This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2009, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jonathan Horne, his wife and two grandchildren were prepared to jump ship as their boat slowly sank into Lake Powell on Sunday.
The 30-foot motorboat, named Dry Bones, struck a submerged rock about 1:10 p.m. and began taking on water, Horne said in an e-mail to The Salt Lake Tribune .
But just as the family finished placing valuables, the boat's log books and other documents into a dry cooler, rescue crews arrived.
"They were professional and very kind," Horne said. "I just said, 'Thank you for coming.'"
At first, Horne, 73, of Salt Lake City, thought the single, pointed rock he hit between Padre Bay channel and Face Canyon several minutes earlier had done little damage. He had stopped the boat, opened the engine compartment doors and only saw an inch or two of water in the bottom of the boat, he said.
"I put the engine doors back in place, dropped the out-drives, started the engines, idled for a minute; everything seemed fine," Horne said. "Hmm, lucky me, the ship's hull saved me."
The family started off again toward Rainbow Bridge. But the hole in the hull was bigger than Horne thought. After returning to a cruising speed of about 35 knots, the engine suddenly stopped.
"I knew immediately we were in trouble," he said.
Horne's 10-year-old granddaughter began to cry and thought she was going to drown.
When Horne opened the engine doors again, the water had risen a foot and was now above the boat's batteries.
"I was never scared," the orthopedic surgeon said. "That's my livelihood, dealing with emergencies."
The family had mattresses to float on if the boat had gone down faster. And they were only about 200 or 300 yards from shore.
Horne radioed the National Park Service for help. They responded in less than 20 minutes.
The Park Service crew helped the family off their sinking vessel. The crew and two other boaters then used a portable electric pump to try to keep Dry Bones afloat.
"This pump was helpful to prolong the agony, but the water level in the engine compartment continued to slowly rise," Horne said.
By 2:45 p.m., the boat's back end went under and only the bow was visible.
"I thought about it, but decided not to go down with the ship," Horne said. "I was, however, the last one on the Dry Bones."
Horne said he and his family were saddened to see their boat lost to the lake but were fortunate no one was hurt.
"In the final analysis, the boat did serve us to the end," Horne wrote. "It stayed up long enough for us to be transferred to the Park Service boat. We had many great, safe and fun cruises on Dry Bones. Thank you, Dry Bones."