On 11/18/12 at approximately 10:00 a.m., Operator1 was operating a 20 foot customcraft (LA 3967 FN) in the Mississippi River near the Venice Jump in Plaquemines Parish. He was towing 2 smaller vessels, a 19 foot flatboat with a Godevil motor (LA5809FN) and a 14 foot flatboat with a Godevil motor. The 14 foot vessel was inside of the 19 foot vessel when it was being towed. While heading to the Jump, a commercial vessel owned and operated by Weeks Marine and named the Bayou Blues passed the vessels being towed on the port side.  According to Operator1 and the other people on his vessel, the vessel Bayou Blues was traveling at a high rate of speed and making a big wake. Operator1 and the 3 other people on his vessel attempted to slow the commercial vessel down but to no avail.  The commercial vessels wake swamped the two vessels being towed and they sank. The vessels sank in an area where they couldn't be recovered.  After the sinking, Operator1 and his passengers reported the incident to the US Coast Guard in Venice. The USCG stopped the Bayou Blues in the Jump later that day and interviewed the captain.  The USCG did not issue citations or find the captain of the Bayou Blues at fault for the incident.  Alcohol and drugs were not a contributing factor in this incident and all the passengers on the vessel doing the towing were using properly sized and adjusted PFD's.
VENICE                        