck on the dam trying to help them.

None of the boat's four passengers were wearing life vests. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.statesman.com/story/new...rd-lake-water-rescue-longhorn-dam/7658503002/
 
Souleater said:
Thats one in the minus coloumn for electric motors
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The reason they were using an electric trolling motor was that local authorities had imposed a rule that such low-power electric motors were the only ones that could be used on the lake (which is the centerpiece of a recreational area).
Only boats powered by electric motors that do not exceed a capacity of five horsepower can operate on Lady Bird Lake.
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https://austintexas.gov/page/lady-bird-lake
 
EnolaGaia said:
The reason they were using an electric trolling motor was that local authorities had imposed a rule that such low-power electric motors were the only ones that could be used on the lake (which is the centerpiece of a recreational area).

https://austintexas.gov/page/lady-bird-lake
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In hindsight, not such a good idea i think, if a 5 hp engine cant generate enough power to pull away from the edge of a dam, although the boat pictured in the article appears to have a standard outboard motor.
 
"None of the boat's four passengers were wearing life vests." I would have thought that would be the least of their worries at the bottom of a 36 foot drop.
 
Krepostnoi said:
"None of the boat's four passengers were wearing life vests." I would have thought that would be the least of their worries at the bottom of a 36 foot drop.
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At least the bodies would float. That'd be useful when retrieving them. Got to stay positive.
 
Souleater said:
... the boat pictured in the article appears to have a standard outboard motor.
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I was wondering about that, too.

The full article describes the boat renters as specializing in renting out vintage powerboats from the 1950s / 1960s. They couldn't legally be using vintage gasoline engines (without special permission). My guess is that the rental folks either transplanted the legal electric driveline into the vintage casing / shell, or perhaps transplanted the vintage engine case onto the electric rig, to preserve the vintage looks.
 
Krepostnoi said:
"None of the boat's four passengers were wearing life vests." ...
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That's another oddity in the story. According to the full article, the rental folks claim they issue life vests to their customers. This made me wonder why it was necessary to lower life vests to the four occupants.
 
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This bloke was luckier than the dinosaur-leg man.

Man lucky to be alive after being found stuck inside farm equipment for 2 days

His reason? "He liked to take pictures of the engines of old farm equipment."

A man is lucky to be alive after he was rescued from being stuck for two days inside farm equipment at a California vineyard.

The incident occurred in the early morning on June 8 when the Sonoma Sheriff’s Office in Santa Rosa, California -- about 60 miles north of San Francisco -- received a complaint of a suspicious vehicle parked at a private property.
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If you want to know what it's like to behave in a psychotic fashion, then yes, indeedy!
 

British soldier crashes through roof in California after parachute fails​

A British paratrooper who jumped off a plane 150,000 feet high crashed through the roof of a California home after his parachute failed to fully deploy. The soldier, who was partaking in a training exercise at the time of the equipment malfunction, miraculously survived – and without serious injuries.

‘The parachutist was conscious but stunned with complaints of pain but no visible serious injuries,’ the police department wrote. ‘The occupants of the residence were not home at the time and therefore were uninjured.’

An investigation revealed that the parachute failed to fully deploy as the parachutist participated in group training at Camp Roberts. It was the only incident and others in the exercise landed safely in the designated field, according to the police department.

The UK Ministry of Defence told the Daily Mail: ‘There has been a parachuting incident involving a British soldier training alongside American allies in California. The soldier received minor injuries and is recovering well.’

Linda Sallady, who is the mother of the homeowner, said the soldier ‘came through the roof, through the tresses and there’s not that much damage in the house’.

‘It’s amazing. It’s mostly the ceiling, the sheetrock,’ Sallady said. ‘He missed the counters, appliances, everything.’
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A British soldier crashed through the roof of a California home after his parachute failed to fully deploy
 
I6 people had to be rescued from a riptide at Fistral beach in Newquay.

"Lifeguards carried out a mass rescue of 16 surfers and bodyboarders pulled out to sea in a powerful rip current.

The RNLI said the rip appeared on Fistral beach in Newquay as the tide was going out at 13:00 BST on Tuesday.

Rip currents are the fast-moving water that flows in channels between sandbanks on a beach and along headlands.

Senior lifeguard, Arron Evans, said the incident showed how "quickly you could find yourself caught out" in the sea.

Lifeguard Liv Harwood responded first, pulling casualties on to her rescue board and calling for help as she saw more people pulled into the path of the current."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-57835886
 
This kid has been blessed with good luck "right out of the chute", so to speak ...
Newborn found inside dresser in Chicago alley right before trash pickup

A woman found a newborn baby boy inside a dresser in a Chicago alley on Tuesday, which was trash pickup day in the area.

The woman found the child around 8 a.m. in the Montclare community on the city’s northwest side. She was looking for recyclable materials near the trash cans when she found the baby inside a dresser drawer.

The woman held the child until paramedics arrived and reportedly said the infant was alive when they got there. ...

The dresser apparently was with some trash, and the baby was found just before garbage trucks arrived. ...
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FULL STORY: https://pix11.com/news/newborn-found-inside-dresser-in-chicago-alley-right-before-trash-pickup/
 
Man plunges 100ft from building but somehow survives as BMW car breaks his fall

The bizarre scene took place in Jersey City, New Jersey, in the US, at 10.20 am on Wednesday and shocked 21-year-old passer-by Christina Smith, who was on her way to McDonald's.

"I heard a big boom and I didn’t think it was a person at first," Smith told the New York Post.
"The back window of the car just busted out — exploded. Then the guy jumped up and started screaming. His arm was all twisted.

"I was like, 'Oh my God!' I was shocked. It was like being in a movie."

She added that the unidentified man asked what happened, to which she replied "you fell.”

The New York Post cited a "source familiar with the case," when they reported that the man did not work in the building, and that it was unclear why he was there.

The same source reportedly told the publication the man refused to give police his name and was not being cooperative as of Thursday afternoon.

Wallace-Scalcione added the incident does not involve suspicious circumstances.
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If that was his own car then that would create an interesting insurance claim.
 
hunck said:
Man plunges 100ft from building but somehow survives as BMW car breaks his fall

The bizarre scene took place in Jersey City, New Jersey, in the US, at 10.20 am on Wednesday and shocked 21-year-old passer-by Christina Smith, who was on her way to McDonald's.

"I heard a big boom and I didn’t think it was a person at first," Smith told the New York Post.

View attachment 46379
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Maybe this should be included in the conversation on the 'time slips' thread about people appearing from nowhere
 
Nosmo King said:
Maybe this should be included in the conversation on the 'time slips' thread about people appearing from nowhere
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Well my money would be on he either jumped or was pushed from a window or the roof. Maybe more will emerge. According to the report he hasn’t revealed his name. Maybe he can’t remember, maybe he has mental health issues. That’s probably likeliest.
 
This New Jersey news posting claims police said he'd jumped ...
Man Who Survived 9-Story Fall In Jersey City Had Jumped, Police Say

A man was in critical condition Thursday after jumping from a ninth-story window in a Jersey City high rise Wednesday, city officials said.

The 31-year-old man landed on a BMW sedan after jumping from a building at the intersection of Sip Avenue and Enos Place at 26 Journal Square around 10:30 a.m., city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said. ...

The man's injuries were considered life-threatening, she said. ...
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FULL STORY: https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/e...-in-jersey-city-had-jumped-police-say/817676/
 
This was very lucky indeed. If the boy had landed on his head he'd be dead.

(Safe Sky News link)

Boy who fell off 70ft cliff - hitting 'multiple ledges' on way down - walks away with no serious injuries

The boy and his parents were hiking at the Red River Gorge near Princess Arch in eastern Kentucky on Friday when he slipped and fell.

He reportedly hit "multiple ledges" before landing about 21m (70ft) below, the Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team said.

The boy's dad scrambled after him and called for help.

When rescuers found the boy, they found him alert and talking, with a few scratches and bruises.
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