Freak 8-Foot Waves Slam Lake Tahoe, Boaters Killed (Video)

A man on the scene, a rapper who goes by the name Bugbee, recounted the bedlam:

“A pontoon boat had come up. You could tell there were no life vests on any people on the boat. I don’t know what they were thinking. They didn’t know how to operate it. It was their first time actually driving the boat. They kind of beached the boat sideways. Then we had to come up. I just ran up there, and started helping people get off. You could tell they were all terrified. Then, the storm just kept getting worse and worse. Like seven or eight boats got piled up on the beach. It was crazy. Never seen anything like it.”

Like a lot of lakes with enough mass to whip up some wind swell, Lake Tahoe is, in fact, surfable. Dylan Graves, Mr. Weird Waves himself, surfed it back in 2021. As expect with this particular variety of unconventional surf spot, it doesn’t necessarily get good; it’s more about the novelty factor. More often, folks wake surf on Lake Tahoe – like Mark Zuckerberg, for example.

Regarding the tragedy on Saturday, however, these weren’t conditions anyone would want to surf in, let alone find themselves sinking on a boat. In response to the missing individuals and the casualties from the storm, Coast Guard Commander David Herndon issued this statement:

“Suspending a search is always a difficult decision to make and weighs heavily on each Coast Guard member involved. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those involved in the boat capsize.”