Man overboard: two Utah execs share their boating mishaps.

• Author: Little, Candace M.
• Position: Executive Living

Anyone who is regularly on the water knows that boats provide more than just thrilling entertainment and an excellent way to drain your bank account really fast. Sometimes they also provide an incredible story. If you don't know what I mean, just you wait--something disastrous is bound to happen. A storm will pop up out of nowhere, the gas tank somehow won't get filled up or maybe the old canoe won't have that one last ride in her after all. There are a million ways for adventures out on the water to go wrong, and just so you don't feel all alone in your boating blunders, here are some of those dreadful moments described by two Utah execs. Please avoid trying this at home.

Oil Spill

This first story takes place during the '70s on a nice sunny evening on the Columbia River in Oregon. Dan Dyer, now CEO of NASCAR Car Wash in Lehi, had just loaded two families, including his own, onto a 30-foot cabin cruiser. The eight or nine kids under the age of eight were ready for a fun ride. But the adults grew concerned as the boat immediately began leaking oil.

"Oregon was probably one of the first states to really be tree-hugger green. And I think there was a posted sign that said oil or fuel on the water was a $5,000 fine," Dyer says.

The water moves at about seven miles an hour on the Columbia River, and that particular day there were a lot of container barges and sail boats. As Dyer describes it, "No sooner had we gotten into the main channel of the Colombia River, the engine quit. So here I am stuck in this big oil slick, and the whole boat and oil slick are moving down the river together." He couldn't figure out where the oil was coming from or how to stop it, and soon called for help.

Dyer ended up with the sheriff and coast guard coming to his rescue--which in addition to towing him off the water gave him a $1,200 ticket for violations unrelated to the oil and then turned him over to the state of Oregon to pay retribution for the leak. Luckily, the state was understanding of his innocent crime and let him off the hook. But his boat's two engines were completely fried, costing $3,800 to fix.

"So," Dyer says, "five grand later I'm a boater again!"

He also solved the mystery of the leaking oil. As it turns out, the prior Saturday, his father had replaced the engine filters and changed the oil. A good deed indeed--it just would have been nicer if he had finished by putting the oil plug back in.

Wicked Winds

Jeff Hodlmair, vice president of...