Blogs

09-15-13 OSSABAW ISLAND, GA Family rescued from island after boating trip USCG officials say a family from Ellabell has been rescued from a coastal Georgia island. Two adults and a child were sailing when their boat began taking on water and prompted them to abandon ship in Ossabaw Sound, where they drifted for more than 2 hrs. Sun. morning (09-15). Officials say a neighbor called authorities after noticing the 3 hadn't returned home from their trip. Investigators in a Savannah police helicopter saw the partially submerged boat early Sun. morning and a CG crew found the family on the beach of Ossabaw Island, more than 2 mi. away from the boat. Officials praised the family's use of lifejackets and telling a neighbor of their plan and estimated return time. No injuries were reported. Read full story here.

09-13-13 TUSCALOOSA, AL Tuscaloosa authorities recover body after boating accident on Black Warrior River Tuscaloosa authorities recovered a body from the Black Warrior River in Greene Co. after a Friday morning boating accident. The victim's identity has not been released. The Tuscaloosa Co. Sheriff's Office dive team and helicopter responded to the accident at a location near the Hale Co. line. As the dive team was preparing to enter the water, the Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue Dive Team, which had arrived on the scene earlier, found the victim's body. Three men and one woman were boating along the river about 6:15 a.m. when the boat hit something, possibly a sand bar, before crashing into an embankment. Police said that none of the boaters were wearing lifejackets at the time of the crash. Read full story here.

09-15-13 SAN DIEGO, CA 2 women hospitalized in boating accident Two women were flown to a hosp. following a boating accident at the El Capitan Reservoir Sun. (09-15).  Four people were riding an inner tube and being pulled by a boat at the reservoir shortly after 2 p.m. when they were thrown off, according to park rangers. The riders were thrown into several rocks, witnesses said. Two fire engines and 2 medic units were sent to the scene, and fire officials later requested an additional engine, according to the Lakeside Fire Protection District. Two women were taken to Sharp Memorial Hosp., a Heartland Fire & Rescue dispatcher said. They suffered minor to moderate injuries. Read full story here. 

09-14-13 TABLE ROCK LAKE, MO Woman Hurt in Boating Accident on Table Rock Lake A St. Louis woman suffered moderate injuries in a boating accident on Table Rock Lake near Kimberling City in Stone Co. The Missouri Highway Patrol Water Division says 56-y/o Nancy Hermann was a passenger on deck boat driven by 60-y/o Karen Poole of St. Charles. The accident occurred at 5 p.m. Sat. (09-14) as the boat was put into motion without removal of the anchor, causing the anchor to come out of the water and strike Hermann. Hermann was taken to Cox Med. Center in Branson. Read full story here. 

09-14-13 HONALULU, HI All safe as boat catches fire in Kaneohe Bay, boat sinks off Maili Honolulu Fire Dept. personnel responded to a pair of boating incidents Sat. (09-14). Around 12:20 p.m., fire rescue personnel were called to Maili Point, where a small boat carrying 2 men and 2 boys had sunk. The party was reportedly participating in a papio fishing tournament when their vessel sank. Boats in the area retrieved the 4 from the water and returned them to shore. The boat was towed back to Waianae Boat Harbor. At 3:30, fire rescue personnel responded to a boat fire near the Kaneohe sandbar, Ahu O Laka. 5 people aboard the 25-ft. Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps vessel were able to exit the boat safely and were transported to shore by another boat in the area while firefighters brought the fire under control. No injuries were reported in either incident. Read full story here. 

09-15-13 HOLIDAY, FL Pasco deputies rescue boys on boat in gulf  They launched from the pier by Anclote Key for a small Sun. afternoon (09-15) fishing trip. The 3boys, all younger than 15, had a couple of oars to scoot the 10-ft. johnboat around in the water. One boy's father dropped them off at the boat launch. They were told not to go past the channel marker.  At the same time, a string of squalls, the same that would cancel a volleyball tournament in St. Petersburg and delay the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, was rolling in. Winds kicked up and swept Alex Garrison, 14, Tristian Michaelides, 10, and Austin Tamse, 14, toward the Gulf of Mexico. Floury Michaelides had tried to take his own boat out to reach his son, but the wind and chop were too much, and he came back to the boat launch. A passing boater, who had spotted the boys ½ mi. from where they'd launched, called 911. Deputies went to the park, where they pinged one of the boys' cellphones for GPS coordinates. Anclote Village Marina offered a boat for 2deputies, and the Sheriff's Office helicopter guided them. When the deputies found them chilled and scared, the boys had dropped an anchor to keep from being pulled any farther, Pasco Sheriff's Sgt. Dustin Roy said. But the anchor held the boat from bobbing with the waves, which crashed over the bow. They used buckets to bail out the water the best they could. None of them wore a life vest. The deputies loaded the boys onto their own boat and brought them back to shore and into their panicked parents' arms. Florida law mandates that life vests must be on a boat with children, but they aren't required to wear them. No life vests were found on the boat with the boys, Roy said, but the family likely won't face any repercussions from the law. Read full story here.  

09-16-13 COLUMBIAN RIVER, OR Boat takes on water, grounds in Columbia River A cabin cruiser under tow started taking on water Mon. (09-16) in the Columbia River and ended up stuck, partially submerged, near the Oregon bank. The 26-ft. boat was mired near Kelley Point, across the river from Vancouver Lake.  The USCG responded to assess if there was any fuel aboard the vessel that could pose an environmental threat, and crew members saw a light sheen of oil, though the owner claimed there was no fuel aboard. The CG hired a salvage firm to ­respond to salvage the craft and clean up any pollution. The CG was alerted to the incident by a 3rd party but was able to track the owner of the ­vessel, who said he abandoned it when it started to take on water while being towed. Read full story here. 

09-16-13 NAPLES, FL UPDATE: Two dead after boat capsizes in Golden Gate Estates Three men and a woman crowded onto a small jon boat Mon. (09-16), setting out across a narrow canal in southern Golden Gate Estates. Their intentions were innocuous, if technically illegal: to pick, then sell, saw palmetto berries, hoping to scratch together a few bucks. Somewhere along the way, at an exact time that remains unknown, their boat capsized. None could swim, and none had life preservers. As a result, 2 of them — a man and a woman, both Guatemalans, both living in Immokalee — died and 2 others survived following their rescue Mon. afternoon, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Comm. officials said. The names of the victims and survivors, who are all believed to be in their 30s, weren’t available. Officials were still trying to locate family members of the victims. A relative of the woman was on-scene Mon. night, receiving grief assistance from Collier Co. sheriff’s officials. Fish and Wildlife spokesman Jorge Pino said the woman drowned and the man let go of the vessel after clinging to it, unable to keep himself afloat. His body was recovered a few hrs. after a dive team arrived on site. One survivor risked paddling to shore, reaching land and running down the dirt road of 34th Ave.SE to flag down help. “It’s not a very wide canal, but considering that he did not know how to swim either, it was quite a feat that he was at least able to struggle his way to swim his way to shore,” Pino said. The 2 survivors were residents of Guatemala and Mexico, respectively, and living in Immokalee. They were reluctant to speak with officials out of fear. The quartet shoved off from 34th Ave.SE, one of many rural roads that run perpendicular to Everglades Blvd. Frank Oliva, who sometimes fishes at the site with his granddaughter, called the waters “pretty quiet.” “I’ve never seen a boat there,” Oliva said Mon.near the scene. “That’s why I’m surprised.” What caused the boat to capsize remains under investigation? Pino said the surviving boaters couldn’t recall how long they were stranded before help arrived. Read full story here.

09-14-13 STRATFORD, CT 9 people rescued from sinking boat in Housatonic River Police say at least 9 people were trapped on the Housatonic River and had to be rescued after their boat started to sink.  Police say they were received a distress call Sat. (09-14) after a boat hit the rocks near the Birdseye Boat ramp in Stratford. Officials say a 2nd boat also hit the rocks while attempting to rescue the fallen passengers. Read full story here. 

09-15-13 MIDDLETOWN, NJ Boat catches fire at Leonardo State Marina in Middletown Authorities are battling a blaze near the Leonardo State Marina, police said after a boat caught fire Sun. night (09-15). Officers are reporting everybody was off the boat," said Middletown Police Sgt. Anthony Bagileo, but added the extent and cause of the fire are still unknown. Bagileo said no one was seriously injured in the blaze. Read full story here. 

09-14-13 LAKE OF THE OZARKS, MO Boat Collision Seriously Injures One Driver The crash of 2boats on the main channel of Lake of the Ozarks this week, seriously injures one of the drivers. Water Patrol troopers say the boats hit at the 3 mile marker about 4:15 Sat. afternoon (09-14). One of the boats was headed south across the channel, and the 2nd boat was headed upstream. They struck about mid-channel. The driver of the southbound boat, Alfred Bivens, 51, of Camdenton, was seriously hurt and taken to Lake Regional Hosp. The 2nd driver was not injured. Read full story here. 

09-15-13 NEW MADRID, MO One missing after boating accident A search continued Mon. (09-16) for a boater who fell into the Mississippi River. About 7 p.m. Sun. (09-15), a boat accident was reported on the river near the New Madrid boat ramp. Reportedly the boat struck a barge parked along the shore. The Missouri Water Patrol reported the boat's driver, Christopher A. Westcoat, 27, of Matthews, Mo., is missing. A passenger, Ronald D. Pipkin, 37, of New Madrid was taken to an area hosp. for treatment of moderate injuries. Read full story here. 

09-14-13 STUART, FL No word on search for man who went missing in water near Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart As of 9 p.m. Sun. (09-15), Martin Co. Sheriff’s Office officials said they had no word from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Comm. about its search for an unidentified 60-y/o man who went missing from a boat near the Roosevelt Bridge on Sat. afternoon (09-14). The search, by state and co. sheriff’s officials, resumed Sun. morning after being called off Sat. night. Officers from the Martin Co. Sheriff’s Office assisted the comm. throughout the day in its search. The victim, who hasn’t been identified, was last seen near the Roosevelt Bridge and the Sunset Bay Marina, said Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Comm. spokeswoman Carli Segelson said early Sun. Emergency crews were first called in at 4:41 p.m. Sat. and the search continued until shortly before 8 p.m., when visibility was reduced and the currents were strong. Sonar equipment and a helicopter were used in the attempts to find the missing man. Read full story here. 

09-14-13 KANEOHE, HI Five rescued from Kaneohe boat blaze Bonnie Kahape'a-Tanner was sailing on Ahu O Laka, or the Kaneohe Sandbar, around 3:30 p.m. Sat. (09-14) when her daughter first noticed the flames in the distance. The captain helped 3men and 2 women from the water onto her boat. The group said the engine had problems starting before the fire sparked. They did not report any injuries. The boat is a pontoon vessel from Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Read full story here. 

09-16-13 GALVESTON, TX Angler rescues twins from capsized kayak Twin brothers from Santa Fe said Mon. (09-16) they owe their lives to a brave fisherman who rescued them from currents and swells that twice capsized their kayak in the San Luis Pass. Kevin Patterson and his identical twin, Keith, 24, said they thought they were goners until the angler they know only as Richard used his flat-bottom boat to pluck them from the swells threatening to carry them out to sea. Read full story here.  

09-13-13 ST. PETERSBURG, FL 2 injured, 1 critical after boat, kayak collide in St. Pete waters A collision between a motorboat and a kayak Fri. night (09-13) sent  2 people to the hosp. Two people on the kayak, a male and female, whose ages weren't given, were taken to Bayfront Med. Center, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife officials. They collided with a 24-ft. runabout boat owned by Michael Miano, 28, of St. Petersburg. Page Garrison, 43, was in critical condition Sat. morning at Bayfront. Laura Schmid, 43, was not admitted. The accident happened some time Fri. night near 14th Lane in St. Petersburg. The location wasn't confirmed, but 14th Lane NE is in an area of canals in Shore Acres that lead into Smacks Bayou and then Tampa Bay. It's a popular area for boaters, kayakers and paddleboarders. Read full story here.