RedactedNarrative: On December 8, 2017 at approximately 9:30p.m. operator was operating a tiller handled vessel (LA 1874 BW) and his brother was a passenger.  Operator was navigating a turn to the port side when the vessel began to slide.  At some point in the slide, the vessel chine gripped the water which caused the vessel to turn hard to the port side.  The abrupt change in course threw both the operator and passenger from the vessel; it also caused the vessel to capsize.  Neither occupant was wearing a PFD and the operator was not wearing the kill lanyard.  Passenger was able to locate a floating ice chest and swam to shore.  Upon making it to shore, Passenger used a small flashlight to look for Operator.  He observed Operator struggling to swim.  Passenger attempted to swim with the ice chest back out to his brother, but before he could reach him his brother went under a final time, never resurfacing.  
  
  Passenger them made an impromptu shelter and spent the night on the bank near the incident site.  At approximately 5:30a.m. December 9, 2017, Passenger was able to flag down a passerby in order to help him contact LDWF and the Iberville Sheriff's Office.  At approximately 7:00 we arrived at the scene.  At the scene I interviewed Passenger who was very cooperative.  He explained what had transpired the night before.  At about 8:45 am. we recovered the vessel.  In the deck hatch there were 2 type III PFDs.  On the tiller handle, the kill lanyard was looped around indicting the driver had not been wearing it.  At about 9:00 a.m. we began dragging for the body, and the body of Operator was recovered at 9:31 a.m. on 12/9/17.  It is possible that drug use could be a contributing factor, due to unidentified pills found on the person of Operator.
  Although operator had  over 500 hours of experience in operating tiller handled vessels, this was his first time operating his brother's tiller handled surface drive motor. This also was a contributing factor.