Guide overboard in Kyuquot.

I have a few details but haven't got the conformation on them that I need to give them out...
 
Just got back from there actually and heard the mayday come in as we were fishing inshore. His guest called it in but couldn't do much else to help. 3 hours in that water and you make it out alive is beyond amazing. It was ugly inshore, nevermind offshore.
 
I don't guide but I always show new friends how to do the basics in my boat...never know when a guy could have a jammer or something and need a buddy to drive the boat back. He's one lucky dude.
 
I was the supervisor on watch that worked the incident.

I work for Prince Rupert MCTS.

We received the call from a second vessel. There was only 2 people on the guide boat. The fishing guide went over and that left a 80 year old man scared and alone watching the boat he was on troll away from the owner.

We went out with a mayday relay broadcast and was able to make contact with the 80 year old man on the boat. He said the guide went over when he was dealing with a fish. He saw him in the water and looked like he was taking his jacket off (which he did because the guide WAS wearing a life jacket.)

The old fella did not know how to run a boat. He could no make heads or tails of what to do. He was unable to find a GPS position. We literally had no idea where this vessel was. The only information we had at the time was a few boats in the area knew he was fishing the whales tale. The winds were 30-40 kts and the seas were over 6ft. We were able to instruct the man how to turn on the plotter to show his GPS position. Now that we knew where he was JRCC was able to narrow down the search of the man in the water. There was over 1 dozen fishing boats, 3 coast guard vessels, a buffalo air craft, rescue helicopter, and a surveillance aircraft all looking for this man,

He was located by CG 507; many of you know CG 507 is a summer coast guard vessel run by volunteers. When they located the man and pulled him into the water he was completely unconscious. He had a weak pulse and was barely breathing. the Rescue helicopter conducted a hoist from the 507 RIB and took him to Comox Hospital.

I spoke with JRCC a few hours after the incident. He indicated that the paramedics from the helo said he was about 10 minutes from death judging by his condition. He was lying on his back in the water unconscious knocking on heavens door. The hoist they preformed is considered out of this world. It is not something they would do everyday. The wind conditions, sea state, and vessel they were hoisting from all made this one of the most difficult hoists to date.

Everyone who was involved in the search deserves to be recognized. If it wasn't for the collective effort of everyone on the water I can say for a fact that he would have died.

I have been doing the job now for seven years and I can say with pride that his is the first incident that brought a tear to my eye. When the lady on 507 screamed she had him and he was alive. It was out of this world. I have been apart of many incidents resulting in death and it pales in comparison to this man's will to live.

3.5 hours in the 13 degree water in 6ft seas. This guy is his own hero.

To everyone who was a part of the search. If you are on hero's. I thank you.

From the Caledonian to the Leviathan II you guys are brothers who stick together and won't go home until everyone is accounted for.

I respect the work you guys do on the water and if I could ever offer one piece of advice. Please wear a life jacket. I know its something we all hear all the time but on July 11th, that guide's life was saved because he made the decision to have a lifejacket. Truly remarkable.

Much Respect

Shawn Madeiros
 
I've been going to Rodgers with Cohochinook for a number of years now. All the guides there are so helpful to us BYOB crowd, and they're all such nice guys. I'm so relieved this had a happy ending.
It's unbelievable how quickly you can lose someone or something on the water, and then in those conditions, it's near impossible to find them again.
This is one remarkable story...
 
Wow! Incredible job by the coastguard, MCTS and everyone else involved. Thanks for taking the time to send that message Shawn.

3 hours in the water is hard to believe. I hope the guy makes a full recovery.
 
I was there for the 4 days just previous to the incident and we were on the road out of fair harbour when this incident took place. We experienced the exact same conditions 13 miles out on the Friday before this happened (6 -8 foot NW swell with 3 foot SE wind waves, 30 - 35 SE winds torrential downpours of horizontal rain and zero visibility). Felt like being in a washing machine and being tossed in every direction. While we never felt unsafe, we also knew that if conditions got any worse we could have been in for a tougher trip coming back in than we had. One of the boats in our crew dodged a bullet being out there. He has a 20 foot ctr console. It rained so hard that the electronics got soaked, his VHF microphone quit working and he could no longer transmit and no one knew exactly where he was. On the trip in from the 13 mile bank, there was not a lot of witty banter between the crew......Not only that, but on a gas trip into fair harbour, his hydraulic steering had a fitting let loose and he lost all steering. Fortunately he was only 50 feet from the dock when it happened.

We are now going to to a much better job of staying with each other when we are out in the less optimal conditions and maintaining radio connection through MMSI, DSC. PFD's will also be worn and everyone on board will know how to operate the VHF and GPS to get coordinates out as quickly as possible. Personally I run overkill on safety equipment (including 6 person liferaft), but I think maybe it may be giving a false sense of security. Having it all on board and using it properly are not necessarily in synch.

This incident gives me something more to learn from.

As a footnote, there were no fish in close to shore and the only place where the fishing was reliable was at the 50 fathom mark (between 12 and 15 miles offshore). This is when the more risky behaviour becomes more commonplace and we take these chances. I want to make sure my epitaph does NOT say "he was looking for bigger fish"...........
 
Last edited:
Harrowing story but a great outcome. Much praise and thanks to all who assisted.

Remember my post about wanting to see a safety briefing when I step aboard a charter vessel? Situations like this is why it's important. Minutes count, and just the simple act of showing guests how to flip the cover on the VHF and hold down the mayday button could save a life. I was thinking I'd take and wear my own pfd on the charter at Winter Harbour this weekend, will be for sure now.
 
Way to go and a HUGE Congrats to all of you involved. Sounds like great work done by everyone. Very very scary incident for not just the guide and hopefully he will be ok after all this but the poor old timer he was chartering. How frustrating that must have been to not be of more assistance to the guide OB. Sounds like he still came through with vital info on where they were located so the guide could be located. Wow, makes me thank my lucky stars for years and years of it with no real bad incidences. That's freakin scary man!

Good job all of you!

HT
 
How many of you guys have an Epirb on board? I know in Washington state all charters must have one. I have two on my boat. One for the crew to grab in an emergency and one I wear a personal one on my PFD. Before I leave the dock the crew is giving a safety briefing. This not only helps my passengers, but also gives me practice. Very happy to here everything turned out for this guy.
 
wow...thanks for the update on the situation Shawn...very sobering for us all.

take care everyone...
 
Wearing a PFD and great assistance is what turned this horrific situation around! WOW how fortunate!!
 
Thanks for sharing the facts. We were about 4 miles south and heard the initial call go out but did not hear any message after that. We'd just made the decision to head back to Critter Cove after a couple of ugly quartering waves went over our bow. Conditions were not good. We were strapped into the toe rails every time we had to land fish, change gear or check lines. It would have been easy to fall over. A good eye opener for all of us. Thanks for your service Shawn.
 
Team Tom said:
How many of you guys have an Epirb on board? I know in Washington state all charters must have one. I have two on my boat. One for the crew to grab in an emergency and one I wear a personal one on my PFD. Before I leave the dock the crew is giving a safety briefing. This not only helps my passengers, but also gives me practice. Very happy to here everything turned out for this guy.
Click to expand...

This is not completely true Tom, 6 pack charters are not required to have an epirb in the states. Charters licensed to carry six or more are required to have an epirb along with a host of other requirements. They are a great idea however on all boats. I am glad this guide made it and wish him a full recovery. He is very lucky to get a second chance and I am sure he will conduct himself with a little more focus on safety as many of us reading this will as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Sharphooks
LAPEROUSE PART III. The Rapids
Replies
0
Views
994
Sharphooks
Sharphooks
Dave H
Cruising For "Plus" Trees Back In The Day..
Replies
4
Views
1K
pescador
pescador
W
Curious by Nature: Do hatchery fish hamper wild king and coho?
Replies
6
Views
884
seadna
S
Sharphooks
Steelhead Fishing and The New Normal Part I
Replies
15
Views
2K
Visland88
V
Whole in the Water
Plan to Feed Endangered Orcas Moving Forward!
Replies
5
Views
570
SpringVelocity
SpringVelocity
Back
Top