Barging in
Stranded on Buffalo Bayou: Houston Ship Channel crash turns a yacht party into achore (with video)
The boats stranded on the Buffalo Bayou while the Ship Channel is closed.Photo by Nic Phillips
The tower is hanging over the water, forcing the closure.Photo by by Gabe Gutierrez/11 News and Associated Press
The Houston Yacht Club was founded 113 years ago at the foot of Main Street at Allen’s Landing in 1897. Club members gather every year for one evening to mark the occasion, but this year the party, which started Saturday, has yet to end.
And no one's happy about that.
At 6 a.m. Sunday morning, three barges crashed into an electrical tower, leaving the tower leaning precariously over the Houston Ship Channel — an accident that has closed down the channel and caused a $1 billion economic loss according to the Coast Guard. The Ship Channel is a critical link to the Port of Houston, one of the nation's busiest and most vital ports.
A side effect of the closure is the unwelcome extension of the Houston Yacht Club members’ stay on Buffalo Bayou.
The U.S. Coast Guard escorted 16 boats into the bayou Saturday morning for the annual party on the water. One of the 16 was the “We’ll Sea,” captained by Bob Wells.
Wells, 58, is a construction manager in LaPorte. Wells says since he lives almost 40 minutes away, the orders to stay put in the Bayou have been an inconvenience. Wells describes just getting into the Bayou as a difficult process, but it's nothing compared to trying to get out now.
“It’s quite a bit of organization required to get everybody up here,” Wells told CultureMap.
Wells said that everyone planning on boarding a vessel had to turn in his or her name, driver’s license number and birth date to gain clearance from the Coast Guard.
“And they actually came on board and checked every boat to make sure all the right people were on,” Wells said.
Unfortunately, a tug boat driver hauling those three barges wasn't quite so careful. The tower the barges crashed into supported a high-voltage electric transmission line.
“Fortunately for us, the power to those lines was secured at the time,” Coast Guard Capt. Marcus Woodring told The Houston Chronicle. “The Ship Channel is closed between markers 105 to 124.”
The captain predicts the channel will be closed until Tuesday night. After it re-opens, it will take Wells and the other stagnant boats 4 and 1/2 hours to get back to LaPorte, where the Houston Yacht Club headquarters is located.
Check out our video interview with Captain Wells:
