S
starcraftttom
Guest
This is a copy of two post that I made on another site that i wanted to share with you. Its long and for that Iam sorry but if it gets anyone to thinking about how they do things on the water then its worth sharing. And when it gets to the last "what did they do wrong part" I have made all or some of these same mistakes at diferrent times. oh. When I mention "susan and james" their my wife and son.
Here’s how a day of fishing turned into a day of adventure for us and near disaster for others. Sark and his friend john were supposed to meet me at everret at 630am for a day of fishing. We hit the water at 7am and headed out for useless bay. Before we could get to the Mukilteo ferry the wind had can up in a hurry and with great force. So we bagged on the useless bay idea and fished the Clinton ferry area of Whidbey Island. The weather was 3 to 4 ft with a 5 fter thrown in every once in a while just to get your attention. While trolling I over heard the coast guard asking if anyone in the Camino island area if they knew about a boat taking on water. Well no one answered and the fishing was slow so I call Seattle station and told them I would good have look if they gave me a good starting point. Station Seattle said they had a mayday in the west side of Camino head. We pulled up our gear and headed over that way in a 3 to 5 ft following sea. Once on Camino head we could not find a thing. Some boats were in the area but none where in trouble. We looked around for 10mins or so and I called Seattle stations and told them that we were going back to fishing if they did not have anything else for us. The coast guard came back with a report of people in the water at tyee beach. tyee beach is on the north east side of camino about half way up Susan bay. We pounded our way around Camino head and headed up Susan bay with a 3 to 4 ft sea at our backs. When we got to the tyee beach area we could see a fire truck on shore. Camino fire hailed me on the vhf. They informed me that they had a boat upside down and were not sure where the people were. John spotted a white hull on the water a half-mile off the port bow and we headed that way. What we found was a 20 ft trophy belly up with two adults clinging to the hull for dear life. It was a man and woman in there 40s. She had on a vest but he did not. As we got closer I got down wind of them and decide to back up to them and have them swim to us. sark yelled for them to swim to us and the look that they gave us told us that swimming was not going to happen. We decided that I would have to back up right to their boat and we would just grab them. By this time they had been in the water for 45 mins. Hypo had set in and they were not able to help us help them. We got back close enough and put the engine in neutral. Then just reached out and grab the women by the life vest and dragged her from the boat in a 3 to 4 ft sea. Sark and I dragged her over the swim step and splash well then handed her to john who took her into the cabin. I then had to back up again to get close enough to grab the man and drag him on board. They were both dead weight and close to shock. Once in the cabin sark and john took most of the shirts off the couple and wrapped them in the Indian blankets that susan keeps on board along with sark and johns jackets. Camino fire department wanted me to noise into the beach at tyee but there are no docks. Well the swell was board side to us and still 3 to 4 ft. so I said no. We had heat and dry blankets and kayak point was only a short run away on the north side of Susan bay. About that time the coast guard chopper showed up and followed us over to kayak point. Kayak point has a high fishing pier but no dock. The good part is that it’s out of the wind mostly with a sand beach that drops off fast. We just noised the Susan e into the beach and had the fire department guy’s wade about thigh deep to the side of my boat to get our passengers. They had an ambulance waiting. After we got the couple to shore we turned north to see a full rainbow. We figured that we had made some good fish karma for the day and went back to fishing for the rest of the day. The water by noon was flat and glassy but we only managed one shaker. We did get to see a pod of Orcas off of camino head around 230pm. Its great to see them in the sound. Two big males and three females.
all in all a great day.
After I got home a cleaned the boat I found some of the couples wet cloths in the cabin. Susan throw the stuff in the dryer but found the woman’s wallet. We called around and tracked her down about 6pm and the two of them came by to get the wallet and tell their side of the story and how the sinking took place. I will post what they had to say tomorrow, I am tired and it’s late.
_________________
Here’s the rest of the story from the couple, tom and Karen Evans of everret. They came by my house last night to get their gear and wallet that was left on my boat. It took some time to track them down but I did not want them to lose their wallet or have to cancel all their cards. Well their story goes like this. Their boat, a 20 ft trophy out board with cuddy, was stolen 8 months ago. The boat was recovered two hours later with out engines, electronics or much else. Three river put a motor on in two days so they could make a family get together at some lake on the east side. The boat had not been used since. One of the items lost during the stripping of the boat was an inspection plate in the splash well that allows you to look at and service the bilge pump. The new one is in the garage. That was mistake number one. The new vhf is in the garage next to it. That’s two. So on Sunday while fishing the waves were getting into the splash well all morning and slowly filling the bilge with water. The non-auto bilge was not taking care of it and that’s three. I want to express my contempt for any builder that use’s a non-auto pump in a bilge, but this is a family show. Had it been an auto pump it could have easily kept up with the water and it would have served the added function of alerting tom that some thing was amidst. So by know the trophy was setting low in the water and tom stopped the boat to pick up his gear, that’s four. So now a big wave hits the trophy that fills the splash well and the **** pit. Karen dials 911 on her cell and get transferred two time and ends up with the fire department, that’s five in my opinion. 911 should send all water calls to the coast guard not the fire department. Tom realizes that he cannot bucket fast enough and the pump, now on, is not fast enough to keep up with the waves that are now crashing over the stern one after another. Tom goes below to find the flare kit and ends up dropping it in the water as the boat is starting to go over and cannot find it again so he grabs his vest and tries to put it on while going on deck, that’s six. Karen tells 911 that she is west of camino head just before the boat rolls over and she is throw out. Tom told her that they were west of camino head even though he knew they were not. He told me last night that he was thinking east and just kept saying west, that’s seven, and a big one. So tom is trying to put on his vest while the trophy is rolling over and only gets one arm in as he hits the water and something snags the vest. Now the vest is pulling him under the boat and he cannot get it undone. He decides that a vest that’s drowning you is not any good and leaves it. They climb on to the submerged railing at the bow and stand on it while Karen holds the bow tie down ring and tom hold on to her. Now they are in the water, cold, and have no link to the out side world. They can do nothing at this point but wait and hope. Staying with the boat is the one right thing they did right and the one thing that saved their lives. We would have never found them in the water. Even when the boat was spotted from shore and called in, the Evans would not have been close to it any more. During their wait, they drifted over two miles
Well that’s seven small mistakes that could have been avoided. I am sorry if I seem hard on the Evans but after hearing there story last night and sleeping on it and thinking about it all day I came to the conclusion that they were the only one responsible for what happen to them yesterday. I did not point this fact out to them last night but I am sure that I did not have too. What should they have done yesterday instead of the eight things they did wrong?
1. The inspection plate should have been put back on before the boat was used. I have a mental checklist that I go over every time. I am also good, or bad, at not getting projects done in time and going any way because, well I want to fish!!!
2. Never go out with just a cell phone. That radio should have been in or a hand held should have been on board. I will be looking in to a small waterproof hand held for my boat.
3. An auto bilge pump would have saved the day early on. One by keeping the water from building up in the bilge and there by alerting tom that there was a problem. I think that an auto bilge should be mandatory on all boats.
4. Never turn off your engine with a following sea and I never turn off my engine unless I am at the dock or anchored. You’re just giving your engine the chance to not start again. Why even take the chance, a running engine is a good engine.
5. 911 should relay all boating calls to the coast guard. They are better equipped to decide if they or the locals can handle it and they know the area better. There’s no telling if the fire guys knows jack about boats or the local waters. Chances are they will be handing you off to coast guard anyhow and now you have just wasted time.
6. Toms jacket should have been on long before now. If not when the weather came up then at least at the first sign of trouble. You are going to be working the problem right up until the last second before going over and then it to late to look for a vest. Wear it!!!
7. Know where you are. I quiz Susan and James both all the time about where we are when we are out boating. I read maps all the time and make sure that I know where north is all the time, on the water or not, its just a old and good habit of mine that I am trying to get James and Susan into. Try asking your kids to describe to you where they are the next time you are out. Then throw cold water at them while screaming in their ears and ask them again. Bets are that few of them or you can do it. I have a vhf with a DISTRESS button. I press and hold that puppy for five seconds and coast guard now knows 1. Where I am per GPS numbers 2. What make and model of boat I am in, also the color. 3. The number of people normally on board. And a signal goes out to every boat in the area with the same DISTRESS type radio.
This accident could have been avoided from the start and at the first three points. The Evans have no one but them selves to blame and hope they sit down and go over what happened and why and what could have, should have been done different. I have learned a lot from this and hope you all do to.
I would like to cover just one more thing. Channel 16. There where at least four other boats closer to the Evans then we where that could have and would have helped had they know what was happening. Susan was really giving me hell for always having the vhf on in the boat and I have really been nasty at times about leaving the vhf on and the volume at least up where I can hear it. The static really hurts her ears. I have friends that only listen to the local fishing channel. We should all monitor 16 at all times. My radio, and most others, will scan as many or all the channel I select. Remember that the next time you hear the coast guard asking for someone to check something out for them, that the time after that may be you that needs checking out.
teach a man to fish and he will steal all your best spots.
Here’s how a day of fishing turned into a day of adventure for us and near disaster for others. Sark and his friend john were supposed to meet me at everret at 630am for a day of fishing. We hit the water at 7am and headed out for useless bay. Before we could get to the Mukilteo ferry the wind had can up in a hurry and with great force. So we bagged on the useless bay idea and fished the Clinton ferry area of Whidbey Island. The weather was 3 to 4 ft with a 5 fter thrown in every once in a while just to get your attention. While trolling I over heard the coast guard asking if anyone in the Camino island area if they knew about a boat taking on water. Well no one answered and the fishing was slow so I call Seattle station and told them I would good have look if they gave me a good starting point. Station Seattle said they had a mayday in the west side of Camino head. We pulled up our gear and headed over that way in a 3 to 5 ft following sea. Once on Camino head we could not find a thing. Some boats were in the area but none where in trouble. We looked around for 10mins or so and I called Seattle stations and told them that we were going back to fishing if they did not have anything else for us. The coast guard came back with a report of people in the water at tyee beach. tyee beach is on the north east side of camino about half way up Susan bay. We pounded our way around Camino head and headed up Susan bay with a 3 to 4 ft sea at our backs. When we got to the tyee beach area we could see a fire truck on shore. Camino fire hailed me on the vhf. They informed me that they had a boat upside down and were not sure where the people were. John spotted a white hull on the water a half-mile off the port bow and we headed that way. What we found was a 20 ft trophy belly up with two adults clinging to the hull for dear life. It was a man and woman in there 40s. She had on a vest but he did not. As we got closer I got down wind of them and decide to back up to them and have them swim to us. sark yelled for them to swim to us and the look that they gave us told us that swimming was not going to happen. We decided that I would have to back up right to their boat and we would just grab them. By this time they had been in the water for 45 mins. Hypo had set in and they were not able to help us help them. We got back close enough and put the engine in neutral. Then just reached out and grab the women by the life vest and dragged her from the boat in a 3 to 4 ft sea. Sark and I dragged her over the swim step and splash well then handed her to john who took her into the cabin. I then had to back up again to get close enough to grab the man and drag him on board. They were both dead weight and close to shock. Once in the cabin sark and john took most of the shirts off the couple and wrapped them in the Indian blankets that susan keeps on board along with sark and johns jackets. Camino fire department wanted me to noise into the beach at tyee but there are no docks. Well the swell was board side to us and still 3 to 4 ft. so I said no. We had heat and dry blankets and kayak point was only a short run away on the north side of Susan bay. About that time the coast guard chopper showed up and followed us over to kayak point. Kayak point has a high fishing pier but no dock. The good part is that it’s out of the wind mostly with a sand beach that drops off fast. We just noised the Susan e into the beach and had the fire department guy’s wade about thigh deep to the side of my boat to get our passengers. They had an ambulance waiting. After we got the couple to shore we turned north to see a full rainbow. We figured that we had made some good fish karma for the day and went back to fishing for the rest of the day. The water by noon was flat and glassy but we only managed one shaker. We did get to see a pod of Orcas off of camino head around 230pm. Its great to see them in the sound. Two big males and three females.
all in all a great day.
After I got home a cleaned the boat I found some of the couples wet cloths in the cabin. Susan throw the stuff in the dryer but found the woman’s wallet. We called around and tracked her down about 6pm and the two of them came by to get the wallet and tell their side of the story and how the sinking took place. I will post what they had to say tomorrow, I am tired and it’s late.
_________________
Here’s the rest of the story from the couple, tom and Karen Evans of everret. They came by my house last night to get their gear and wallet that was left on my boat. It took some time to track them down but I did not want them to lose their wallet or have to cancel all their cards. Well their story goes like this. Their boat, a 20 ft trophy out board with cuddy, was stolen 8 months ago. The boat was recovered two hours later with out engines, electronics or much else. Three river put a motor on in two days so they could make a family get together at some lake on the east side. The boat had not been used since. One of the items lost during the stripping of the boat was an inspection plate in the splash well that allows you to look at and service the bilge pump. The new one is in the garage. That was mistake number one. The new vhf is in the garage next to it. That’s two. So on Sunday while fishing the waves were getting into the splash well all morning and slowly filling the bilge with water. The non-auto bilge was not taking care of it and that’s three. I want to express my contempt for any builder that use’s a non-auto pump in a bilge, but this is a family show. Had it been an auto pump it could have easily kept up with the water and it would have served the added function of alerting tom that some thing was amidst. So by know the trophy was setting low in the water and tom stopped the boat to pick up his gear, that’s four. So now a big wave hits the trophy that fills the splash well and the **** pit. Karen dials 911 on her cell and get transferred two time and ends up with the fire department, that’s five in my opinion. 911 should send all water calls to the coast guard not the fire department. Tom realizes that he cannot bucket fast enough and the pump, now on, is not fast enough to keep up with the waves that are now crashing over the stern one after another. Tom goes below to find the flare kit and ends up dropping it in the water as the boat is starting to go over and cannot find it again so he grabs his vest and tries to put it on while going on deck, that’s six. Karen tells 911 that she is west of camino head just before the boat rolls over and she is throw out. Tom told her that they were west of camino head even though he knew they were not. He told me last night that he was thinking east and just kept saying west, that’s seven, and a big one. So tom is trying to put on his vest while the trophy is rolling over and only gets one arm in as he hits the water and something snags the vest. Now the vest is pulling him under the boat and he cannot get it undone. He decides that a vest that’s drowning you is not any good and leaves it. They climb on to the submerged railing at the bow and stand on it while Karen holds the bow tie down ring and tom hold on to her. Now they are in the water, cold, and have no link to the out side world. They can do nothing at this point but wait and hope. Staying with the boat is the one right thing they did right and the one thing that saved their lives. We would have never found them in the water. Even when the boat was spotted from shore and called in, the Evans would not have been close to it any more. During their wait, they drifted over two miles
Well that’s seven small mistakes that could have been avoided. I am sorry if I seem hard on the Evans but after hearing there story last night and sleeping on it and thinking about it all day I came to the conclusion that they were the only one responsible for what happen to them yesterday. I did not point this fact out to them last night but I am sure that I did not have too. What should they have done yesterday instead of the eight things they did wrong?
1. The inspection plate should have been put back on before the boat was used. I have a mental checklist that I go over every time. I am also good, or bad, at not getting projects done in time and going any way because, well I want to fish!!!
2. Never go out with just a cell phone. That radio should have been in or a hand held should have been on board. I will be looking in to a small waterproof hand held for my boat.
3. An auto bilge pump would have saved the day early on. One by keeping the water from building up in the bilge and there by alerting tom that there was a problem. I think that an auto bilge should be mandatory on all boats.
4. Never turn off your engine with a following sea and I never turn off my engine unless I am at the dock or anchored. You’re just giving your engine the chance to not start again. Why even take the chance, a running engine is a good engine.
5. 911 should relay all boating calls to the coast guard. They are better equipped to decide if they or the locals can handle it and they know the area better. There’s no telling if the fire guys knows jack about boats or the local waters. Chances are they will be handing you off to coast guard anyhow and now you have just wasted time.
6. Toms jacket should have been on long before now. If not when the weather came up then at least at the first sign of trouble. You are going to be working the problem right up until the last second before going over and then it to late to look for a vest. Wear it!!!
7. Know where you are. I quiz Susan and James both all the time about where we are when we are out boating. I read maps all the time and make sure that I know where north is all the time, on the water or not, its just a old and good habit of mine that I am trying to get James and Susan into. Try asking your kids to describe to you where they are the next time you are out. Then throw cold water at them while screaming in their ears and ask them again. Bets are that few of them or you can do it. I have a vhf with a DISTRESS button. I press and hold that puppy for five seconds and coast guard now knows 1. Where I am per GPS numbers 2. What make and model of boat I am in, also the color. 3. The number of people normally on board. And a signal goes out to every boat in the area with the same DISTRESS type radio.
This accident could have been avoided from the start and at the first three points. The Evans have no one but them selves to blame and hope they sit down and go over what happened and why and what could have, should have been done different. I have learned a lot from this and hope you all do to.
I would like to cover just one more thing. Channel 16. There where at least four other boats closer to the Evans then we where that could have and would have helped had they know what was happening. Susan was really giving me hell for always having the vhf on in the boat and I have really been nasty at times about leaving the vhf on and the volume at least up where I can hear it. The static really hurts her ears. I have friends that only listen to the local fishing channel. We should all monitor 16 at all times. My radio, and most others, will scan as many or all the channel I select. Remember that the next time you hear the coast guard asking for someone to check something out for them, that the time after that may be you that needs checking out.
teach a man to fish and he will steal all your best spots.
