On May 23, 2023, Region 6 Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Agents Sgt. 1 and Agt. 2 were on patrol in Lake Mechant (Terrebonne). At approximately 8:30am, Agents were notified by Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office (TPSO) about a boat accident in Timbalier Bay. Agents immediately headed to LUMCON in Cocodrie by vessel to meet up with Deputy 3. Agents boarded TPSO's vessel, and left LUMCON at approximately 9:30am. LDWF Agents and TPSO arrived on scene at approximately 10:00am. Agent 2 made contact with the three individuals that were on board the vessel and asked if they were injured or needed medical attention. The subjects replied that no one was injured and no medical attention was needed. The operator was identified as Operator, and his passengers were identified as Passengers 1 and 2. While Agent 2 asked the individuals what happened, Sgt. 1 piloted his drone to identify the submerged pilings at N29 04.007 W90 28.694. The damage to the vessel was not visible. The vessel was left on scene due to the circumstances. The three subjects were transported from the scene on the TPSO water patrol vessel back to their camp in Dulac.

Vessel is a 23' Parker fiberglass center console bay boat equipped with a 225hp Evinrude. Vessel will be identified throughout the rest of this report as V1. V1 was equipped with three type 3 PFD's, one type 4 throwable, and 1 fire extinguisher. 

Operator boating incident report and witness statements were dropped off with subjects and received back within one business day. According to the operator and occupants, on May 23, 2023 at approximately 8:00am, V1 headed North through a pass on West Timbalier Island from the Gulf of Mexico. V1 traveled at approximately 20mph when they struck a submerged object. After impact, V1 reduced speed to idle and noticed water coming into the hull from the battery compartment. V1 circled back towards the beach and idled until it was grounded in 1-3 feet of water to avoid flooding of the vessel. Operator immediately called his insurance company for further guidance. The insurance company notified Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office and Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries. 

On Sunday, June 4, 2023, SeaTow recovered V1 from West Timbalier Island.  V1 was towed back to Leeville boat launch where Operator loaded it onto his trailer. Operator trailered the vessel back to his residence where he took pictures of the damages and sent to Agent 2. The damage is on the bottom right side of the hull close to the keel. The gouge measured 50 inches long by 3 inches wide (see photo log). 

The contributing factors in this incident were 1) operator inattention and 2) collision with submerged object. Agents do not believe drugs or alcohol to be a contributing factor in this incident.
WEST TIMBALIER BAY
COCODRIE                      