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Florida boating event marks 2nd deadly day

By Jerry Fallstrom and Richard Burnett, The Orlando Sentinel –

TAVARES, Fla. — The second straight day of death on the waters of Lake Dora stunned thousands who watched Sunday as a retired racing champion and another boater died in a high-speed collision during an annual regatta.

Sunday’s crash took the lives of Charles “Chuck” Woodruff, 64, of Jensen Beach, Fla., and Dea Wiseley, 73, of Sun City Center, Fla. Both drivers were well-known in the classic raceboat show circuit — especially Woodruff, a former North American champion-turned-owner in hydroplane-class boat racing.

The fatal collision came one day after another driver — Mark Van Winkle, 53, of Stuart, Fla. — died after being ejected from his boat and struck by a passing vessel.

The deaths — the first in the regatta’s six-year history — cast a pall over this lakeside community, where the event draws an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 spectators, vendors and boaters annually. Sunday’s crowd was considerably smaller, however, after Saturday’s fatality.

“This is really tragic. Our sympathies go out to the families, of course,” Tavares spokeswoman Joyce Ross said. “The city’s devastated, just devastated.”

Known as the Spring Thunder Regatta, it was billed as the annual kickoff to the boating season. Traveling at speeds as fast as 80 mph, drivers of the vintage racing boats were supposed to showcase speed, not compete in races, according to the Classic Race Boat Association, which sponsored the regatta.

Several hours after Sunday’s fatal accident, there was a somber mood at Al’s Landing, a popular restaurant overlooking the part of Lake Dora where much of the regatta took place. Despite a cloudless, sunlit sky, warm breeze and guitar music echoing along the waters, the memory of the incidents still lingered.

Stefany Herrin, 29, said she was waiting tables at the restaurant when both accidents occurred. She recalled hearing an outcry from stunned patrons gathered on the outside veranda.

“This kind of thing, I mean, you’re just not prepared for it,” she said. “Yes, it’s racing, and any racing is risky, but these are boats, you know. You just don’t expect this to happen. It causes you to go home and really think about things; it makes you appreciate being alive.”

Local restaurateur Rodger Kooser, owner of Al’s Landing, said he also went to the veranda after staff members rushed into the kitchen to tell him about the crash.

“You could see everyone was just very, very distraught,” he said. “It’s just so unexpected. I mean, they’ve had six of these and not even anyone injured. This was just a freak, fluke kind of thing.”

Authorities said Woodruff’s boat, named Buckeye Kid, ran over the top of Wiseley’s boat, tabbed the Shock-Wave, at about 2:15 p.m. on Sunday.

“At that point, both of these men were ejected,” said Joy Hill, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which is leading the investigation of both deadly incidents. Investigators don’t yet know the exact cause of the crash, she said.

“There are numerous reasons why these things happen,” Hill said. “That’s why we aim to find out.”

On Saturday, Van Winkle’s boat had just completed a demonstration lap alongside seven other boats when something caused both occupants in the Jersey Skiff to be thrown into the water, officials said. Passenger Lorraine Moody was rescued by first-responders.

“We’ve never had an incident like this before,” said Mike Yobe, vice president of the Classic Race Boat Association. “We are just old men with old boats.”

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