A $1 million fishing boat crashed and sank during a fishing tournament off the coast of Texas. (John Hafernick)
A $1 million boat crashed and sank over the weekend during a fishing tournament off the Texas coast, and another fisherman alleges it's because the captain had put the vessel on autopilot while he was measuring his catch.
Got ‘M On, the 61-foot sports fishing boat, collided with Lady Toni, a 79-foot shrimping boat, about 45 miles out from Port O’Connor Saturday afternoon during The Lone Star Shootout fishing tournament, the Victoria Advocate reports.
A passerby, Parker Wright, stopped to help the eight passengers aboard the sinking Got ‘M On when he saw them in distress. “We helped grab them off the boat and put them on our boat,” Wright told the Advocate. “It’s illegal to pass a boat that is distressed. We did what we had to do and hoped anybody else would have done the exact same thing.”
No one from the Lady Toni ended up in the water and everyone involved I the crash is safe, with only minor injuries reported. “Everyone was all right, and that’s what’s important,” Wright told the Advocate.
The local unit of the Corpus Christi Coast Guard are still investigating the cause of the crash, according to the Advocate. Another fisherman, John Hafernick, who was out on the water around the time of the incident, said he heard the boat was on autopilot at the time, going about 32 knots an hour, while the captain measured a blue marlin that was over 100 inches long.
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Representatives for the Corpus Christi Coast Guard and the fishing tournament did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.