Concerns about speeding boats on waterway
This week I watched from my house as the Bass Masters boats ran up and down the river in both their pre-fish scouting and in the competition. I started out in awe at the number of boats and the speed at which they constantly ran, but by the second day my awe turned to a bit of worry that someone was going to get hurt. Then I heard the news from Smith Lake on Wednesday. A competitor in a different tournament hit a fishing guide’s center console boat that was not part of the tournament. Unofficial accounts of the crash indicated that the center console was stationary, presumably in their fishing spot, and the tournament boat “impacted broadside at a high rate of speed.” Three men lost their lives, and three others were injured, including the driver of the tournament boat.
The reality of these big-sponsor fishing tournaments is that the tournaments are a combination of fishing and racing, 250 horsepower motors running as fast as possible. One day I saw three tournament boats side-by-side at full throttle and headed downstream as they met a fourth boat that was headed in the opposite direction at one of the most narrow points on the Tenn Tom near James Creek. And this boat racing is all going on while us locals are making our way in and out of James, Kincade and Arkansas Creeks trying to find a few crappies and catfish.
My sympathy for the families of the victims is immense, and my thoughts and prayers are with them. I am writing this letter to express my hope that the death of these men causes tournament hosts and sponsors to change the rules to put safety of the public in the forefront of their events. By analogy, there is no way a $100,000 scavenger hunt would be held on the roads between Columbus and Starkville in which the rules of the hunt allowed you to drive as fast as you want as long as your engine was not over 250 HP. That would be ludicrous, but that is the format of the hunt for the big bass prize.
Join me in voicing your opinion to tournament sponsors, hosts, and officials to take racing out of fishing tournaments. My hope is that many voices of reason combined with a liability suit for the families of the victims that is so large that the stakeholders can no longer afford the liability, thus forcing them to reduce tournament horsepower to well under 100HP and top speeds under 40 mph. It’s a fishing tournament; not a boat race.
May God Bless and comfort the families of the victims.
Ivy Pinion
Columbus
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
