News

Paddleboat capsizes along banks of Missouri River

By Jason Nichols, Times Assistant Sports Editor

There's a saying in the Navy: "Adapt and overcome." Experts from a number of fields have come together in that spirit in an attempt to get the Spirit of St. Joseph river boat back in the water and out of danger.

Mechanical problems forced the boat's captain, Bryan Clark, to dock in the Missouri River at the Riverfront Park on March 12 during a trip from dry dock in Kansas City to its home in St. Joseph, Mo. A delay in receiving the necessary parts forced the boat to have a longer stay on Leavenworth's banks than was originally thought.

Now the boat, which nearly capsized between late Wednesday night and Thursday morning, is strapped to the bank by a maze of cables and rope. As of press time Friday, a tugboat had arrived and officials were waiting for divers and a high-powered pump to arrive.

According to Clark, changing river conditions were the cause of the problem.

"The problem is that with all the precipitation up north, the river's been going up and down a lot," said Clark, who took over as the boat's captain in February 2000. "It was fine last weekend and Sunday it was OK, but I guess the river came up on Tuesday because of all the rain up north and then, once the river came up, the boat drifted towards the bank and, as the river drops, the boat doesn't have a chance to get away from the bank and it catches on part of the bank.

"Once it started tipping a little and the water started washing over the lip that runs around the boat, the boat wasn't able to maintain buoyancy," he said.

The Spirit of St. Joseph, a dinner excursion boat, was in dry dock for its annual repairs. In fact, the problems that kept the boat from being in Leavenworth during River Fest 2000, were among those addressed. The boat is owned by the Robidoux River Boat Company.

Clark arrived on the scene at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, with Leavenworth police and firemen already on hand. Pete Johann and Bob Scott, both reserves with the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office in St. Louis, arrived shortly thereafter.

"We just kind of monitor what's going on, make sure things are working according to a plan," Scott said. "The chief concern is that there's no loss of life, no property damage and, of course, no (fuel) spill into the river."

At 3:30 p.m., Karl Bardroff and his son, Karl Jr., of Bardroff Inc., an Easton auto service company, arrived to help secure the boat with a network of cables and pulleys attached to a number of large trees on the bank. They were able to even the weight distribution of the boat by pulling the back end toward the bank.

Later in the evening, workers from Environmental Specialists Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., unloaded five pumps for use in getting the fuel out of the boat and to try to pump out some of the water, which had filled the engine room and other lower compartments and threatened to capsize the craft.

Leavenworth Parks Department officials also assisted.

"It's never the same," Clark said of problems on the river. "There are procedures for emergencies, but beyond that, you have to figure out how you're going to overcome them."

The plan of action was still undecided as of this morning.

Clark had called for a tug boat to assist, but it was delayed by fog. In the meantime, Environmental Specialists Inc. placed a number of high-powered pumps on the boat in an attempt to get some of the water out, increasing the buoyancy of the boat. Clark said more would be decided when the tug boat's operators assessed the situation and their capabilities.

Overnight, the river had risen about a foot, meaning time is important if the boat is to be salvaged, Clark said.