Boat

A Westminster man who worked as a trainer at a Fountain Valley gym died over the weekend when a boat struck him in the water in Lake Havasu. Eric "Octopus" Norris, 30, was pronounced dead about 6 p.m. Saturday after what authorities called an apparent hit-and-run. Norris fell off an inner tube while being pulled by a boat across the lake, according to the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. While he was waiting for the boat to double back and pick him up, another boat struck him and left the scene.

A third victim in a Huntington Harbour boating crash last summer has filed a claim against the city citing negligence. James Geekie, 37, was riding in a 12-foot, inflatable Zodiac boat during high tide at 1 a.m. June 27. Shawn Wilson, 35, was also riding in the vessel as owner Caleb Steele, 30, drove. The boat crashed into the Gilbert Drive Bridge over Shelter Channel, and Wilson and Steele were knocked out of the boat and died. Geekie was knocked unconscious inside the boat and fractured his skull, according to the claim filed Dec. 22. Geekie is requesting an unknown amount of more than $10,000 for damages.

Two Huntington Beach residents were killed and another was seriously injured when the boat they were in crashed into the Gilbert Drive Bridge over Shelter Channel in Huntington Harbour early Saturday morning. Caleb Steele, who celebrated his 30th birthday June 3, and Shawn Wilson, 35, were out boating with James Geekie, 37, during high tide at 1 a.m. when the boat was unable to clear the bridge, said Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Wilson, the driver and registered owner of the 12-foot, inflatable Zodiac boat, was traveling up to 20 mph in the 5-mph zone, he said.

The family of a Huntington Beach man who died in a boating accident has filed a claim against the city, claiming negligence by officials and asking for more than $5 million. Shawn Wilson, 35, died June 27 after crashing into the Gilbert Drive Bridge over Shelter Channel in Huntington Harbor. Wilson was riding on his 12-foot, inflatable Zodiac boat with Caleb Steele, 30, and James Geekie during high tide at 1 a.m. Steele also died in the accident. Wilson’s wife filed a claim in September, and his toddler and newborn filed claims with the city Friday citing negligence for his death because the bridge’s eye beam was not properly illuminated, the family’s attorney, Sarah Serpa, said.

Six people were saved during a dramatic boat rescue Sunday afternoon when a 31-foot vessel sheared its hull along a reef off Crystal Cove State Beach and nearly sank. Orange County Sheriff?s Harbor Patrol officials said the 31-foot Anna Jane out of Huntington Harbor severely damaged its hull about 5:30 p.m. Sunday when it ran over the Split Rock Reef. Six people, including a child, were aboard when it crashed and were not wearing life jackets, said Harbor Patrol Deputy Jim Slikker.

Standing in her navy vest and white-and-blue striped shirt, the manager of Peter’s Landing Marina answered the incessantly ringing phone and talked to residents coming to assess the damage in what became a kind of ground zero. Joanie Seaton’s office overlooks Huntington Harbour, and she and her husband had front-row seats for a tornado that touched down Tuesday afternoon, causing a car to flip onto its side and a 45-foot boat to fly up into the air, according to witnesses.

An 11-year-old girl was killed Tuesday after a lifeguard boat ran over her during a routine Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguards training exercise. Authorities originally said Allyssa Squirrell of Laguna Hills was slashed by the boat?s propeller, but later backed away from the statement, saying further investigation was necessary. The girl was one of 20 to 25 11- and 12-year-olds practicing an exercise called a ?speed drop,? in which the junior guards jump off a moving boat into the water to practice reaching swimmers in distress quickly.

Ahoy! Well the new year is here. I know all good boaters have made their new year resolutions, which will be broken before the spring thaw. Oh wait, Orange County harbors do not have a spring thaw, so how many resolutions will be broken before the yacht clubs' opening days? Just what kind of resolutions do boaters make anyway? Well, I thought I would list those I think boaters have made this year. Let's start with one that should always be on the forefront: Be courteous to everyone while on the water, whether a sail or power boater.

Ahoy! Next week is Thanksgiving, which seems to come faster and faster every year. A lot of people are excited to go shopping the day after the feast, and some will bring out the holiday decorations for their homes. But let's not forget the decorations for your boat. If the weather is nice then venture on and go boating. I regularly see families out cruising the harbor with their families, friends and relatives. This is the perfect opportunity to practice for the Christmas and Holiday Boat Parades happening in all three of Orange County's harbors.

Authorities detained a few more people who are believed to have been passengers on a boat that landed the morning of Feb. 2 in Huntington Beach near Seapoint Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. Huntington Beach police responded for the second time at noon after a resident reported seeing more people around the same area where the boat landed last week, said Lt. Brian Seitz. An unspecified number of people were found on foot and detained. The Border Patrol was en route to take custody of the detainees, Seitz said.

Jenny Huntsinger has been named this year's Huntington Harbour Boat Parade grand marshal. It's an honor in more ways than one. The retired nurse is the first woman to be named grand marshal in the parade's 49 years. "I wasn't sure how I would be received as a woman," said Huntsinger, 62. "And I know in this day and age, you're not supposed to feel this way, but I'm from the generation where there was a glass ceiling. " The fact that the parade hadn't had a woman serve in the capacity before Huntsinger wasn't intentional, said Calvin Free, who served as grand marshal last year and recommended Huntsinger for the post.

He chuckles as he cuts the fresh steaks perfectly. Calvin Free, proud proprietor of the Beef Palace, arguably one of the best old-fashioned butcher shops on this coast (or any other, if you ask me), is in a good mood. Though he always seems to be in a good mood, whether he's talking to customers or employees, today is different. There's an extra, festive "oomph" in his cutting motion, and with good reason – he was recently named the grand marshal of the 48th Huntington Harbour Boat Parade.

Eric Norris' martial arts clothes were draped over a table laden with his belts and medals Friday afternoon at Mile Square Regional Park. The rest of the table featured other mementos of his 30 years: a motorcycle jacket and helmet, an acoustic guitar, photos of him with his young son. Nearby, friends, family members and colleagues wrote about treasured moments in a memory book. A white posterboard invited attendees to post favorite photos. Under a white tent in the hot sun, a deejay spun a selection of the Westminster resident's favorite songs — heavy on Johnny Cash.

A Westminster man who worked as a trainer at a Fountain Valley gym died over the weekend when a boat struck him in the water in Lake Havasu. Eric "Octopus" Norris, 30, was pronounced dead about 6 p.m. Saturday after what authorities called an apparent hit-and-run. Norris fell off an inner tube while being pulled by a boat across the lake, according to the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. While he was waiting for the boat to double back and pick him up, another boat struck him and left the scene.

"I've been near what I believed to be was a big dirt clod in the muck. Then it blinks. And you realize, it's an oiled bird." Debbie McGuire, wildlife director at the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center here in Huntington Beach, is talking about what it's like on an oil spill recovery mission. Given the brutal devastation in the Gulf wetlands as a result of the BP oil spill, I thought I'd talk to Debbie. She's one of the best in the business when it comes to saving animal lives in the face of catastrophes like this, and that's why she soon may find herself helping in the Gulf.