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Disponible en línea en español.
by Paul Brooks,The Times Herald-Record
Posted Jul 26, 2001 at 2:00 AM
Updated Dec 15, 2010 at 5:53 AM
Esopus — Ulster County sheriff’s officers are looking into whether the
wake of ship on the Hudson River contributed to the deaths of three people
in the Rondout Creek Monday.
The findings would help shed light on how the accident unfolded.
Sleightsburgh Park, a narrow hook of land that forms the south side of
the Rondout Creek where it enters the Hudson, was the scene of Monday’s
tragedy. Four children and their baby sitter were swept into the water and
a tangle of water chestnuts.
Wave May
Have Played
Role In Rondout
Drownings
Nelson Oliveras, the 10-year-old who is one of the two survivors,
said Tuesday that a wave from a large vessel knocked the group off
the safe path into the deeper water and the floating vines.
Oliveras’ sister, Alyssa Flores, 8, and brother, Mark Anthony Flores,
5, and the baby sitter, Sue Comer, 47, of Sleightsburgh, drowned as a
result of the incident.
Without question, the waves from freighters and other large vessels
on the Hudson have the power to sweep people off their feet.
Kingston Point Beach is on the Hudson River just north of the mouth
of the Rondout Creek. A large buoy floats about 150 yards offshore. It
marks the east side of the ship channel in the river, which brings ship
traffic within what seems like spitting distance of shore.
“It depends on how big they are and how fast they are,” said Paul
Hintz, head lifeguard at the beach. “These ships are drafting 25-30
feet of water. Where is all that water going to go? It is going to go up
on the beach.”
On the Fourth of July, the wake from a passing freighter swept
up the sandy beach 20 to 25 feet farther than normal. As the wave
bounced around the cove where the beach lies, it swamped a bass-
fishing boat, Hintz said yesterday.
The wakes are powerful enough to pick up and move the ropes
marking the beach’s swim area. The rope buoys are anchored with
concrete weighing at least 150 pounds.
Kingston takes no chances. When a large freighter or tug boat
passes the beach, life guards order swimmers out of the water and
away from it. “That policy was established many, many years ago,”
said Ralph Vanacore, aquatics director for the city.
“This was terrible, a tragic situation,” Esopus Supervisor Ray Rice
said. “The river is a great recreational resource, but if you disrespect
it, it will kill you in heartbeat.”