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12 Boats Capsize On Dillon Reservoir

DILLON, Colo. (CBS4)- More than 20 people on board a dozen boats that capsized on Dillon Reservoir Thursday evening escaped serious injury.

"We had a typical Colorado day, a big storm blew in," said one boater.

The boats capsized about 5:45 p.m. There was a race underway at the time, called the BNAC 2014, or Buccaneer 18 North American Championships, that involved a dozen Buccaneer 18 vessels.

Lake Dillon Boats Capsized
A boat tows another boat after it capsized on Lake Dillon Thursday evening (credit: CBS)

Authorities are investigating whether what caused the boats to capsize was a microburst.

Boaters said violent winds struck them and before anyone knew what happened, they were all in the water in the middle of the lake.

"Actually it was sunny skies and the wind came out of the blue," said another boater.

"I've never caught such fast wind in my entire life," said another boater.

Everyone on board the boats got to the shore safely.

But not all the boats escaped unscathed, "I have some damage on my boats. Unfortunately I'm going to have to work on it tonight and hopefully we can get back into the competition."

There were no serious injuries among the 24 who wound up in the chilly waters of Lake Dillon.

"The water temperature is pretty chilly. It's anywhere from the mid-50s to the mid-60s," said one boater.

Not everyone was frightened by what happened.

One boater thought the extra push before they capsized was exciting, "It was awesome. I mean, we were flying."

Several nearby boats helped round everyone up before emergency responders arrived.

"We warmed up some people and dried off some people," said one boater.

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