That boat went out when there was a standing Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued a full thirty minutes before they left.
Gonna be a lot of fallout over this.
.....never marry a woman who is mean to your waitress.
July 20, 2018, 11:07 PM
old rugged cross
I was betting that was the case. Sometimes you don't get a do over. Tragic and preventable.
"Practice like you want to play in the game"
July 20, 2018, 11:33 PM
Scuba Steve Sig
I found the picture of the last time I rode one, August 1, 1986. Looks milsurp, completely different than what they are running now, but I count at least 25 people on board. Much smaller and unsubstantial roof, no plastic sides. "Captain Lee" signed the picture and my captain's license. All 6 wheels are completely visible, most of the ones I see now have the last 4 being covered by a skirt. Looks like some original ones were like that and some weren't.
The life vests were on the underside of the roof, just like now.
July 20, 2018, 11:47 PM
sig77
The video was horrible to watch.
There are 3 kinds of people, those that understand numbers and those that don't.
July 21, 2018, 01:50 AM
Copefree
Absolutely tragic.
_______________ Mind. Over. Matter.
July 21, 2018, 05:12 AM
pbslinger
Possibly the lesson is don't get lulled to complacency by routine. Consider worst case scenario in everything you do.
July 21, 2018, 07:40 AM
Mars_Attacks
That boat looked as if it had absolutely no means of escape.
I see criminal charges to the company owners in the near future.
____________________________
Eeewwww, don't touch it! Here, poke at it with this stick.
July 21, 2018, 08:06 AM
1s1k
quote:
Originally posted by KevinCW: Supposedly there were 30 or so people aboard.
11 from one family and 9 of them died. Horrific.
July 21, 2018, 08:11 AM
Sigmund
quote:
Originally posted by Mars_Attacks: That boat looked as if it had absolutely no means of escape...
The back "door" may have been their only way out.
We've done DC Ducks a couple times, most of the ride is on city streets with a little time on the Potomac. Ours had open sides, we could have gotten out if necessary.
Originally posted by Mars_Attacks: That boat looked as if it had absolutely no means of escape.
I see criminal charges to the company owners in the near future.
Deathtrap.
Roof and windows SEVERELY hindered escape from inside. And they probably had any windows firmly in place due to the weather (passengers wouldn't want to get wet from the spray).
Once that thing took a dive, only a highly trained or extremely lucky person would be able to get out.
I've always wanted a DUKW ride, but I would NEVER set foot in one like that (it would have to have at LEAST open sides; preferably without a roof as well.
Fear God and Dread Nought Admiral of the Fleet Sir Jacky Fisher
July 21, 2018, 09:12 AM
RogueJSK
quote:
Originally posted by Garret Blaine: Local news here is reporting that according to a survivor they were told life jackets were not necessary.
Specifically regarding life vests, either way it's a no-win situation if that craft goes down on a storm-tossed lake.
Wearing life vests inside an enclosed passenger area will result in passengers being trapped if the craft sinks. Without life vests, some passengers may be more easily able to escape if the craft sinks, but unless they're very strong swimmers, many folks without life vests will be overcome by the rough waters on the stormy lake before they could be rescued.
This will likely end up looking like most serious disasters. It won't be one single thing that caused it, but a series of choices combined with other failures that when all combined caused the event.
Canopy and windows have been blamed in past tragedies, so we know that will be a contributing factor.
It appears much lower in the water than it should have been towards the end. It may have been overweight, but it was also taking on water. Who knows at this point if it was leaking elsewhere, had an open engine hatch, or was taking it on over the sides. In any event it wasn't able to pump the water out. They either had pumps that were not working, or that couldn't keep up with what was coming in.
You had somebody operating the vessel that likely didn't have experience doing so in rough water. They also likely waited too long to realize the vessel was doomed.
Then you have the weather warning itself. Living here in Missouri it's a crap shoot. We get warnings pretty regularly that don't produce anything to be concerned about. Who makes that decision? The tour office or the individual operating the machine? There were other boats out on the water at the time, so the DUKW operators were not the only ones out there in it.
When it is all said and done I would still ride one with my family.
Originally posted by a1abdj: Were they telling the passengers to sit down and remain calm when they should have ordered an evacuation? Possibly. The passengers were trusting the crew to know the capabilities and have the skill to bring it back to land...
If I have water up to my ankles and the guy who's operated one of these for years tells me it's OK that it will make it, I'm likely to take his word over my fear.
She also told me there were life jackets on board.
"They told us they're up here, this is where they are, they showed us where they were. But don't worry about it you won't need it. And we said okay. So when the captain took over, I thought that at some point he would say grab the jackets now. But we were told to stay seated, and everybody stayed seated. Nobody grabbed it. When that boat is found, all those life jackets are going to be in there. Nobody pulled one off. You weren't supposed to grab them unless you were in distress, which we were, but he told us we don't need them."
Captain says "Don't worry... Stay seated". So everyone does. Until it's too late.
Neck Ties, Hats and ammo brass, Never ,ever touch'em w/o asking first
July 21, 2018, 11:52 AM
old rugged cross
So the links are funky at best. Is there an actual, watchable video of the sinking?
"Practice like you want to play in the game"
July 21, 2018, 12:06 PM
a1abdj
quote:
So the links are funky at best. Is there an actual, watchable video of the sinking?
I haven't seen one yet. It wouldn't surprise me if somebody on the boat that sank wasn't recording on their phone at the time. Perhaps the divers will locate some better evidence.
The only video I have seen was taken by a person on another boat showing the DUKWs struggling in the rough chop. As that video ends you can see that the nose of the DUKW has water coming over the top. There were several people on the boat that rushed onto deck to help. I'm wondering if the person doing the recording was one of them and stopped recording to assist.
There were also several employees at a nearby marina, many of them teenagers, that immediately boarded their fleet of rental boats and went to assist as the call came in.
After a dangerous storm hit Table Rock Lake before dusk Thursday, word spread quickly that a tourist boat had capsized near the Showboat Branson Belle.
The overturned boat was not far from State Park Marina, the closest marina to Branson.
Pat Cox, owner of the marina off Highway 165, said store manager Roger Carpenter and 20 other volunteers grabbed safety equipment and jumped into five boats to respond to the area.
"We took immediate action," Cox said.
Cox said volunteers were able to find and rescue two individuals in the water and found three bodies. He said none were children.
"Our store manager, Roger, was the quickest to act," he said. Cox said he spoke out to thank the employees and volunteers who were quick to move.
Three employees from Indian Point Marina also responded as soon as a call for help went out. The marina is about three miles from the sunken boat. The employees, trained in emergency response, stayed through part of the night.
The Ride the Ducks attraction in Branson, owned by Ripley Entertainment, carries passengers on trips into Table Rock Lake on repurposed amphibious military vehicles. They can be driven on land and function as boats in the water.
Cox said the Ride The Ducks vehicles enter the water near the Showboat Branson Belle. A schedule online showed the tours were expected to depart every 30 minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"I suspect, as the storm came in, it was trying to get back to shore," he said.
A storm hit Table Rock Lake about 7 p.m. Thursday, bringing with it severe wind gusts. Cox said the State Park Marina did not sustain any damage, but there were power outages nearby.
Cox said individuals using the marina at the time were ushered to a safe area. "The storm hit and my staff did a wonderful job of taking care of customers."
That is as bad as it gets. I can only imagine that with all the children aboard any of the adults would not leave them, even if not their own and at their own peril. God Bless them all.
"Practice like you want to play in the game"
July 21, 2018, 04:07 PM
tatortodd
quote:
Originally posted by Hound Dog:
quote:
Originally posted by Mars_Attacks: That boat looked as if it had absolutely no means of escape.
I see criminal charges to the company owners in the near future.
Deathtrap.
Roof and windows SEVERELY hindered escape from inside. And they probably had any windows firmly in place due to the weather (passengers wouldn't want to get wet from the spray).
Once that thing took a dive, only a highly trained or extremely lucky person would be able to get out.
I've always wanted a DUKW ride, but I would NEVER set foot in one like that (it would have to have at LEAST open sides; preferably without a roof as well.
Hound Dog, the Table Rock Lake ducks in this horrific incident are much different that the Ride the Ducks Seattle that I was on in 2016. The inside of the Seattle ducks had life preservers above your head (i.e. no crew had to pass out in event of emergency) and the sides were open with roll down windows for inclement weather (i.e. not the fixed windows like Table Rock Lake):
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
July 22, 2018, 01:28 AM
flashguy
I have ridden the DUKWs at Wisconsin Dells and at Lake Taneycomo. I would not want to do so with bad weather approaching.
