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Pleasure Cruise ends on dangerous note
It was not the expected ending to a pleasure cruise: wet and shivering from long-term exposure to the water. The clung to the oversized and partly sunken boat, worried that they might not be able to hang on until daylight when rescuers would be more likely to find them.
Contact: Aux. Wayne Spivak
Division Chief - External Communications
Public Affairs Department
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
http://www.auxpa.org
516-353-9155
Media@auxpa.org
Pleasure Cruise ends on dangerous note
/24-7PressRelease.com/ - WASHINGTON, DC, May 24, 2005 - It was not the expected ending to a pleasure cruise: wet and shivering from long-term exposure to the water and 12 mile-per-hour winds, the boaters had been injured when thrown from their capsizing boat at night. The clung to the oversized and partly sunken boat, worried that they might not be able to hang on until daylight when rescuers would be more likely to find them.
That was the situation a pair of 43-year-old northern Virginia men found themselves in recently on the Potomac River.
Nationwide more than 700 boating fatalities occur annually, according to Barbara Allen, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Division Captain in the Washington, DC area.
The Coast Guard estimates that approximately 60 percent of all boating fatalities could be avoided if boaters wore their lifejackets.
"This rescue shows that lifejackets and visual distress signals help save lives, when they are used," says Allen. "We want boaters to be boat smart from the start by ensuring they get a free vessel safety check, take a boating safety course, boat responsibly and always wear a lifejacket."
Coast Guard statistics reveal hat nearly 80 percent of all fatalities occur on boats where the operator had not taken a boating safety course.
The recent Potomoc River incident, fortunately, did not end in tragedy.
The two men were returning May 10 from the Washington, D.C. area to a marina in Woodbridge, Virginia when their boat struck an object. The impact punched a large hole in both sides of the boat's bow and also caused huge cracks.
As the boat began sinking the two men made calls for help on their cell phones to 9-1-1 and to an area maritime towing and salvage company boat captain, who suggested they put on lifejackets andstay with the boat if it sank, rather than trying to swim to shore.
The men later told rescuers that it was shortly after those calls that their boat sank and overturned, throwing them into the river.
Eight boats and three helicopters were dispatched and Coast Guard Search and Rescue controllers in Baltimore, Maryland used computerized search tools and models to help guide the search effort by two-way radio.
After three and a half hours, the helicopters and six of the eight boats suspended the search, to allow the crews to get some rest and for refueling. But shortly thereafter, early on May 11, a Coast Guard boatcrew, still completing a search pattern, caught a glimpse of a bright light in the distance.
"It was pitch dark. There was no moonlight and no backlight from shore to help illuminate the area," recalls Coast Guard Petty Officer Derrik Williams. "We stopped our engines, listened for sounds and continued using our searchlight to look for the boaters. Soon after...we heard a faint call for help."
In addition to suffering from the effects of the boating mishap and being stranded in the water for hours, one of the men had a head injury and was a diabetic in need of medication.
They rescued men say they saw the helicopters' searchlights shine on them several times, but began to lose hope after realizing the search crews had not seen them or the overturned boat's dark navy blue bottom, which was partly submerged.
"It was a picture perfect textbook case," says Coast Guard Petty Officer Trevor Shaver. "They had their lifejackets on and they stayed with the capsized boat, rather than trying to swim to shore. And they used distress signals to get our attention."
For more information on getting a free vessel safety check or enrolling in a boating safety course, see www.cgaux.org or call 1-877-875-6296.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer civilians who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 30,000 members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.
The release is available at: http://www.auxpa.org/releases/rbs/052205.html
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer civilians who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 35,000 members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.
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Press Release Contact Information:
Wayne Spivak
US Coast Guard Auxiliary
Chief, External Communications
2711 Bellmore Avenue
Bellmore, NY
USA 117104319
Voice: 5163539155
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