A high school fishing tournament on the San Joaquin Delta turned chaotic before sunrise yesterday when two bass boats collided, sending competitors into the water and leaving three people hospitalized. Witnesses said one boat ended up on top of the other as nearby crews rushed in, pulling people from the water before first responders could reach the scene. The crash briefly paused the tournament and drew a multi-agency response along one of the Delta’s busy channels.
The collision happened just before 7 AM near Orwood Resort, north of Discovery Bay, Contra Costa County Fire Protection Capt. Victor Daniel told the San Francisco Chronicle. Daniel said firefighters arrived to find boaters already on shore and helping the injured competitors.
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District crews were dispatched on reports that people might be in the water. Six people were evaluated at the scene and three were taken to hospitals, Bay City News Service reported at SFGATE. Officials did not immediately release information about the conditions of those hospitalized.
Collision and response
Two tournament boats crashed in the Delta, with one vessel ending up on top of the other, according to KTVU. Nearby boat crews helped pull occupants from the water before emergency responders arrived, and other boaters later towed the damaged vessels back to shore while investigators started piecing together what led to the impact.
Tournament background
The crash unfolded during the Student Angler Federation's California Open Challenge, which listed check-in at Russo's Marina and a 7 AM takeoff in its event fact sheet, according to the Student Angler Federation. Organizers and local youth-fishing officials said the event drew roughly 50 teams of high school anglers from across California, a detail reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
What officials said
Barry Sterud, listed as the tournament director in event paperwork, told KTVU that each team typically consists of two student anglers and an adult boat operator. Authorities said the cause of the crash remains under investigation, and no charges have been announced.
Safety in the Delta
The state requires operators of motorized vessels to carry a California Boater Card and to have basic safety gear onboard, including a life jacket for each person, the California Division of Boating and Waterways notes in a public notice from the agency California Division of Boating and Waterways. Recent incidents on the Delta, including a fatal jet-ski flip in Discovery Bay in March, have prompted repeated safety reminders from local agencies, a trend covered in detail by a fatal jet-ski flip and echoed in county advisories.
