01-17-13 ST. PETERSBURG, FL Coast Guard rescues stranded kayakers by Gandy Bridge tampabay.com (01-17-13) An early-morning fishing trip ended in a rescue mission when 2 kayakers were left without a paddle. USCG officials arrived around 1:30 a.m. Thu. (01-17) and picked up the kayakers, who were stuck under the Gandy Bridge in St. Petersburg, according to the CG. The men had gone out to a platform under the bridge to fish, but their paddle floated away while they climbed up the platform. Left with no way to propel their kayak, they used a cellphone to call for help. The men and their kayak were taken back to the bridge's boat ramp, where family members were waiting. No injuries were reported.
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01-17-13 KEY WEST, FL 2 capsized in boat, swim to safety in rough seas keysnet.com (01-19-13) Two Lower Keys men spent several hrs. swimming to shore after Thu. (01-17) gusty winds capsized their boat, according to a USCG report. The men reached shore after swimming about 5 mi. in about 5 hrs, a relative reported to the CG. The names of the 2 men were not released pending approval from them, Petty Officer Mark Barney said Fri. There were no reports of injury. Available information says the 2 men were aboard a Mako open-fisherman boat that was caught in strong northwest winds arriving with a winter storm front. Weather-reporting buoys indicate wind speeds on the open water increased from 10 mph to 30 mph in a matter of minutes late Thu. afternoon. "These kinds of winter storm fronts are not rare," forecaster Mike Rapsik said from the Key West office of the National Weather Service. "This storm was in the forecast." Small-craft advisories remained in effect Friday for much of the Florida Keys.
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01-19-13 MERIDEN, MS Man missing after canoe overturns on Chunky River wlox.com (01-21-13) Emergency officials searched for a man whose canoe overturned Sat. (01-19) in Chunky River near Stuckey Bridge. The 56-y/o victim, whose name is being withheld by authorities, was in a canoe with 2 other men Sat. when it turned over. David Sharpe, executive director of the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency, said the search would continue despite the strong current in the river. Sharp said searchers have recovered the canoe.
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01-18-13 BRUNSWICK, GA Coast Guard helicopter rescues man and cat from sinking boat off Brunswick Jacksonville.com (01-18-13) A USCG helicopter crew rescued a boater and his cat Fri. (01-18) from a sinking sailboat off Brunswick, the CG said in a prepared release. The CG learned that Kevin Savage was in distress aboard his sailing vessel when his emergency position indicating radio beacon, or EPIRB, activated about 8:20 a.m. and sent an alert with the vessel’s position to the command center. An air rescue crew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter was launched from Air Station Savannah and arrived on scene 38 miles east of Brunswick about 10 a.m. and hoisted Savage and his cat Tommy Girl from the sinking vessel. The 37-ft. Maggie began taking on water because of 10-ft. seas and 30-knot winds, which caused the radio beacon to activate. Cmdr. Gregory Fuller, commanding officer of the air station, said the rescue demonstrates how critical it is to have registered EPIRBs aboard vessels of any size. “Without the distress alert received from this device, it is very unlikely that the outcome would have been this positive,’’ he said.
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01-21-13 GALVESTON, TX Fishing boat plucks 4 people and a dog from Gulf chron.com (01-21-13) A fishing boat rescued four people and a dog Mon. (01-21) from a capsized vessel in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles SEof Galveston, the USCG said. The captain of the Galveston-based Blackjack informed the CG that he had rescued 4 people uninjured from the 31-ft. vessel in response to a CG urgent marine information broadcast. The names of those rescued and the name of the vessel that capsized were not immediately available. The CG received a message at 6:21 a.m. from the captain of the distressed vessel saying he was taking on water with 4 people aboard. The Blackjack found the boat using the coordinates from the CG broadcast. "It's awesome seeing someone respond to the (urgent marine information broadcast) like that," Petty Officer 2nd Class John Schroeder said. "He was in the area, only 40 min.away." Blackjack owner Buddy Guindon, 56, said that during the rescue he was in contact with his son, Hans Guindon, 21, the captain of the 63-ft. fishing vessel. The smaller sport fishing boat, powered by outboard motors, was taking on water when its captain steered it toward the approaching Blackjack. The Blackjack was in communication with the smaller fishing boat when it suddenly lost contact. A few minutes later Blackjack encountered the capsized boat and rescued the 4 people and the dog from the water.
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01-20-13 McMINNVILLE, TN Tennessee Fisherman Rescued After Dangling Over Dam for Three Hours abcnews.com (01-21-13) Two Tennessee brothers already have plans to fish again next weekend, despite dangling precariously over a dam for 3hours after their boat's motor died Sun. (01-20). Greg and Gary Cherry were fishing for bass and perch on their weekly outing when the motor of their Bass Tracker III conked out at the edge of the Barren Fork River Dam in McMinnville, Tenn. The current began tugging the boat over the edge when Greg Cherry, 47, shoved the motor down to hold the boat in place and called for his brother to quickly join him in the back of the boat. "Weight transfer is the best thing in that situation," Greg Cherry said. "We locked our arms and I said, 'We're in this together,'" Greg Cherry, 47, said. "I said, 'I love you,' and [Gary] said, 'I love you, too.' And if one of us goes over, we're going over together." They held the motor down for much of the next 3hours as they awaited rescue. "We probably had 30 percent of the boat on top of the dam when we were in it," Greg Cherry said. The rest of the boat hung over the 12-ft. drop. The motor on their 33-y/o boat hadn't given them trouble in the past, but wore out on a day when the current was strong and the water temperature was a cool 48 degrees. A bystander saw the fishermen and asked if they needed help. He called 911 and rescue crews from Warren and White counties and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency arrived on the scene. Firefighters threw a large rope from a nearby overpass to the brothers, who latched it to the boat to keep it from dropping over the edge. They couldn't pull the boat with rope, Gary Cherry, 49, said, because if the rope snapped, the brothers would have gone over. Rescue boats carefully approached the Bass Tracker III, but had trouble rescuing the Cherrys because of the forceful current. Three hours later, the brothers were able to climb into the rescue boat and safely get back to shore. Once the rescue crews cut the rope from the boat, it plunged over the dam. "If we didn't have our life jackets on and went over, we'd probably be done," Gary Cherry said. "You can replace a boat, but you can't replace 2 brothers." The boat suffered very little damage and the brothers were able to retrieve it. The only thing lost was Gary's fishing rod. The brothers will either repair or replace the boat, and don't plan on missing time away from the water. Greg Cherry said he already has plans to go fishing next week. Fishing for me and my brother is a way of life.
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