Special Report: Lake Tahoe’s Deadly Freak Storm

Lake Tahoe Boating Disaster: Captain Recalls Deadly Storm

During the afternoon of June 21, an unexpected, ferocious thunderstorm swept across Lake Tahoe. Before the storm, scores of boaters were out enjoying a Saturday on the lake. One was longtime Tahoe fishing charter captain Mike Nielsen. The owner of Tahoe Topliners sportfishing, Nielsen has grown up on the lake and from his 22-foot Duckworth, he had a front row seat to a storm that sank or capsized many boats and tragically, killed eight in what may be the worst marine disaster in Tahoe history.

Watch or listen in the players below:

You can also find this video–and hundreds of our other stories–here ▶


Picture of Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon

Senior Editor, Power & Motoryacht
Chris Dixon is the author of Ghost Wave and The Ocean, The Ultimate Handbook of Nautical Knowledge. His writing has appeared in The New York Times bestseller The Southerner’s Handbook. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Outside, Popular Mechanics and Garden & Gun. He grew up boating, fishing and surfing along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia, once spent a year working and traveling with Jimmy Buffett and today lives in Charleston with his wife, son and daughter.

More Podcasts

An aerial view of the large silver aluminum expedition yacht named "Iceberg" anchored in vibrant turquoise tropical water next to a lush green forested shoreline, with a small white tender boat nearby. A "Power & Motoryacht Podcast" logo is overlaid in the upper-left corner.

When Adventurers Become Rescuers

The crew of the expedition yacht Iceberg set out to explore one of the world’s least-visited corners—and found themselves leading a disaster relief mission instead.

feat-Volare-Boats-Podcast

Volare Boats

Meet the former Scout team behind Volare’s remarkable electric catamaran.

PMY_WHITE_logo