DuckSouth.com

I know some of you guys have fished with this capt before.


Capt Josh Turner on the "Looney Tuna"

http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=3169


Sounds pretty bad.

Did the boat hit something? Probably not another boat or that would have been reported.

Ill try and get the scoop, my buddy's wife is an E.R. Nurse at the hospital they were transfered to

From the looks of it on LA sportsman the pic shows the boat sinking with a well very close in the background. Its a small well so in the dark it may have been hit but that is purely speculation. It looks like he had radar on the boat so I just dont know.

Read on a coule sites he was running in, in a bad rainstorm visibility was minimal and hit a well at around 45mph bad deal could have been alot worse though

All still speculation. All I know is both the captain and deckhand are getting plastic surgery. I believe they said recustrutive. And yes they were on a 33 foot freemin, it had radar.

they hit a well head. real bad deal. scares the crap out of me.

definitely a bad deal. heres a pic of it

There is no doubt this is a bad deal, however I have mixed feelings on this situation.

The well head that they hit is one that while near the surface of the water is VERY well known. It is on the east side of Southwest pass and most everyone that runs that area knows of it. He SHOULD have known where that wellhead was.

However from what I have heard from reports, he was trying to outrun a VERY nasty storm, and was trying to get to the pass. From what I understand when he hit the wellhead, there were 3-4' seas so you couldn't see it very likely in heavy rain, and waves and radar almost certainly couldn't pick it up. So I think visibility was zero, however I still go back to should a licensed captain know where a well head is on a route he runs almost every day?

I don't say this to point a finger at Josh Howard, just food for thought. The best thing is that no one was killed, it could have been so much worse. Maybe this will bring markers to more wellheads as Venice is littered with wellheads near the surface of the water.

Jeff wrote:Maybe this will bring markers to more wellheads as Venice is littered with wellheads near the surface of the water.

I don't fish the Venice area, unlike a few here. I will say this though. As a group of people who fish Venice, why not try to kickstart something and push for markers?

I've been with people in this area that have put markers for reefs. These weren't some gov't people, but local fisherman trying to keep the area safe. I'm not saying you all have to fund this, but you all could being talking to congressmen and others about getting something started.

Guys I work offshore out of Venice area, in Romere Pass right off of Main Pass. We have a CDM compressor mechanic onboard with us. He also has
a couple of units out of Southwest pass where the accident happened. He was told that they were tied up to a platform fishing and that the boat somehow
got hung under the platform and before it could be cut loose that the boat got smashed and started taking on water. Now that is just what I heard through
the rumors of all this. I don't know the reason for the plastic surgery??? still a mystery to us out here in the Gulf also.....

kaiser that isn't at all what I have heard.

I heard they were trying to outrun a storm and hit the wellhead. The plastic surgery from what I am told is from the captain and deckhand getting slammed into the console on impact.

Working off Romere huh, I may have to come visit you sometime. Have waited out many a storm inside that facility.