Home Cookin'
Fleet Admiral
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I hestitate to call anyone "stupid" when there are lives lost, but this is where we post boating mishaps.
The most important take-away point is that the lifepreservers were "on board but not available when the boat capsized." Without opening the debate about wearing them "all the time," the more important reality is that when they are needed, there is seldom more than 3 seconds, if that, to get them. Stow them out of the way and they may as well be on shore.
Second, a 22' boat overloaded at night with 10 adult partiers, on a busy harbor yet weeknight at midnight when there are no other recreational boats around, is certain disaster.
BTW those who swam, swam several miles. Another foolish venture.
Nine rescued, 1 missing after boat capsizes in James River
By Cindy Clayton
The Virginian-Pilot
? May 13, 2011
SMITHFIELD
Nine people were saved and a search is continuing for a 10th person in the James River after a 22-foot sailboat capsized before midnight Thursday, according to the Virginia Marine Police.
Ten people, who appeared to be in their 20s, who had been at a party took the boat into the river from Newport News between 11 and 11:30 p.m., said John Bull, marine police spokesman. The boat capsized about 11:30 p.m., spilling the boaters into the water. The boat drifted and was later hit by the tugboat Robert Byrd.
Shortly before 4 a.m., Coast Guard officials received a report from the tugboat crew about the collision, said Lt. Mike Patterson. The sailboat was reportedly adrift in the vicinity of the James River Reserve Fleet, or "Ghost Fleet," when the collision happened.
Five of the boaters clinging to a gas can and a boat fender they found floating in the water managed to kick their way to shore in the Aberdeen Field area at Smithfield and call for help, Bull said. A fender is a type of bumper that cushions the hull of a boat.
Firefighters who had placed additional equipment in the area because of a week-long maritime exercise were able to get to the scene and, along with the Coast Guard, helped pull four people from the river, Bull said.
"This was an all-hands-on-deck response," Bull said of the firefighters from across the region. "Their help was critical. Because they were on scene so fast, that?s why they were there to pull people out of the water."
The nine people who were rescued were taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center for treatment. One of the people who was rescued had suffered injuries that were considered life-threatening, Bull said.
The search for the missing boater will continue as long as necessary, Bull said.
The Coast Guard Cutter Chock assisted with the efforts along with a helicopter and rescuers from the agency's Portsmouth station. Isle of Wight firefighters and sheriff's deputies were on the scene along with troopers and rescue experts from Virginia State Police. Newport News and Hampton sent rescue boats and Carrollton also assisted.
The Virginia Marine Police had several boats on the scene and investigators were talking with people on the shore along with the survivors in the hospital. The sailboat was being towed to Huntington Park and is considered evidence, Bull said. Marine police found life preservers on the boat, but the boaters weren't wearing them and they were not available when the vessel capsized.
Patterson said the Coast Guard also will investigate the incident.
Winds were light and variable overnight, about 5 to 10 knots, Patterson said. Visibility was about 10 miles on the river.
The firefighters who helped with the rescues overnight were part of the 20th annual Robert E. Rumens Hampton Roads Firefighting Symposium, said Norfolk Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Harry Worley, who is deputy director of the symposium. Firefighters from across the country and several from Singapore have been learning shipboard firefighting since Monday and had put their equipment in place for a hands-on exercise today at the Ghost Fleet on the river.
The most important take-away point is that the lifepreservers were "on board but not available when the boat capsized." Without opening the debate about wearing them "all the time," the more important reality is that when they are needed, there is seldom more than 3 seconds, if that, to get them. Stow them out of the way and they may as well be on shore.
Second, a 22' boat overloaded at night with 10 adult partiers, on a busy harbor yet weeknight at midnight when there are no other recreational boats around, is certain disaster.
BTW those who swam, swam several miles. Another foolish venture.
Nine rescued, 1 missing after boat capsizes in James River
By Cindy Clayton
The Virginian-Pilot
? May 13, 2011
SMITHFIELD
Nine people were saved and a search is continuing for a 10th person in the James River after a 22-foot sailboat capsized before midnight Thursday, according to the Virginia Marine Police.
Ten people, who appeared to be in their 20s, who had been at a party took the boat into the river from Newport News between 11 and 11:30 p.m., said John Bull, marine police spokesman. The boat capsized about 11:30 p.m., spilling the boaters into the water. The boat drifted and was later hit by the tugboat Robert Byrd.
Shortly before 4 a.m., Coast Guard officials received a report from the tugboat crew about the collision, said Lt. Mike Patterson. The sailboat was reportedly adrift in the vicinity of the James River Reserve Fleet, or "Ghost Fleet," when the collision happened.
Five of the boaters clinging to a gas can and a boat fender they found floating in the water managed to kick their way to shore in the Aberdeen Field area at Smithfield and call for help, Bull said. A fender is a type of bumper that cushions the hull of a boat.
Firefighters who had placed additional equipment in the area because of a week-long maritime exercise were able to get to the scene and, along with the Coast Guard, helped pull four people from the river, Bull said.
"This was an all-hands-on-deck response," Bull said of the firefighters from across the region. "Their help was critical. Because they were on scene so fast, that?s why they were there to pull people out of the water."
The nine people who were rescued were taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center for treatment. One of the people who was rescued had suffered injuries that were considered life-threatening, Bull said.
The search for the missing boater will continue as long as necessary, Bull said.
The Coast Guard Cutter Chock assisted with the efforts along with a helicopter and rescuers from the agency's Portsmouth station. Isle of Wight firefighters and sheriff's deputies were on the scene along with troopers and rescue experts from Virginia State Police. Newport News and Hampton sent rescue boats and Carrollton also assisted.
The Virginia Marine Police had several boats on the scene and investigators were talking with people on the shore along with the survivors in the hospital. The sailboat was being towed to Huntington Park and is considered evidence, Bull said. Marine police found life preservers on the boat, but the boaters weren't wearing them and they were not available when the vessel capsized.
Patterson said the Coast Guard also will investigate the incident.
Winds were light and variable overnight, about 5 to 10 knots, Patterson said. Visibility was about 10 miles on the river.
The firefighters who helped with the rescues overnight were part of the 20th annual Robert E. Rumens Hampton Roads Firefighting Symposium, said Norfolk Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Harry Worley, who is deputy director of the symposium. Firefighters from across the country and several from Singapore have been learning shipboard firefighting since Monday and had put their equipment in place for a hands-on exercise today at the Ghost Fleet on the river.
