Rising up from the depths of Lake Travis: One of the boats that sank in the Trump parade recovered

One of the boats that sank during a rally for President Donald Trump in Lake Travis has been recovered and brought to the surface.

Five boats sank in the reservoir on the Colorado River in Texas on Saturday during a Trump boat parade held on choppy waters.

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office said it responded to ‘many boats in distress’ at the lake 20 miles northwest of Austin but no one was injured at the flotilla.

On Monday, one of the small boats which had been sat at the bottom of the lake was recovered by scuba divers.

Robert Weiss and Brian Waddell, helped recover the boat using sonar and a resident who saw where the boat had sunk.

They used two large life bags clipped under the vessel sporting Trump 2020 flags to hoist the boat out of the water.

The boat’s owner said he plans to refurbish it and put it back together, but Mr Weiss said the boat should not have been on the lake in the first place.

Lake Travis Scuba owner Mr Weiss told KVUE: ‘They got caught up in the waves that were in excess of what their boat can handle.

‘The boat had fuel starting to bubble out of the engine, so that can get pretty bad. You don’t want that happening.

‘I think the biggest lesson to take away from this was the proper size boat and putting the proper number of passengers on and not overloading your boat, and being aware of the ability of your boat in the conditions that you’re in.’ 

Lake Travis, a reservoir on the Colorado River, is known for its hazardous sailing conditions at times and has been the site of dozens of boating accidents over the years.

A total of 29 boating deaths were reported on the 65-mile long lake in 2018, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife. 

The parade, which began at 11.30am, was one of many across the country during Labor Day Weekend.

At least nine cities across the country, from California to Georgia and back again, hosted Great American Boat Parade events. 

In Florida, MAGA supporters congregated off the shore of President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago.

Donald Trump Jr joined in with the parade, according to reports, as the Sunshine State hosted events in support of the current Commander-in-Chief. 

On Sunday, a Trump parade in Wisconsin resulted in a boat capsizing amid five-foot waves. 

Supporters gathered on the St. Croix River but the huge water traffic caused tricky conditions.

Keith Smith, who lives on the river in River Falls, Wisconsin, told WCCO: ‘The river was flooded with boats. Big boats, small boats, all kinds of boats. 

‘The waves were probably four to five footers pounding my boat into the dock.’  

The rope which had been holding his docked boat in place snapped, and he had to fight for an hour and a half to stop it from sinking. One of his neighbours did lose their boat during the parade. 

Mr Smith said: ‘There was so much wake from the boats that it actually lifted my dock up three or four feet, and the waves came underneath my floating dock. The waves overwhelmed the boat.’

He added that he was not angry with the parade but wished the boaters had helped him out when they saw him struggling.

Labor Day is traditionally a big weekend for boating in the US, and this year’s comes just two months before the highly polarized presidential election in November.