# A Duck boat capsized in Branson



## rapmarks (Jul 19, 2018)

they are reporting eight dead, still searching for missing, and several in hospital.  Some are blaming sudden violent storm, others say it capsized before the storm.
Frightening, I have been on a duck ride close to fifty times.


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## DaveNV (Jul 19, 2018)

That's tragic news.  Hope it's not as bad as being reported.

Dave


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## rapmarks (Jul 20, 2018)

Now reporting 17 dead


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## mdurette (Jul 20, 2018)

I just happened upon this headline and a video.....the water was pretty rough.    Those poor people.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 20, 2018)

That is awful.  I am so sorry for these families.  You know there are children on these boats. I am praying...


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## rapmarks (Jul 20, 2018)

Yes, they said one of the victims was one year old.  This is a very popular ride in Wisconsin dells.  The ducks are a bit smaller, they go out every three to five minutes during busy times.  They cross a road, but do not go on public roads except for that.  I always felt that the dangerous part was zipping along on curvy roads with sharp drop offs.  Now I am rethinking.    I know the day care took all the children one day.


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## puppymommo (Jul 20, 2018)

Latest report is worse than we could have imagined:
"Authorities have called off the search for survivors after an amphibious tourist boat capsized near Branson, Missouri, killing 17 people and leaving seven others injured. The boat overturned during a severe thunderstorm Thursday night on Table Rock Lake, authorities said. Three children are among the dead."


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## bogey21 (Jul 20, 2018)

A long time ago I was out on Table Rock Lake with a friend in his speedboat when a storm like this one blew in.  It went from a beautiful day on the lake to pure Hell without warning.  We survived it only because our boat had a lot of power and the guy who owned and was driving it was very experienced.  It was touch and go and scary as Hell...

George


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## rapmarks (Jul 20, 2018)

Most of the duck drivers in Dells are college age


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## rapmarks (Jul 20, 2018)

They said nine of the deceased were from the same family


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## clifffaith (Jul 20, 2018)

rapmarks said:


> They said nine of the deceased were from the same family


OMG, that is just so tragic.


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## pedro47 (Jul 20, 2018)

This is tragic incident is not going to be good for the Duck Boat fleet IMHO.
Look for many Lawsuits and a Coast Guard inspection of all the Duck Boats.
Finally, an investigation by the NTSB.


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## Adventureisoutthere (Jul 21, 2018)

My mind is reeling from this tragedy because I can’t quite wrap my head around the idea of losing 17 lives and affecting many more with quite surely PTSD.  What is hard for me to understand is the poor decisions made by the captain (my best guess) to (a) not hand out life vests when the boat was taking on water, (b) not turn around, go in reverse, with the waves/wind to the nearest shoreline, (c) no calls for help (that have been reported.  

It’s very clear vision, 20/20, after a tragedy when you weren’t involved in the accident.  I am not judging, but I’m seriously second guessing every tour of any kind I’ve been on and will take in the future.  What are the safety precautions, what is the experience of the “lead”, how will people be kept safe if “x” happens?

I feel horribly for all involved and pray for them, but it all just makes my head spin...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## John Cummings (Jul 21, 2018)

We have been on the Duck boat tour in Branson as well as in Seattle, San Diego, and New York City. After reading the tragic news, I read that problems with the Duck tours are quite common.


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## VegasBella (Jul 21, 2018)

Such a horrible tragedy. 

I’ve never been on a ‘duck boat’ and now I don’t think I ever will. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bogey21 (Jul 21, 2018)

Adventureisoutthere said:


> What is hard for me to understand is the poor decisions made by the captain (my best guess) to (a) not hand out life vests when the boat was taking on water, (b) not turn around, go in reverse, with the waves/wind to the nearest shoreline, (c) no calls for help (that have been reported.



I agree with (a) and (c) but based on my similar experience described in my prior post I don't think (b) was even remotely possible.  What saved us in a similar situation on Table Rock Lake was being in a relatively heavy but very maneuverable speedboat with a lot of power.  Even with all that and with the guy driving our boat having been around boats all his life it was touch and go that we would get back to shore.  In our case the skipper headed directly into the waves with full power.  I don't remember how many times we went airborne but it was a lot.  Obviously we made it but were fortunate.  There is no way the  Captain of the Duck Boat could have done anything near what my guy did...

George


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## rapmarks (Jul 21, 2018)

The duck boat owners in Wisconsin dells were on the news last night.  They said that our lake is much smaller and we have many more landing spots.  Our ducks are not enclosed like the ones in Branson.   
Last summer we had a sudden violent rain storm.  I happened to sit next to some young women who were in the duck employee uniforms at a picnic.  They said they were out on the water when it hit.  They all got soaked, but never in danger,
I wonder if people were trapped inside the duck that capsized?


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## rapmarks (Jul 21, 2018)

A survivor stated that the captain said they did not need the life preservers and by the time it was evident they did, it was too late


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## Luanne (Jul 21, 2018)

VegasBella said:


> Such a horrible tragedy.
> 
> I’ve never been on a ‘duck boat’ and now I don’t think I ever will.
> 
> ...


I think it depends on where it is.  I took one in Santa Barbara, CA that went out into the ocean.  Then took one in Boston that was on a river?


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## Bernie8245 (Jul 21, 2018)

rapmarks said:


> A survivor stated that the captain said they did not need the life preservers and by the time it was evident they did, it was too late


There was an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper covering this story. They quoted a lawyer from Philadelphia who said "a  life preserver could make it harder to escape. Assuming that a good captain in a high wind, thunderstorm situation tells everyone on a duck boat to put on their life jackets and they do and the boat capsizes and starts to sink, those life jackets force them upward, which they are designed to do. But it is forcing them into the canopy. And once the duck boat starts to sink, it goes down quickly" That's why he calls the duck boats a death trap. I'm not sure life jackets would have helped. Unfortunately, I knew one of the couples that lost their lives in this incident.


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## rapmarks (Jul 21, 2018)

The ducks in dells are wide open on sides and font and back.  They advertise as being the World War II ducks, not the ones manufactured for the attraction


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## clifffaith (Jul 21, 2018)

Just now seeing a written account that says the clear plastic fold up windows were down. I was envisioning the difficulty in getting out between the side of the boat and the canopy on top in high waves, but if that window plastic was down they were "sealed" inside. What I haven't heard was how many people did they start with, and how many survivors did they have. Wonder how those folks managed to get clear of the boat. I guess my Boston duck boat tour will be "been there, done that" for me.


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## rapmarks (Jul 21, 2018)

31 on the boat


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## Bernie8245 (Jul 21, 2018)

clifffaith said:


> Just now seeing a written account that says the clear plastic fold up windows were down. I was envisioning the difficulty in getting out between the side of the boat and the canopy on top in high waves, but if that window plastic was down they were "sealed" inside. What I haven't heard was how many people did they start with, and how many survivors did they have. Wonder how those folks managed to get clear of the boat. I guess my Boston duck boat tour will be "been there, done that" for me.


The latest report I have seen stated there were 31 people on the boat, 29 passengers and 2 crew. There were 17 total fatalities which included 16 passengers and 1 of the crew. Of the 14 survivors, 7 were injured and needed medical attention.


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## PigsDad (Jul 24, 2018)

John Cummings said:


> We have been on the Duck boat tour in Branson as well as in Seattle, San Diego, and New York City. After reading the tragic news, I read that problems with the Duck tours are quite common.


Wasn't there a bad accident in Seattle a few years back?  I seem to recall something like that.

Kurt


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## pedro47 (Jul 24, 2018)

PigsDad said:


> Wasn't there a bad accident in Seattle a few years back?  I seem to recall something like that.
> 
> Kurt


Yes!  There was a boating/traffic  accident in Seattle some years ago.


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## John Cummings (Jul 24, 2018)

There probably was but I am not aware of it. Needles to say, our Duck tour days are over.


PigsDad said:


> Wasn't there a bad accident in Seattle a few years back?  I seem to recall something like that.
> 
> Kurt


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## pedro47 (Jul 24, 2018)

The Duck boat/traffic  accident in Seattle was September ,2015 and
Five (5) peoples loss their lives.


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## silentg (Jul 24, 2018)

When we went on the duck boat in Boston we had to wear our life jackets. Not sure if we did in Miami?


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## Luanne (Jul 24, 2018)

silentg said:


> When we went on the duck boat in Boston we had to wear our life jackets. Not sure if we did in Miami?


When we took the duck boat in Boston no life jackets were required.


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## silentg (Jul 24, 2018)

Well, we went 11 years ago.


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## Luanne (Jul 24, 2018)

silentg said:


> Well, we went 11 years ago.


We went only a couple of years ago.


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## rapmarks (Jul 24, 2018)

No life jackets in Wisconsin dells


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## clifffaith (Jul 24, 2018)

Luanne said:


> When we took the duck boat in Boston no life jackets were required.


That's my recollection too.


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## jwalk03 (Jul 25, 2018)

Just did a duck boat tour in the Dells last month for the first time.  They did not require us to wear life jackets on that one.


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## clifffaith (Jul 25, 2018)

Today's newspaper said the duck boat had been chopped apart to extend the middle, and that the engineering for that was done by someone who wasn't an engineer.


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## rapmarks (Jul 25, 2018)

I notice the ones that go out on tour here in Wisconsin have six rows can seat 24 plus driver and there is a jump seat if needed.  The ones that drive around in down town offering rides to the ducks a couple more rows, but don’t go in the water.


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## DrQ (Sep 17, 2018)

I would not ride on these attractions. It is just situational awareness, even if you have access to PFD, you do not have access to egress. 

This happened in Hot Springs. The cause of the capsize was different but the results were the same.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Sep 17, 2018)

pedro47 said:


> The Duck boat/traffic  accident in Seattle was September ,2015 and
> Five (5) peoples loss their lives.


IIRC - the axle broke, causing the Duck to careen into a tour bus carrying foreign exchange students.

The accident happened on the Aurora Bridge - fortunately, even though two massive vehicles were involved, neither vehicle fell off the bridge.  In 1998 a large Metro transit bus plunged off the bridge after a passenger shot the driver while the bus was traveling about 50 mph.


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