Here's more, from ABC news:
Oct. 4, 2005 - The first 911 call to the Warren County Sheriff's Office
came in at 2:54:33, a hysterical woman, shouting for help.

Within "five or six to 10 minutes," rescue boats had arrived at the scene,
but the worst inland water disaster in U.S. history had already claimed the
lives of 20 elderly people. Their deaths, according to medical reports, were
caused by hypothermia, drowning and aggravation of pre-existing medical
conditions.


a.. Audio: Lake George 911 Call




The response time for the official rescue boats is well above any
expectation, and by the time those boats arrived, civilian vessels had
already begun pulling people from the water.

Clearing Up Rumors

According to Sheriff Larry Cleveland, who examined the toar boat "Ethan
Allen" on Monday, there was no immediately visible evidence of a
catastrophic failure. Cleveland cleared up a number of errors or
inaccuracies in early accounts, including at least one that came from his
own office:


There were no loose, plastic chairs on the Ethan Allen. All passengers were
seated on park bench-type seats, bolted to the deck of the 40-year-old,
40-foot vessel.


There was no fire or explosion as three eyewitnesses reported. The large
plume of smoke that rose as the boat capsized was the result of the cold
lake water pouring onto the hot inboard diesel that propelled the boat.


Although intitial reports blamed the wake of a larger vessel, the Mohican,
for flipping the boat, it appears that it was nowhere near the Ethan Allen.
The sheriff said the Mohican had been plying the lake for 90 years and the
Ethan Allen since 1979, with no prior incident.


The operator of the Ethan Allen was not turning the vessel to shore when it
capsized. He was turning it, perhaps as much as 40 degrees, in order to
bring the vessel's bow into the waves and wakes.



What Are the Facts?

"He told us there was some wave action that he was trying to combat,"
Cleveland said. He said that the operator, 74-year-old Richard Paris, is
both fully qualified and fully able to pilot the boat. He has cooperated
with the investigation.


The sheriff said he and his department, with the assistance of the New York
State Police, have interviewed the 27 survivors but not all of the
eyewitnesses. The majority of the survivors say the vessel listed to the
left (port) before capsizing. Several also reported the bow was down before
the capsize.


The sheriff cautioned that eyewitness accounts can often be inaccurate,
including the three witnesses in this case who said they saw fire and heard
an explosion.


The Ethan Allen was in 67 feet of water when it hit bottom, and was about
500 to 600 feet off Cramer's Point.