If you haven't seen the videos yet, you will soon...a guide from VIP Outdoors ran over a private boat this morning, both boats were lost.

All the people were rescued, thankfully.

The video is rather amazing...it starts with the guide boat up on top of the other boat, and all of the people getting in that boat...but when it starts to slide off, both boats went under in about 20 seconds and never came back up.

If you are on Facebook, it's all over there now.

Be careful out there, please...no fish or fishing is worth that.

Fish on...

Todd

The guide in question sold that boat to someone, new owner hadn't removed the wrap on it yet if I remember correctly but I could be wrong.

Hope everyone made it out safe. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR PFD.
SH!t happens fast, and its not a matter of if, but when.

Had not heard this...

Here's a link to the video on Facebook, if you are there...

https://www.facebook.com/todd.ripley.3/posts/3742857445741879

Fish on...

Todd

Very lucky no one got hung up.

Agreed. I think the boat on the bottom had time to abandon ship, and were all or mostly all in the red boat by the time they both went down.

Scary AF.

Fish on...

Todd

Link to the video is dead

Takes me right to it...but you have to be on Facebook.

Fish on...

Todd

link worked for me sans Facebook.

Followup from VIP Outdoors:

https://www.facebook.com/vipoutdoors/videos/336875080833632

I am glad everyone is ok, and this guy sure seems like a class act.

Fish on...

Todd

Wow - that's scary AF. They are extremely lucky nobody on the bottom boat wasn't knocked out or severely injured and thus could abandon ship.

I'm not so sure about the class act part, Todd. A class act wouldn't say it could happen to anyone, when it's abundantly clear that these accidents only seem to happen to boat drivers who aren't watching where they are going. I see it happen with the guide boats quite often, when they finish trolling a line and all the gear is back on board, the guide powers up, then gets on his phone to check with his network about where the bite is going on, and usually watch where they are driving, but not always. I've fished among the bumper boat traffic there enough times to see that it's all about keeping one's eyes on the road, just like driving on the highway.

Yeah, I question the "class act" myself, he seems to imply that because it's a good thing no-one was seriously hurt that blame for the "accident' isn't something to be talked about. I know that if i was in the boat being crushed I'd have some heavy hitter lawyers involved. I'd fuc*ing own "VIP". Hopefully the Coast Guard pulls this sucker's guide license. We had a pair of jokers nearly sink us at Seiku 10 or 15 years back, watching their rods and not where they were going impacts the rear corner of the kicker boat we were using. And this after us yelling " Look where you're fuc*ing going!". If they were a little more direct in placement and not just trolling we would have been in serious trouble. And why was the photo of the "accident" pulled ? Someone doesn't want bad publicity, I guess. It should be required to be posted on their website. That way people know what kind of guide they are hiring.

There's no doubt that VIP's insurance company is going to be paying out, and it may be a lot.

Fish on...

Todd

Vip boat was recovered today. Looks great

I'm guessing that VIP is licensed as a guide in Oregon, because to "guide" at Buoy 10 in Washington you need a charter license, although there is lots of cheating with respect to licenses going on down there, I wonder what type of Coast Guard license VIP has. Most likely a 6 pack, And it will probably get pulled, but will take a while. Can ODFW pull a guide's license for reckless boating? I doubt that. Almost all of the fishable water at B-10 is in Oregon. I'm curious about the victim's boat and why they didn't dodge the idiot's boat? I might have wrongly assumed that both boats were traveling at a trolling speed, but there are huge tidal influences that can accelerate boats going with the tide that could make a "trolling" speed pretty darn fast. A boat trolling down current could meet up with a boat trolling against the current could close the distance pretty quickly. I'm surprised that more serious accidents don't happen. The Rules of the Road don't seem to be followed there.

I was also wondering about the licensing jurisdiction and pretty much came to the same conclusions with one minor exception. I believe the requirement in WA for a charter license is downstream of the Longview bridge to include but not limited to the Buoy 10 fishery.

Now for the rhetorical question. How much outside of the community revenue does not flow into Pacific County because of that charter license (limited entry and no more being issued) requirement on the WA side? And then how much sales tax is not going into WA coffers as WA fishers go to Oregon to meet up with what are often WA guides working on an OR guide license to include food, lodging and fuel?

from the orig. photo (which looks like it is imm. after the collision) There are NO rods out in the offender's boat. I'd say they were trying to get somewhere in a big hurry, certainly too big of a hurry. And at speed how do you expect the victim's boat to get out of the way? After being near run into on the Chehalis by both charter and private boats numerous times (the last one got a ticket according to Grey's Harbor sheriff's Marine patrol) I am not surprised by any of this crap.

VIP boat got pulled out

So how do they recover a boat in that instance? Inflatable airbags to bring it back up or do they just hook up a heavy hook and pull it up?

From what I've seen, they use inflatable bags.

https://www.facebook.com/AllenWaterRescueServices/photos

I would guess that at B10 the boat washed up on a sand bar, otherwise that would be a terrible place to try and find it...big currents, up and down, and the deep parts where that happened are up to 60' deep.

Definitely curious about how it was retrieved, and if the recreational guy's boat was also retrieved.

Fish on...

Todd

I figured it would be airbags, but how'd you like to be the diver that has to go down there? Might as well bring a speargun and bag a URB or two.

my understanding is a boat saw the 2 boats on their downscan and reported it and they floated the boat up with air bags. There was a bouy marking the spot today assuming the other boat is also right there. It was rough and a cluster fock when it happened so I'm sure that didn't help. Glad we were just below it

Photo above looks like it stayed above the bridge. I kind of expected it to get pushed off into the deep water at the bridge with the outgoing tide at the time it sunk.

Looked like a demolition derby was happening Immediately after the incident transpired. I was below it in my boat a couple of hundred yards. We didn’t see the initial impact, but the subsequent CF rodeo-circus of the rescue operation that was the mosquito fleet was something to see. We still didn’t know what the root problem was, then the chopper showed quickly, and I started getting texts/calls and we were brought up to speed.

Saw the salvage tow/dive boat working there yesterday above the bridge in 60’ of water (I think it was yesterday, been down here for 6 days and they all are running together now). Still a buoy in place above the bridge as of this morning. I know of 2 other boat wrecks/collisions since last weekend. Nobody harmed seriously.

Everyone should fish right there!!!

Fabulous King spot.

Go deep.

Yield to port.

We were approx a 100 yards or so from where and when it happened. I looked up to see the VIP boat pointing straight up and sink. In about 15 seconds. Happened fast.
Debris and people floating everywhere. A true goat rodeo of boats in that washing machine area above the bridge.

Fortunately, all 11 people were quickly plucked from the water and only one had to go to the hospital for shortness of breath.

Rattles you to the core when you see that - at least for the first hour until the video popped up on FB about 10 minutes later. Another 30 minutes after that the reports came back that everyone was accounted for and OK.

Aside from that, had a great 7 days fishing with the eye doc and friends! Good company, good fishing, and good times.

Nice meeting you out on the water, Dungy! I was quite inspired by your two days of "preaching" out there. I think we all heard it, even from a distance. You are one fishy dude and was amazed that you could preach and fish at the same time. Some classic stuff.

Tight lines, my friends.

Larry B is spot on about the charter license being required downstream from the Longview bridge for Washington guides. I, too, think it is ridiculous that the statutes haven't been changed to allow Washington licensed guides to take passengers fishing on the lower Columbia. Pacific County loses thousands in tourist dollars every late summer and fall, and so does Wahkiakum County. For that matter, why shouldn't the charter moratorium be sunseted, and the guide license issue be redesigned? Just my opinion.

bobr sure has a lot of run ins with other boaters

Not in my new boat, shi* for brains.

I love the way Buoy 10 brings fisherman together.

I agree with this statement........I drove from my home to Warrenton just to "get away for awhile". Its absolutely amazes me how many boats can fish that close to the bridge and not have more things happen. Got to have some tangled lines when the bite is on.....probably some tempers hit the boil mark......lol, trolling, not my option for fishing anymore, did lots of trolling mid 70's - 80's.

White boat was also recovered... someone posted yday on Fb about seein it being towed into EMB.