Nookie Monster
05-20-2002, 07:18 PM
One year ago from this coming Memorial Day, I arrived home to a ringing telephone after a long weekend floating the Grande Rhonde. It was a call to inform me that my friend and fishing partner, Terry LaRocque, was missing after a boating accident on the Columbia.
Terry was a community planner for Clark County Washington. He left a wife of five years (an ex-wife) two daughters and three stepsons. The stepson that was fishing with Terry on that Memorial Day was named Brandon. Terry was involved with the Fish First Program headed by Gary Loomis in southern Washington. I have spoken with Terry’s wife and Brandon, on a number of occasions, about the accident. This is what I have been able to piece together:
Terry and Brandon were anchored in or near the shipping channel on the Columbia River out of Camas. A barge approached from downstream heading upstream. Terry was not sure if he was in the direct line of the barge or not but fishing had been slow and he was ready to leave anyway. While reeling in their lines, the horn on the approaching barge began to sound. Terry felt a sense of urgency so he left the rods as they were and started the motor to pull the anchor. As he was pulling the anchor, the fishing lines that had been abandoned became tangled in the anchor rope and jammed the anchor pulling mechanism. As Terry tried to clear the anchor rope, a drift anchor was sucked up by the jet pump causing them to loose power of the boat. At this point the barge was closing fast. I am not sure how long they struggled to clear the motor, but I don’t think it was very long. They didn’t have a whole lot of time.
Not much of the anchor rope was pulled in so as they began to free drift, the anchor grabbed bottom and swung the boat down stream and in line with the on coming barge. As the barge neared the critical point Brandon yelled to Terry to jump and then jumped into the Columbia swimming under water as hard as he could. When he came up, he turned to the boat just in time to see Terry diving in. As Terry dived in, he pushed the boat in the opposite direction causing it to be at a slight angle to the barge. If Terry had not dived in, the barge would have hit the stern of the boat head on. The angled position of the boat to the barge created a glancing blow instead of a head on impact. Brandon said the barge collided with their boat twice.
As Terry surfaced, about ten feet away from Brandon, the wake of the barge crashed over him and pulled him under. That was the last time he was seen, his body has never been recovered. Neither one were wearing life jackets. I was told that it would not have mattered if Terry had been wearing one or not due to the undertow (personally I would like to take my chances with one on). I am still not clear on how long Brandon was in the water, but it was the barge crew that threw Brandon a life ring and picked him up. Brandon said they had about four minutes from the time they first heard the barge horn until the time of impact.
After the accident, I inspected the boat. There were six life jackets tucked under the passenger seat. Fishing lines were tangled in the anchor rope. The port side had multiple dents. The hard top frame was bent and a cross brace broken off. The top of the engine cover (200 hp outboard) was cracked and had scrapes and gouges. It appeared that the boat was hit once from the rear port side confirming that it was at an angle to the barge. The second time it was hit I am not sure of – the only thing that I could think of was that it swung on the anchor rope and was hit again on the port side creating the other dents.
When I first met Terry I took him fishing in Nehalem Bay. He caught his first salmon that day, a 35 pound Chinook. That was the beginning of his passion for fishing in the northwest and the beginning of a great friendship.
I took a photo of Terry with the fish that he caught that day on Nehalem Bay. The photo was framed and proudly displayed in his camper. The first one always seems to be the sweetest, the most memorable.
Terry had a good sense of humor and a passion for fishing and a passion for life. Those who really knew him loved him.
Terry was my card-playing pal. He was my drinking buddy. He was my fishing partner. He was my friend.
I wish there was some way I could bring him back home, we all still miss him very much.
I lost one of my best friends, one year ago.
~~~~ Dan ~~~~
Terry was a community planner for Clark County Washington. He left a wife of five years (an ex-wife) two daughters and three stepsons. The stepson that was fishing with Terry on that Memorial Day was named Brandon. Terry was involved with the Fish First Program headed by Gary Loomis in southern Washington. I have spoken with Terry’s wife and Brandon, on a number of occasions, about the accident. This is what I have been able to piece together:
Terry and Brandon were anchored in or near the shipping channel on the Columbia River out of Camas. A barge approached from downstream heading upstream. Terry was not sure if he was in the direct line of the barge or not but fishing had been slow and he was ready to leave anyway. While reeling in their lines, the horn on the approaching barge began to sound. Terry felt a sense of urgency so he left the rods as they were and started the motor to pull the anchor. As he was pulling the anchor, the fishing lines that had been abandoned became tangled in the anchor rope and jammed the anchor pulling mechanism. As Terry tried to clear the anchor rope, a drift anchor was sucked up by the jet pump causing them to loose power of the boat. At this point the barge was closing fast. I am not sure how long they struggled to clear the motor, but I don’t think it was very long. They didn’t have a whole lot of time.
Not much of the anchor rope was pulled in so as they began to free drift, the anchor grabbed bottom and swung the boat down stream and in line with the on coming barge. As the barge neared the critical point Brandon yelled to Terry to jump and then jumped into the Columbia swimming under water as hard as he could. When he came up, he turned to the boat just in time to see Terry diving in. As Terry dived in, he pushed the boat in the opposite direction causing it to be at a slight angle to the barge. If Terry had not dived in, the barge would have hit the stern of the boat head on. The angled position of the boat to the barge created a glancing blow instead of a head on impact. Brandon said the barge collided with their boat twice.
As Terry surfaced, about ten feet away from Brandon, the wake of the barge crashed over him and pulled him under. That was the last time he was seen, his body has never been recovered. Neither one were wearing life jackets. I was told that it would not have mattered if Terry had been wearing one or not due to the undertow (personally I would like to take my chances with one on). I am still not clear on how long Brandon was in the water, but it was the barge crew that threw Brandon a life ring and picked him up. Brandon said they had about four minutes from the time they first heard the barge horn until the time of impact.
After the accident, I inspected the boat. There were six life jackets tucked under the passenger seat. Fishing lines were tangled in the anchor rope. The port side had multiple dents. The hard top frame was bent and a cross brace broken off. The top of the engine cover (200 hp outboard) was cracked and had scrapes and gouges. It appeared that the boat was hit once from the rear port side confirming that it was at an angle to the barge. The second time it was hit I am not sure of – the only thing that I could think of was that it swung on the anchor rope and was hit again on the port side creating the other dents.
When I first met Terry I took him fishing in Nehalem Bay. He caught his first salmon that day, a 35 pound Chinook. That was the beginning of his passion for fishing in the northwest and the beginning of a great friendship.
I took a photo of Terry with the fish that he caught that day on Nehalem Bay. The photo was framed and proudly displayed in his camper. The first one always seems to be the sweetest, the most memorable.
Terry had a good sense of humor and a passion for fishing and a passion for life. Those who really knew him loved him.
Terry was my card-playing pal. He was my drinking buddy. He was my fishing partner. He was my friend.
I wish there was some way I could bring him back home, we all still miss him very much.
I lost one of my best friends, one year ago.
~~~~ Dan ~~~~