12-10-12 TRUCKEE, CA Nevada Helicopter Saves 2 From Cold After Kayak Flip sacramento.cbslocal.com (12-12-12) Rescuers from the Washoe Co. Sheriff’s Office in Nevada are getting credit for saving a kayaking couple who’d gone missing near Truckee, Calif. Sheriff’s officials say they brought a helicopter unit and a search and rescue team to Stampede Reservoir Mon. night (12-10) to help the Sierra Co. Sheriff’s Office. Crew members say they found the husband on the N. shore of the reservoir, and he led them to the place where his wife was lying. Officials say the woman’s kayak had capsized and she had extreme hypothermia. The helicopter crew transported the couple to Renown Regional Med. Cen. in Reno.
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10-09-12 SHASTA COUNTY, CA San Jose woman killed in Shasta County kayak accident mercurynews.com (12-11-12) An experienced San Jose kayaker died after getting wedged upside down in some rocks while navigating a remote stretch of Clear Creek in Shasta Co. on Sunday (12-09).
According to the Shasta Co. Coroner's Office, Shelbi Arno, 39, had previously navigated the same waters, which are not considered particularly treacherous. "That's why this is kind of surprising and very heartbreaking," said Deputy Coroner Billy Cobb. "It's a very popular creek here." Cobb said Arno was a member of the San Jose-based Loma Prieta Paddlers kayaking club, and was with a 59-y/o Menlo Park man when the accident happened. They had been paddling downstream together when the man went ashore to take photos of Arno as she navigated a "fairly rough and rocky" spot, Cobb said. "It appears that she turned sideways and as she was attempting to get straightened out the kayak flipped over and was pushed against a rock," she said. Her companion went to her aid and was able to free the kayak from the rocks, at which point Arno came out of the boat and floated downstream and out of sight. "She traveled down the creek and she herself was wedged in some rocks," Cobb said. The sheriff's dive team was forced to suspend the search at nightfall on Sun., and Arno's body was recovered Mon. morning (12-10) by a crew that rappelled down a 500-ft. cliff to attach her body to a basket that was lifted out via helicopter.
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12-16-12 NORTH COAST CA Six fishermen rescued from sinking boat, Harbor Patrol says santacruzsentinel.com (12-16-12) Six men were rescued from a sinking boat off Greyhound Rock on Sun. morning (12-16) after heading out from the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor to fish, Harbor Patrol officials said. The men were in an 18-ft. power boat that belonged to one of their sons when one called 911 about 8:30 a.m. to report their boat was sinking, Deputy Harbormaster Sean Rothwell said. USCG officials advised it would be about an hr. until they could make it up from Monterey, so Harbor Patrol deputies from the Santa Cruz harbor took off in their 28-ft. patrol boat, reaching the group in about 40 min. Dispatchers had gotten an approximate location from the phone and a CG helicopter that was in the area helped them find the boat by hovering above it. It was about 2 mi. off the coast from Greyhound Rock. The men were OK, though a couple were cold and nauseous. Rothwell said it is unclear what got them in trouble, in part because there was a language barrier. "But they were way too far away for a little boat like that," he said. "And the conditions were rough out there. I'm guessing they took a wave, it was sloppy and it probably swamped them." Coming back was "brutal," he added. State Parks officials assisted as well, in a personal water craft, he said, and Vessel Assist towed the boat back. He said he was not sure where the men were from.
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12-14-12 VANCOUVER, WA 2 SW Wash. fishermen rescued after boat hits log komonews.com (12-15-12) Firefighters in an inflatable kayak have rescued 2 SW Washington men whose aluminum fishing boat rolled over after hitting a log in the Lewis River. Clark Co. Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy said a 64-y/o man from Battle Ground and a 66-y/o man from Vancouver were cold but unhurt after the mishap on Fri. (12-14). Dawdy said that the men crawled onto the log and out to an island in the middle of the river after their boat started to roll. A nearby fisherman heard their calls for help and called 911.
Dawdy notes only one of the men was wearing a lifejacket. He says the river water temperature is just above freezing.
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12-15-12 VILANO BEACH, FL Boat owner praises Sheriff's Office for saving his crew, boat staugustine.com (12-17-12) The owner of the 64-ft. Hatteras motor yacht Rays the Bar, which was rescued from the sands of Vilano Beach on Mon. morning (12-17), said he’s extremely grateful for the “outstanding and heroic” efforts of the St. Johns Co. Sheriff’s Office and the USCG, and emphatically defended his captain. The yacht had been traveling from Boston to Fort Lauderdale when it struck bottom just outside the St. Augustine Inlet around 3:30 p.m. Sat., in the midst of heavy seas and a dense fog which came on quickly. The grounding damaged the propellers, disabling the vessel, so the captain anchored the vessel and called for help. St. Johns Co. Fire Rescue crews responded to the scene and removed the captain and her daughter from the vessel, using jet skis and an 18-ft. boat. Both women were taken to a local hosp. and released without injuries. Unfortunately, the anchor broke free, causing the Hatteras to drift and eventually land on shore at Vilano Beach, where it remained until Mon. morning. Upon hearing of the accident, Ray said he drove down from Atlanta, where he lives, and immediately hired a company to remove all of the fuel and oil from the boat, as well as the water in the bilge, to prevent any environmental impact. On Mon., a 10-man crew from a marine contractor of Green Cove Springs attached a large nylon strap to the boat as the tide began to rise, and 5 more men from the company manned the 100-ft. tug that stood off beyond the breakers, pulling a 2,000-ft. line called a towing hawser attached to the yacht. With each wave of the incoming tide, the foundered boat seemed a little closer to regaining buoyancy. Finally, around 10:15 a.m., she was suddenly afloat, bringing cheers from about 50 people standing on the beach. Less than a min. later, the Hatteras was headed out to sea, on its way N. to a boatyard in Jacksonville for repairs.
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12-16-12 FT. PIERCE INLET, FL Two men rescued Sunday near Fort Pierce Inlet after boat capsizes tcpalm.com (12-16-12) Two men clinging to a capsized 20-ft. boat were pulled from the Atlantic Ocean near Fort Pierce Inlet's N. jetty Sun. evening (12-14). The men, both from the Fort Pierce area, were anchored and fishing in the inlet channel when the tide shifted, said USCG Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeffrey Vasseur. The position of the vessel's bow and stern switched with the tide and waves came over the transom, swamping the boat. There were lifejackets on board, but neither man was able to don one before the boat capsized. Vasseur said the men clung to the upside-down hull until boats from the Fort Pierce CG Station and the Florida FWC arrived on scene. Crew on the 33-ft. Coast Guard boat threw the men lifejackets and took them aboard. They were chilled, but uninjured.
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12-08-12 BROOKSVILLE, ME Duck Hunters Contract Hypothermia After Canoe Capsizes fenceviewer.com (12-11-12) A father and son contracted hypothermia while duck hunting after their canoe capsized Sat. (12-08) in Horseshoe Cove, which is an inlet of Eggemoggin Reach. The pair were in the water for about 25 min., said Maine Marine Patrol Officer Brent Chasse. The son, 20, doesn’t know how to swim, so his father was trying to help him stay afloat and hold onto the canoe. The two had lifejackets in the canoe but were not wearing them. The men grabbed them after the boat capsized and got them partially on. Eventually, a family member who was also hunting nearby came to their aid. Both were treated at Blue Hill Mem. Hosp. for hypothermia and released. “It was close,” Chasse said. “They were lucky.” The men did not lose their 4 ducks or their gear. The water temperature Sat. was about 45 degrees.
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12-12-12 STAMFORD, CT New Rochelle firefighter was heavily intoxicated in fatal boat crash lohud.com (12-12-12) A New Rochelle firefighter was heavily intoxicated when he crashed a motorboat into a breakwall in Stamford Harbor in July and drowned, the Connecticut Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection said Wed. (12-12). Keith Morris, 30, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.25, more than 3 times the legal limit, according to DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain. In Connecticut, it’s illegal to operate a boat with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher. The toxicology results were released today by the state’s medical examiner’s office. An earlier report on the accident cited operator error as the cause of the crash but was completed before the blood-alcohol results were available. Police issued a report Wed. citing alcohol as a factor in the accident. On the night of July 22, Morris crashed a 27-ft. Sea Ray Sundancer into the E. breakwall. The boat traveled about 8 yds. up the breakwall, rolled onto its starboard side and capsized, coming to rest in the water, an investigation by DEEP’s state environmental conservation police found. Morris suffered a head injury and drowned. Two passengers, 29-y/o Anthony Basile and 25-y/o Kristine Caldararo, were trapped in the dark 12x8 ft. cabin for more than an hr. before being rescued by divers. Morris’ brother, 29-y/o Drew Morris, and another passenger, 25-y/o Dinorah Viaira, were rescued after climbing atop the overturned boat. The accident happened between about 10:30 and 11 p.m., shortly after the group went out to dinner at The Crab Shell, a harborside restaurant, where the owner reported seeing Keith Morris drinking. Investigators found “numerous full and empty alcoholic beverage containers,” including beer and vodka bottles in the cabin, reports and photographs show. Police have previously said that Morris failed to keep a proper lookout. Morris served in the FD for 8 yrs. and worked as a bartender at Spectators Sports Club, a New Rochelle bar co-owned by his father.
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12-10-12 RIVERHEAD, NY Long Island man pleads guilty in fatal boat crash myfoxny.com (12-10-12) A Long Island speedboat pilot has admitted to being drunk during a fatal crash in the Great South Bay.
Brian Andreski, 27, of Dix Hills, pleaded guilty on Mon. (12-10) to aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of Christopher Mannino, of West Islip, NY. Mannino was one of 5 people aboard a 38-ft. fishing boat when Andreski's 25-ft. high-performance catamaran slammed into the smaller vessel on June 23, 2012. In return for his plea, the judge promised to sentence Andreski to between 4-12 yrs. in prison. Andreski also agreed to make a public service video on the dangers of drunken boating. His attorney, Eric Sills, said the case was a "terrible tragedy for both sides involved."
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