# 2 severely injured Thursday night as boat hits Ludington north breakwater



## wartfroggy (Jan 25, 2007)

*http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news/60261-2-severely-injured-thursday-night-as-boat-hits-ludington-north-breakwater?newsgroup_id=*

*2 severely injured Thursday night as boat hits Ludington north breakwater*

LDN Staff - 
Friday, September 2, 2011
70-year-old Richard Smith of Ludington and his 15-year-old boat passenger, also of Ludington, are being treated for severe injuries at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids after the boat Smith was driving hit the Ludington North Breakwater Thursday night. 
Smith was transported by AeroMed helicopter. The boat, a 1979 Slickcraft, remains on the wall this morning, west of the bend in the wall on the wall's north side. 
http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/addisplay.php?ad_id=1034&zone_id=204


The incident was called in to emergency personnel at 9:52 p.m. See more information as it is available in today's Ludington Daily News.


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## EdB (Feb 28, 2002)

She has a big hole under the bow.


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## wartfroggy (Jan 25, 2007)

Thats a bad deal. It is amazing how many people hit those piers. But, I think that this was the first bad one this year. ???


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## D-Fresh (Feb 8, 2005)

wartfroggy said:


> Thats a bad deal. It is amazing how many people hit those piers. But, I think that this was the first bad one this year. ???


There was another boat up on the south pier in Manistee in late July/early August (can't remember the exact date). Not sure if anyone was hurt or not. I do know that they pushed it back in the water the next day and drove it to the launch, bilge pumps a blazing.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

DO NOT set home on your GPS while you are still inside the breakwalls. GPS doesn't know about piers, and will direct you right through them. If it is dark, you will crash into the pier, if you are not very alert. Prayers for the folks involved.


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## TVCJohn (Nov 30, 2005)

I'm not familiar with the pier. Is it lit or have reflective markers on it so inbound traffic can see it?


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## UNREEL (Jun 8, 2007)

Damn shame what happened to that boat. A true classic.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Michigan_Angler (May 7, 2011)

They changed the lense some years back to save money on electricity. (or not to bother motel guests). They north lighthouse is very hard to pick up unless you know the area. There are lots of lights on shore and lights from the project when coming from the north make things worse. Why the hell you go balls to the wall when it's so confusing is a puzzle to me. Best advice is to mark a GPS waypoint about 100 yds out and than watch your distance as you approach the harbor and SLOW DOWN. Poorly lighted small boats is another issue.


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