High tide, a swirling current, and a captain who misread the height of the bridge could have been the causes but until the United States Coast Guard completes its investigation it’s all speculation at this point.
What we do know is that a commercial fishing vessel called The Capt. Jack II out of Port Arthur, TX got caught under the Matanzas Pass Bridge late Monday morning. Not long after the crash, the Florida Department of Transportation with an assist from the Lee County Sheriff’s Department closed the bridge in both directions while an FDOT engineer traveled from Tampa to Fort Myers Beach to inspect the bridge. Four hours later the bridge was determined to be safe and was reopened.
Fort Myers Beach Harbormaster Curtis Ludwig, who worked for the Coast Guard for 10 years, tells Beach Talk Radio News that the biggest factor leading to the incident was the super moon causing the higher tide, also known as King Tide.
Ludwig also said that there was a pretty good current Monday, a lot stronger than normal. He estimated that the tide was 2 1/2 to 3 feet higher than normal. Ludwig thinks the captain of the vessel most likely realized he wasn’t going to make it under the bridge, tried to make corrective action to pivot and turn around, and the current took him into the bridge. 3-4 feet of the arm of the vessel was sheared off before it lodged under the bridge.
Those four hours with the bridge closed became a major inconvenience for anyone trying to get on or off the island. They either had to wait to get the all clear or use the Big Carlos Pass Bridge on the south end of the island to get on or off.
Several witnesses watched the boat approach the bridge and noticing it was not going to make it under, quickly flipped on their phones to record. They were correct as the captain could not navigate out of the situation in time and lodged a piece of his vessel under the bridge. About 90 minutes after getting stuck the United States Coast Guard had the boat dislodged.
We asked the Coast Guard if the captain might get ticketed or face charges resulting from the incident. We were told that they would let us know after the investigation is complete. A captain is supposed to know whether or not he can make it under a bridge like this. The incident could result in the captain’s licence being revoked for a period of time or it could be determined by the Coast Guard that it was just an accident and the captain tried to prevent it from happening when he realized he was in a bad situation.
The good news is that the bridge did not suffer damage that would cause it to be closed for days or weeks and there were no injuries resulting from the incident.
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Glad all safe… one thing that was too bad is that the town of Ft Myers Beach did not send out text warning to residents that bridge was closed. I know they send out texts when we have to boil water.. think they should have sent info to residents so those of us who had to leave the beach would have known. I found out when I called Big Daddys seafood market over bridge to order fish they were the ones who told me bridge was closed. Not making more comments about the lack of info to residents by the town…..
I hope the conclusion is this: “… it could be determined by the Coast Guard that it was just an accident and the captain tried to prevent it from happening when he realized he was in a bad situation.”. My fingers are crossed for them.
Tide gauge on the bridge would give the exact height of tide. The air draft of the Captain Jack 11 is know. Provide the vessel had undersell clearance. The time to sail is low water slack. Minimum current and max air draft clearance.
And BTR was there to report for us, Another great job,Thanks And Thank God no one was hurt.