Boat Capsizes off Point Reyes

C

Cats Meow

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http://www.kcra.com/news/24262702/detail.html It is with a very saddened heart that I report this story. Three of these men were very good friends and one a acquaintance. This was a annual trip they make with several other boats. For the life of me I can't believe how stupid they were for not having their life jackets on. They were all experienced boaters that fished the Delta and ocean all their lifes. A friend in another boat called in the accident and tried to find them in the water but was not successful. Three of these men were from Riverbank and one from Arkansas that was born and raised in Riverbank.

I have always read about this happening and it is so sad, but when you know the people well it really hurts. I can't stress over and over about the importance of wearing your life jackets. It very well could have saved their lives.
 
a little more information
http://www.marinij.com/ci_15515572?source=most_viewed

Small(ish) boat in the surf just what were they thinking? The accident in May off SF took two of my friends, we don't really know what actually happened there, but small boat/shallow waters is a theme on these two accidents.

Two of the most poorly named things, life jackets and life lines, give a false sense of security. If you are out like that, prepare for immersion. Wetsuit or dry suit. You have a short time to be in the water before hypothermia takes over. Once you can survive the cold, then staying afloat, head above water, has some value. See cold water boot camp video for details.

You might also consider jacklines and harnesses to keep yourself with the boat. The SF couple had neither on a 33' sailboat. Don't think I've ever seen a small open boat so equipped.

MarinMike
 
Good article. I had not seen that one yet. It was a 24 ft. Sea Ray. Not smallish by some standards, but evidently small enough. I agree with hyperthemia being an issue, but they didn't even have life jackets on. That is just crazy. If they were that close to shore they might have made it. I can't believe they were that close to shore unless they had boat trouble. I guess we will never know. But, by the looks of the boat pieces it was thrashed around quite a bit. I'll be talking to one of the other boaters in the party today or tomorrow. Maybe I will learn more.
 
24 foot boat off shore in what was reported as 8 foot waves? Not wearing a life jacket wasn't their first mistake, IMHO, however it may have been their last. Seems like every few weeks the news is reporting something like this. Little boat, big waves, not life preservers. I just don't get it.
 
I'm really sorry to hear about the loss of your friends. It sounds as if they were in close trying for halibut in the sand. That area is infamous for sneaker waves, you can be fishing the surf line in 20' of water one moment and then a big swell will move thru and your suddenly in 10 feet of water. If your lucky you can get out of there quickly, if you're not, you can end up in the sand.
 
You're right, Dave. They were halibut fishing. This whole episode is totally bizarre. Hope to find out more. Evidently there were a total of 10 boats that made the trip. I am sure they are suffering today being so close and not being able to do anything. This group has fished together in the same area for over 20 years.
 
It has been confirmed that they did indeed have engine trouble. The motor died and they were working on it and drifted in to close to shore.
 
What a crying shame. Something as simple as throwing out an anchor or calling for one of the other boats to tow them to deeper water would have totally changed the outcome. I imagine the boat owner was embarrassed that the engine died and was working to fix it instead of thinking of options. None of them were related to the Poseys were they? An old friend with the last name of Posey is the only person that I have personally known that lived in Riverbank.
 
No Dave, none of them were related to the Posey's. All of them had lived in Riverbank all of their lives. Henry, one of the ones that they recovered, had just retired in April and him and his wife were taking off on one of many trips in 3 weeks. So sad!
 
I saw this on the news. We may never know exactly what happened here but a lesson for us all is that once control is lost of the vessel everyone should have a life jacket on immediately. You are really at the mercy of the seas at the point that you do not have either power or steering of your vessel.

Hopefully others will learn through this tragic event. I have bright yellow velcro bags that hold six life jackets each and keep them on deck whenever underway so they can be immediately accessed. I store them below deck or in lockers when at the dock. I have observed many instances where life jackets are hard to get to.

Kris
 
My husband and I saw two of the friends last night. They were such a tight knit group. One summed it all up as everyone was like a brother and the wives were like sisters. It was like he lost 4 of his brothers in one day. Very tragic and sad. I just hope they find Jackie's body. He is still missing.
 
I understand how the grieving guy quoted in the article can feel there needs to be a law making lifejackets mandatory when on the water after loosing his friends. There doesn't need to be a law people just need to put on the lifejacket when they get in the boat. I put my lifejacket on in dry storage before launch and when my guests see me put it on they pick up one and put it on. If they don't we talk about it and I tell them it could be my liability if something happens and they are not wearing one. I have my boat name written in permanent ink on all my lifejackets and seat cushions so if there is a collision or explosion it is obvious where they came from.
 
Cat, I am so sorry to read of the loss of your friends. I know you will miss them terribly.....

Skippers,
When I was first learning boat handling, I was taught to always maintain control of my vessel: motor, anchor or dock lines to a solid object. Every skipper should have that drilled into his head until s/he will automatically deploy the anchor and make sure it is holding prior to trying anything else, such as repairing the motor.

If I were going out in the ocean in a small vessel, I'd sure feel better wearing a life jacket; probably an inflatable type. Certainly no harm in having it on!!! I like DD's idea of setting a good example as a responsible skipper.
 
When the CG stopped us for a safety inspection, one thing they were very impressed with was we all had our life jackets on, including Tolly, my service dog. We also have water activated strobes for the three of us and whistles for Chris and I.

Let's learn from this tragedy. I don't think we need another law, we know what we should do. Let's do it.
 
In the late 80's a father and son, members of the Coast Guard Aux, were in the water in Santa Cruz when someone called in a Mayday. The caller was in the surf, with an engine failure. The father and son were in a Whaler Montauk. They went to the scene, dropped an anchor and threw a line to the other boat. Since they were anchored, when that big wave came, it just pitched them up in the air. The cold water got both of them.
Lots of things wrong happened, but it all happend so fast...
 
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