Four people were brought safely to shore after their boat capsized Tuesday near the Kenai City Dock.
The 18-foot low boat took on water after being hit with a wake, said Kenai Fire Battalion Chief Tony Prior. All four people in the boat were wearing life vests, and none of them had to be taken to the hospital or checked on scene, he said.
The accident in the active dipnet area of the Kenai River happened between noon and 1 p.m. during low tide, Prior said.
“The river channels down a lot in that area … and people are still continuing to motor quickly up and down the river,” he said, explaining that it doesn’t take much to capsize a small boat.
The boat’s occupants were quickly rescued by other boaters in the area, Prior said, and others towed the capsized vessel to shore.
Prior said this was a good reminder to dipnetters about the importance of wearing life vests while on the water, even though sometimes “people think they’re cumbersome.”
Soldotna resident Michele Vasquez, who was at the dock around the time the boat capsized, agreed that smaller vessels are more susceptible to wakes and waves, saying it can sometimes be a problem for smaller boats like her own.
“It’s about courtesy I think, because a lot of the smaller boats can’t take the waves from the boats … that are ocean-worthy,” Vasquez said.
Kenai Police also responded to the accident.
Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.
Boaters rescue passengers from a capsized boat in the Kenai River Tuesday during the personal-use dipnet fishery. (Photo courtesy Frank Alioto)
