Pontoon Boat Used In Apartment Fire Rescue

A Bonita Springs resident has been involved in a dramatic rescue by firefighter Jason Burgess who arrived on the scene via pontoon boat. News-Press.com has the story …

Jason Burgess has been a Bonita Springs firefighter for 10 months and has already been credited with saving two lives – the most recent taking place Saturday when he was out fishing in a 20-foot pontoon boat with his girlfriend and four others.

A former Marine and supervisor aboard the 100-foot yacht, the Sanibel Princess, Burgess, 38, said he always wanted to help people.

“I feel I have it in here,” he said pointing to his chest shortly before a Bonita Springs Fire Board meeting Monday. “It’s a calling.”On Saturday, Burgess, 38, girlfriend Erica Schatz, Jerry and Gail Gray and Mark and Julia Owens headed out toward the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River to fish.

“Jerry had a good spot and that’s where we were headed,” Burgess said.

Just as Burgess was about to throw out a cast net for some baitfish near an island next to Shell Point Village, an alarm sounded.

“We all saw the smoke and Julia called 9-1-1,” Burgess said.

Immediately, the group’s boat began chugging toward the shoreline. Jerry Gray, the boat’s owner didn’t have time to dock. Instead he pointed the pontoon at the seawall and steered the bow right into it.

“At that point, you don’t think about (damage to your boat),” Gray said.

Immediately upon hearing the crunch of metal and rock, Burgess jumped off and high-tailed it toward the five-story building where clouds of black smoke were seeping out.

Mark Owens followed closely behind.

“We could see that the smoke was coming from the second and third floor,” Burgess said.

When he arrived at the floor where the apartment was burning, a lady screamed, “There’s a man in there,” Burgess recalled. Burgess then opened the unlocked apartment door and thick smoke billowed out. “I couldn’t see anything. I yelled, ‘I’m a firefighter, is anyone here?’ That’s when I saw a silloutte.”

The man inside screamed, “I’m hot, I’m burning,” Burgess said.

The man was sitting down and couldn’t move. Flames as high as four feet surrounded him. Burgess raced toward the man, picked him up and tried to carry him to safety.

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Moose Hunting on a Pontoon Boat

Oregonlive.com sports columnist Bill Monroe has published this story about a moose hunt in British Columbia. I'm posting it here simply because a pontoon boat was involved.

After driving 1,392 miles in 27 hours, I join longtime friend and moose guide Mike Danielson for the final leg of my trip in his seaplane, landing on the shoreline of a small lake less than 100 miles south of the Yukon border.

Danielson frowns at the sight of his bright red Mercury inflatable boat, a vital tool to get his hunters to the other end of the lake, where bull moose gather for the rut.

He had been up a day earlier to prepare his cabins and take the boat and small outboard 200 yards down to the lakeshore. Overnight, however, a curious grizzly visited, and the raft's left rear pontoon is punctured in two places, wrinkled and limp from the loss of air.

Danielson's wife, Carol, arrives by ATV with Allen Flanagan of Hillsboro after a 14-mile trek, bringing along the food, gear and rifles. The Danielsons unpack, then try to patch the holes in the boat. Fortunately, the bear didn't shred anything.

Monday: The patches work marginally, slowing the leak enough to allow use of the boat, but we see only a cow and a calf.

Back at camp for lunch, we board the ATVs for a 26-mile round trip into the back country, closer to where we'd seen a bull feeding during the previous day's flight.

There is no sign of moose activity, but the hunt and several off-trail hikes are nearly as invigorating as having to twice winch ourselves out of marshy mudholes.

Tuesday: Tracks show the bear has returned to the boat overnight, but it only walked around the sandy beach for a while then lumbered off along the water line.

We pump up the boat for more moose-less trips up the lake, morning and afternoon. Mike Danielson is clearly concerned. The rut begins like clockwork Sept. 17 or 18, and the vacant, soggy marsh should be crawling with bulls. We've timed our trip to mesh the moose rut with Oregon's subsequent October hunting seasons.

"Will you still love me if you don't get a moose?" Danielson asks on our hillside vantage point.

Wednesday: Another quiet morning hunt.

After lunch, we sit in the cabin, watching hopefully from its bay windows overlooking the marsh and lake.

Danielson bolts to his feet. "Here comes a bull," he says, "straight at us."

Up the marsh, I can see the distant twinkle of whitened antler palms against the dark willows.

A bull is trotting behind a cow and her calf, several hundred yards across the meadow below the cabin and moving fast toward a moose's favorite feeding ground, vegetation on the shallow lake bottom.

We hustle to intercept but can get only within 400 yards or so when they stop. We freeze and watch as the bull chases the hapless calf away. The cow is having none of his advances though, so he urinates. As he rolls in the result to improve his male-ness, the cow and calf continue for the lake at a fast trot.

We stalk through the lakeshore willows in time to see the bull catch up, rinse himself for a few minutes as the cow begins to graze underwater, then retire to the lakeshore for a nap. Only his antlers are visible.

We spend half an hour watching, pondering. To reach him, we'll have to cross the stream. He's not one of the big bulls that make this part of British Columbia so popular with trophy hunters. Is it worth it, Danielson asks?

My trophy is the hunt, not the antlers; I want that moose. "Let's do it," I whisper to Danielson. "If we go down, we'll go down together."

Danielson tells me to stay close so we look more like a large animal from a distance, and we wade into full view of the feeding cow, 430 yards away. When her head dips beneath the water, we move. When she comes up for air, we stop.

The water seems warmer than the stiff breeze as we cross the inlet downwind and slowly make our stop-and-go way along the shoreline. The calf sees us and is clearly upset, returning to its mother and then shore, then to mother again. But she pays no attention to its nervousness. We hike up and over a knob just as she finishes feeding and comes ashore, surprising us barely 50 yards away ... but out of sight of the bull. Danielson quietly shoos her away with his arms to separate her from the bull, and we use a bluff to hide our stalk to within 120 yards of his bed.

As I peer around the corner, he is standing broadside, looking directly at us and within a second or two of following the retreating cow. Or is he wondering whether we're another moose?

The young bull's momentary confusion gives me just enough time to set up the shooting stick bipod, rest the .270 rifle, take aim and pull the trigger.

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Pontoon Boat Auction

There is a Kayot 20' Pontoon boat going to auction on August 29 in Ulen, MN. Also a 40 hp Evinrude motor. Details here...

Boating Accident Caused By Alcohol

If you needed any further proof that boating and drinking don't mix this article from therepublic.com provides it …

"A Greensburg man accused of drunken boating was rescued from Schaefer Lake after he was injured in a Jet Ski accident.

Christopher Schwartz, 19, was thrown from the Jet Ski after starting into a tight turn while northbound on the lake Sunday, according to Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department.

He landed face down and unconscious in the water, where he remained until a pontoon boat that was headed south on the west side of the lake could cross over to his location.

Amy Smith, a nurse aboard the pontoon boat, entered the water to turn Schwartz over.

He was not breathing and had a cut over his left eye, according the sheriff's department.

Smith and her daughter, Erika Smith, 14, and her father and mother, Carl and Marilyn Smith, who live on East Lakeshore Drive South, pulled Schwartz from the water.

After a few moments, Schwartz began to breath and the Smiths took him to Carl and Marilyn's dock, where Hope fire and police helped transport him to Columbus Regional Hospital.

Schwartz's blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit of 0.08 percent to operate a motorized boat, according to the sheriff's department.

He was charged with operating a motor boat under the influence, a Class C misdemeanor.

Schwartz was not jailed due to his injuries and the potential for complications from being face down in the water for an extended time, the sheriff's department said. "

New Marina For Omaha – Construction Begins

The fleet of boats on Omaha's largest lake will have a new marina by next spring. Boat owners looking to secure a slip at the new marina should grab one now. This article from omaha.com tells the story …

Construction is under way for a new marina at Cunningham Lake in northwest Omaha. It will open next spring.

Sailors who want a slip at the marina for their sailboat, fishing boat or pontoon boat shouldn't wait that long, however, to secure a spot. If they do, the only guarantee that they'll find after the ice melts is that a private dock spot will cost more — if one is available.

Discounted marina slips are available if reservations are made by Sept. 15, said Joan Bailon, special projects coordinator for the Omaha Parks Department.

Early-bird prices are $995 for full-size boat slips, $650 for half slips and $500 for moorings.

All slip reservations require a $250 nonrefundable deposit. Mooring reservations require a $150 nonrefundable deposit. The balance of payment will be billed Jan. 2, 2010.

Bailon said the marina will provide better access to the lake and will be packed with features.

Concrete docks will include electrical power and water. Full-size docks will be 10 feet by 24 feet. The site will have 24-hour gate security and a bath house with rest rooms and showers.

The marina also will feature a courtesy dock at the boat ramp, a beach for easy launching of small boats, space to lock dinghies and trailers for day-boating, plus a picnic area, added parking and a lighthouse.

Half of the marina's $1 million cost was shared by the Papio–Missouri River Natural Resources District and Omaha park bonds. The remainder will be funded by revenue bonds repaid from boat slip fees.

Paul Jeffrey, a sailor and president of Bahr Vermeer Haecker Architects in Omaha, said the marina is a long-awaited community asset.

“Cunningham Lake is the only substantial sailing venue in Omaha,'' Jeffrey said. “Those whom have experienced the solitude, quiet and natural setting — let alone the gorgeous sunsets — of the lake while sailing are all getting very excited about having the lake back in shape to again go boating here in Omaha.''

In Jeffrey's vision, photographs of silhouetted sailboats on Cunningham Lake would rival any other location for a promotional postcard scene of the city.

Part of Jeffrey's eagerness is anchored in his day job. His architecture firm is involved with designing the marina.

He started sailing at Cunningham in 2003, which means that he had only three seasons there in his 1979 Catalina, a 25-foot cabin cruiser, before the lake was drained for a two-year restoration project.

The slowly dying lake was dredged to remove silt and deepen it to extend its life and improve water quality and the fishery.

The project was initiated by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which manages the water.

The commission constructed jetties, piers and breaks to create better aquatic habitat and improved spots for shore anglers to cast to fish, including bluegill, largemouth bass, channel catfish and other species.

The lake is rimmed by 1,050 acres of parkland.

Cunningham Lake is north of Interstate 680 near 72nd Street. It was completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1973 as part of its flood-control system along the Papio Creek.

For more information about the marina and to reserve a slip, call 402-444-5955.

Contact the writer: 444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com