Blogs

3 injured in boat crash near Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island 1-27-2014 – Santa Catalina Island, CA Three people were injured when their 22-foot power boat crashed near Two Harbors on Santa Catalina Island, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said Monday night. Two of the victims were listed in critical condition. One was flown by a Fire Department helicopter to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and the other was taken by the U.S. Coast Guard to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, a fire dispatch supervisor said. The other victim appeared to have minor injuries after the accident, which was reported shortly after 7 p.m, the Fire Department said. It was not immediately clear what caused the vessel to crash. Read full story here.  

One person dead in boating accident near Garden City 1-25-2014 – Garden City, SC One person died in a boating accident near Garden City according to Captain Robert McCullough with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. McCullough said two duck hunters fell out of their boat as they were heading in. One was taken to the hospital, the other died. Three Coastal Carolina University students who were fishing in the area and three additional duck hunters notified law enforcement and provided assistance and aide to the boaters, according to a report from the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office. Crews with DNR will continue to investigate the accident. Read full story here.  

Coast Guard rescues man from sinking sailboat 1-25-2014 – Corpus Christi, TX A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a 50-year-old man from a sinking sailboat 20 miles offshore of Baffin Bay, Friday. The man in distress contacted Coast Guard watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Port Aransas through a personal satellite messaging service. Coast Guard confirmed with family members that their father was sailing in this area and was requesting assistance.  Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi launched an aircrew aboard a rescue helicopter to provide assistance. The aircrew arrived on scene and located the vessel close to capsizing in 11-foot waves. A rescue swimmer was lowered to prepare the man for rescue. The helicopter crew hoisted both men and departed the scene. “We are extremely pleased with the preparation that the survivor took in having survival equipment onboard the vessel,” said Lt. Cmdr. Robin Stotz, helicopter pilot. “Not only was he able to notify the Coast Guard of a life threatening situation through the use of a personal distress notification system, he also wore the proper survival suit for these types of unplanned emergency events. Without these preparations the outcome could have been completely different.” The survivor was flown to Sector Corpus Christi where his son was waiting. No injuries were reported. Read full story here. 

Four rescued after boat sinks at mouth of Chetco River 1-20-2014 – Chetco River, OR The U.S. Coast Guard rescued four fishermen Monday night after large waves hurtled the commercial fishing vessel Jo Marie into the jetty at the mouth of the Chetco River and sank it. A dog on board the boat was still missing as of Tuesday morning. At daybreak Tuesday, only the uppermost structure of the 62-foot, steel-hulled vessel could be seen above the water. A crowd gathered at the south jetty to watch as Coast Guard personnel and Port of Brookings Harbor employees surrounded the sunken vessel with a boom to contain any leaking fuel. The vessel reportedly has a capacity of about 3,000 gallons of fuel, but by Tuesday morning there were no reports of pollution in the water.  The channel, effectively blocked by the sunken boat, was closed to all boat traffic. There was no word on when or how the boat would be removed, authorities said. At 8:16 p.m. Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard Chetco River Station received an emergency radio call from the captain of the Jo Marie, reporting the boat had collided with the jetty while crossing the bar in heavy surf and was sinking. The Coast Guard launched its 47-foot motor lifeboat and a Dolphin helicopter was sent from the North Bend station. The motor lifeboat crew was able to rescue all four crew members of the Jo Marie before it sank. There were no reports of major injuries. Coast Guard marine investigators from Coast Guard Sector Columbia River, in Warrenton, Ore., are investigating the incident. Read full story here.