On Saturday was fishing at Barrier Dam on the Cowlitz and saw a boat go down!
Talk about feeling HELPLESS!!! 4 guys in a drift boat, just below the Barrier boat launch, they had been anchored maybe 200 yards below boat launch. They pulled anchor, drifted a little further down and dropped anchor again and withing 30 seconds the boat was gone, 2 guys scrambling to swim to the bank (flow was 10100) and 2 guys clinging for life to a small cooler heading downstream quickly.
A jet boat operator was screaming at them not to try and anchor there, they could not hear him, so by the time they went down the jet boat was already up on the main outboard and racing down to them, he went below the 2 guys clinging to the cooler and rescued...yes rescued them and then raced up to assist one of the two struggling to make the bank.
He then retrived the 2 from the bank and brought them all up to the boat ramp, dropped them off then went down river to try and retrieve whatever he could from the flotsum.....they got an oar back.
We spoke with the jet boat operator later that day and he was still shaken up from what he had witnessed and the rescue he performed.
I will tell you as a relatively inexperienced drift boat owner, I was mortified at how quick it all went down.
All's I can say is I am glad the jet boat was there or I might have witnessed 2 guys drown, that would have been a vision that would never left my mind.
Thank You to the Jet Boat for your quick action and recovery of the guys!!!!

4 dudes in a driftboat, anchoring in heavy flows...that'll happen.

Glad everyone got out ok.

Fish on...

Todd

Wow, sounds incredibly lucky to be right up at the launch and have people around to help, I was down there a couple weeks ago at 7100cfsthe and I thought the flow was heavy then decided that was about as high as I would float her

this is why you should have a very sharp knife that's easily accessible to the oarsman. Cutting the rope and losing a $90 hunk of lead is better than losing a boat and all the rods and gear. Glad they made it out ok. I wonder if the anchor got hung up in the rip rap below the barrier launch and the stern got sucked down?

While you're correct about having a knife handy to cut the rope, it probably wouldn't have helped...when a boat goes down it makes a David Copperfield illusion look like chump change...boat disappears in about 1/10 of a second.

Fish on...

Todd

The stern definately got sucked down, looked like it bounced violently a couple of times and then went under, once the stern got washed over it was less than 10 seconds and the boat was gone!!!!

I wonder if they'll get the boat back when the flows drop? again, glad they all made it out alive! never good to hear these types of stories.

Boat was last sighted hung up by Baker rock, sled operator said there was no salvaging the boat for further use, althought I hope they get it out of the river anyways

Wow, glad they got out alive. Sounds like the sled guy has some serious fish karma coming his way.

Think about how fast a 5 gallon bucket fill with water when you force it under. Same principle in the drifter. For as burly as they are, they sure don't float well upside down or sideways.

Glad no one was seriously hurt, could have been a terrible event. The sled owner saved those guys and I hope they know just how lucky they were that he was there, could handle his sled well enough to help and that he chose to put himself at risk to do so.
Sounds like those guys owe him their life.

Good on you sled owner!



Fishy

Seen that happen twice on the Skykomish in water that just did not seem that bad, but in a split second, taking on water!

Yeah, that area has some really big chunks on the bottom. Used to fish there from the bank a lot in my younger years. Later, when I got a drift boat, I anchored there often....in lower flows. It's a GREAT place to lose an anchor. FROM EXPERIENCE I wouldn't anchor there. But if you don't know what's on the bottom............

Did they lose it when trying to retrieve the anchor? Simply dropping the anchor shouldn't have sunk the boat, should it??

They would have to have been really aft CG.

Stories like this are why I never thought much of the Cowlitz as a "beginner's" or a "learner's" river.

There's a lot of water in that big crick, and if you make a mistake it's about as unforgiving as it gets.

Those fellas were lucky someone was looking out for them. Bravo to the sled dudes that fished them out of the drink.

Sure would like to know the mechanics of why it went under. To much weight in the stern? To much current? Combo of things? I have anchored in some really heavy water with no prob, but have seen some similar episodes. The thing that bothers me is I cant figure out exactly how it happens.

I lean toward the to much weight thing being a big factor. Combined with a balance problem.

Do you think a more lightly weighted boat would have been ok?

I'd hazard a guess the anchor caught before they had enough line out and pulled the boat down due to the angle of the line relative to the water. The steeper the line angle, the more vertical force on the boat, shallow line angle, less vertical force. If that vertical force overcomes the buoyancy of the boat, game over.

To me, anchoring is one of the scariest aspects of fishing from a boat in a river.

Yes.

Very possible if the boat was moving along at a decent clip, anchor grabs suddenly....[Bleeeeep!]-end is yanked down. TedR describes the physics of it all pretty well.

Very poor judgement and/or lack of experience displayed by the people in the boat. They are indeed lucky to be alive and I'm glad no one got hurt.

Still a good reason to keep a sharp knife at the ready, arm's length away or less from your rope.

You're right. A knife wouldn't have helped these dudes...

I was on the Hoh recently and dropped anchor in a deep tailout that was going to shallow water. Well it quickly brought the boat to a stop and I pulled for 30 seconds and decided to cut the rope. Boat was off balance a bit and I was a BIT scared.

Buddy who is experienced boater made statement that made me feel better. "your not the first guy that's lost an anchor on this river."

I believe my mistake was dropping in deep water assuming I would just bounce till shallow water and eventually stop.
Anyway's I think I dropped over a log and it quickly got stuck. My question is why did the back end not submerge and sink my boat. Only one other person in boat. Not much gear. Buddy said it has to do with scope of line out too. Anyway's just asking.

I was on the Hoh recently and dropped anchor in a deep tailout that was going to shallow water. Well it quickly brought the boat to a stop and I pulled for 30 seconds and decided to cut the rope. Boat was off balance a bit and I was a BIT scared.

Buddy who is experienced boater made statement that made me feel better. "your not the first guy that's lost an anchor on this river."

I believe my mistake was dropping in deep water assuming I would just bounce till shallow water and eventually stop.
Anyway's I think I dropped over a log and it quickly got stuck. My question is why did the back end not submerge and sink my boat. Only one other person in boat. Not much gear. Buddy said it has to do with scope of line out too. Anyway's just asking.