Body found floating in Oneida Lake

[Clipper]

www.uticaod.com/latestnews/x1225364781/Body-found-floating-in-Oneida-Lake-identification-sought

I wonder if there is any connection between this man and the canoe that floated up on Sylvan Beach the other day. The state police were looking for anyone that had lost or was missing a canoe.

I wondered at the time if someone had possibly fell out of the canoe and drowned. Seems as though the wind could push the canoe from Bridgeport to the beach without too much problem. There is often a breeze out of the West coming off the lake.

I hope they are able to identify the poor fellow quickly so that the family can find closure and the man can be laid to rest.

[denise]

I think Oneida Lake is another Bermuda Triangle. What other lakes do you know of that have so many fatalities??

[Clipper]

I have fished and boated on Oneida Lake all of my adult life. It is a very shallow lake which makes it a very dangerous lake. When any sort of storm comes up, the waves get real big in a hurry, and many boats are swamped simply trying to get off the lake.

I have always made it a point to watch the skies and the weather very closely and if there is even the slightest indication of any sort of storm activity moving in I head closer to shore or off of the lake. With that in mind, I always have a life vest in the boat, and I am not afraid to be called a sissie for putting it on whenever I have the boat under power or if the weather starts to kick up.

Many of the accidents that happen on Oneida Lake are due to alcohol and/or just plain poor judgement. Some people simply buy a boat and hit the water with no training or no clue as to water safety precautions. I think much of the reason for the high number of accidents reported on Oneida Lake is the number of boaters that USE the lake. All one needs to do is stand on the pier in Sylvan Beach for a few minutes on a summer Sunday afternoon, and count the boats coming in and out of the canal.

I was fishing about 1/4 mile out of the South Shore boat launch once. I was staying in close and behind the island to shelter myself from the wind because the lake was choppy. I had a 17 foot deep V fishing boat and a 40 hp motor, and I didn't feel safe to venture any farther out. 4 men slowly putted out past me in a 10 foot car top boat with a 9 hp motor, loaded down with tackle, coolers, and the four of them. The boat sat so low in the water that only about 6 inches of boat was visible above the waterline. I shook my head and said a quick prayer for the idiots. They went way out to the buoy line along the canal channel in the center of the lake. I left before they returned, but had any weather whipped up, they would have been casualties for sure. STUPIDITY kills, not the lake itself.

[denise]

A much better explanation than mine, Clipper. Thanks.

Oneida Lake scares the daylights out of me. Heck, all lakes scare the daylights out of me. I'm not what you'd call a strong swimmer. When my husband's friend took us out on his boat a few weeks ago so we could look at our house from the water, I was nervous. Had a life jacket on. I'm not stupid. We were about 10 to 15 feet from our shore. Boat depth finder was registering 20 feet.