Texas party boat capsizes with 53 on board, leaving 1 dead

A double-deck party boat on a Texas lake carrying some 50 passengers, including several children, some as young at 18 months old, capsized Saturday night.

Residents along the shore pulled people from the water until rescue crews arrived at the scene.

Video shows a thunderstorm with high winds rolling in on Lake Conroe, located in an unincorporated part of Montgomery County about 54 miles north of Houston, around dusk Saturday, as a party boat with two stories bounces among the waves rising about four to five feet high...

The boat, named the Lake Conroe Queen, flipped onto its side around 8 p.m. – just 40 minutes into planned 90-minute cruise...

Residents at a nearby apartment complex witnessed the boat overturn and jumped in to help pull people from the water until first responders could arrive. Sclider confirmed children were among those pulled from the water, but could not disclose how many or their names and ages at that time.

Interesting.

My band played last night between Lufkin & Nacogdoches, I drove through that storm getting there about 20 till 5. Conroe is 85 miles southwest. Storm was moving southwest, according to other guitar player’s weather app. Circling clockwise, actually, and generally moving southwest. About the right time frame for the front of it, south of us, to hit Conroe 3 hours later.

People were stopped on the side of the road, Hwy 59, 4 lane, because they couldn’t see. I almost stopped, slowed down to 30 in a 75mph zone. Wind was pretty tough, sky before I drove into it black dark 4 hours before sundown. Looked just like the sky that coughed up a tornado 10 minutes later 20 years ago. Hwy 59 goes through Conroe, or close.

Rain stopped, sky cleared up and we played, outside, till 10pm. Under a big carport, so we did have some cover...

Had to be the same storm.

Conroe is a shallow lake, not much of it deeper than 6 or 7 feet at most. Boat that size can’t handle that lake with a draft of more than about 3 feet, it would hit bottom all night. Can’t get close enough to a shore to load unless it sits light in the water. Or you ferry people out in small boats.

Being a commercial boat that has done this before, they probably turned broadside to the wind trying to turn around and head for cover.

But why wasn’t someone watching the weather? Boats and storms are not good buddies. For a commercial boat like that, a good weather report should be top priority.

That said, I’ve been caught in sudden storms on Rayburn, in a 12 foot flat bottom, but Rayburn is a lot bigger lake with a reputation for sudden no warning squalls. It’s also 100 yards from where I sit. I’ve been put on the bank to wait it out under my poncho more than a dozen times...but this was a really big storm, at least 30 miles across, and not a squall that popped up without warning. I only drove through a 5 or 6 mile section of it, on the leading southeast edge. A large section south of us and a much bigger one northwest, according to the radar we watched.

I'm going to compile the most logical guesses as to how this could happen. I work on a cable guided river ferry with a 100 ton masters license. That and $3.50 can get me a mocha at starbucks so take it for what it's worth.

My guess is the crew tried to get to shore but instead of keeping the bow straight on to the swells they panicked and turned broadside.

Got a feelin’ the wind grabbed the overhead while broadside. Not sure letter of stability would take that into account.

they probably turned broadside to the wind trying to turn around and head for cover.

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