Bad news.

Yesterday we crashed and sunk my boat in the river. I was letting a buddy drive my boat as we were returning from the cabin, and I was looking behind at something and for some reason - with the GPS track right in front of him - he turned and started going down the wrong channel. I saw what he'd done and told him "Wrong channel, go right!" and he panicked & chopped throttle. When you let off the throttle in a jet boat, you have no steering.

I wasn't close or fast enough to take control, and we launched over a big cottonwood at 40 MPH, coming to an abrupt stop on the other side. Jedd broke his kneecap and I may have a broken tailbone. I can barely move today.

The boat promptly filled with water about 1/3 of the hull before it rested on the bottom of the river. I think the jet unit separated from the hull, allowing all the water to rush in around the transom, especially since the stern is facing upriver against the current.

My brother was following us in his boat, and came to our aid immediately. There was nothing we could do and it was getting late, so we tied her off on the riverbank and continued downriver to the boat launch & came home.

So today I've got a company in Talkeetna going to rescue my boat to the tune of $175 / hour, which I think is very reasonable considering the specialized equipment involved. I expect it'll be no less than $2k before they get her back to the launch - if they recover her at all.

You know how you don't remember the really bad crashes? I have no recollection of the crash at all. My memory stops as I'm trying to take control of the boat prior to the initial impact and then resumes as we're parked after sailing through the air over the log and I'm yelling at him to kill the engine. I have cuts and gouges on my face, I bit my tongue something fierce, my left knee is barely functioning and the tailbone / lower / mid back combo is a real winner.

I'm just heartbroken, I love that boat. And my ass hurts.


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