Help Scott and Laurie get back what they lost

My name is Bob Sterns and I’m the Director of Operations for a Minnesota-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization called Fishing with Vets. I’ve been a volunteer for Fishing with Vets for 7 years and a proud board member for the past 6 years. We put Veterans and volunteers together on weekend all expense paid trips to make new friends, enjoy some recreational therapy through the great sport of fishing, and experience some of the comradery so many Veterans say they miss from their time in the service. We’ve had over 100 successful trips since 2014, with little to no out of the ordinary experiences, until last weekend.

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This is the story of our most recent trip.

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Scott and Laurie Van Overbeke have been dedicated volunteers and field staff members for our organization for the past 6 years. They are selfless people who always give back to the Veteran community in every way they can. They’ve participated in multiple fundraisers every year, as well as volunteer their boat, host, cook, and plan anywhere from 3 to 5 Fishing with Vets trip every year. This past weekend they were at Lake of the Woods at the northern tip of Minnesota when tragedy struck. Everyone on this trip was extremely cautious with our choices on the water, the wind was forecasted as heavy and the group made a conscientious decision to stay close to the mouth of the Rainy River due to the conditions. Scott and Laurie were hosting two Veterans in their boat and enjoying a morning of fishing, when at 1:30 in the afternoon the wind made a drastic switch in direction that caught all 10 of our boat owning volunteers on the water by surprise. Scott being the experienced boater he is recognized the change in weather and began preparations to head inside the river channel and look for calmer water. The rapid change in wind direction caused confused seas, and in a matter of 3 minutes they went from a relaxing day tucked behind Pine Island to fully exposed to an angry wind. As they tried to pull anchor they were overtaken by a large wave. The first wave swamped the boat leaving Scott in water up to his knees in the back and Laurie and the two Veterans they were hosting scrambling towards the front to offset the water weight that had overtaken the rear of the vessel. Despite his efforts to correct the situation the boat was swamped and they were in trouble. Another boat with Veterans was nearby and heard his call for help. As they got closer the first thoughts were to get the Veterans to safety and they were transferred to the other boat first. Laurie was next and as she transferred 3 more waves overcame them. Laurie was pulled into the rescue boat and Scott was left to ride his boat as it overturned and he was thrust into 58 degree water and was forced to swim out from his overturned vessel. In the end, everyone was rescued from the incident, which has been described to only last 1 minute total, Scott and Laurie were checked for hypothermia and shock by paramedics who arrived at Wigwam Resort shortly after they made it to the dock. They were warmed up, and released after showing they weren’t experiencing any lasting effects of exposure. We are overjoyed to have made it out of this incident with no injuries or loss of life, this story could be very different, but in the end, because of their quick thinking, fishing with a buddy nearby, and calm heads providing quick action, we are able to say the losses that we experienced on this trip were things, not people. We want to help any way possible and this is where we will ask you for help. Scott and Laurie love their boat, they have tournament fished, recreated with their family, and volunteered to give back to many of our nations heroes with the very boat that overturned. It floated 13 miles, and ground against the shoreline for almost 48 hours before it could be recovered due to the wind. They lost the very thing that gives them so much joy, and yes they have insurance, but as anyone knows who has recreational items, we are all vastly underinsured for what we actually have in our equipment. Anyone who knows Scott and Laurie knows they would never ask for anything.

Accidents happen, and it’s part of life, but we as an organization want to try to help them get back some of what they have lost and give them the opportunity to get back on the water and hosting Veterans in their boat as quickly as we can. Please consider donating to this cause, Scott and Laurie are hard working, loving people who deserve nothing but the best from life, and we hope everyone can help them get back whole after losing the boat they loved giving back to our Veteran community.