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Coast Guard crews are searching for five people in the water Wednesday after the Scandies Rose, a 130-foot crabber, sank near Sutwik Island, Alaska.

Scandies Rose, a 130-foot crab fishing vessel homeported in Dutch Harbor, sank at approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday with seven crew members aboard. Two survivors were rescued, five crew members are still missing. The vessel’s last known position was 170 miles southwest of Air Station Kodiak.

Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak aircrews have launched. The helicopter crew arrived on scene and hoisted two survivors from a life raft. Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC 717) was diverted from the Bering Sea and is expected to arrive on scene Wednesday evening.

The mayday call from Scandies Rose came in at approximately 10:00 p.m. Tuesday and was immediately relayed to the command center for search and rescue coordination.

“We are conducting an extensive search in a 300-square mile area to locate the five missing persons from the Scandies Rose,” said Lt. Wade Arnold, command duty officer at 17th District command center.

Weather on scene is in excess of 40 mph winds, 15 to 20 foot seas and one mile visibility.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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The 40-foot Darean Rose capsized and sank shortly after leaving the fuel pier at the Charleston Marina, North Bend, with four people aboard who reported sustaining minor injuries.

Reportedly the vessel had run aground and capsized after departing the fuel dock pier.

A Coast Guard Boat-Small crew responded to the scene and rescued the four individuals from the vessel.

The survivors were transferred back to the pier and treated by emergency medical service technicians.

The vessel has an estimated maximum potential of 1,200 gallons of diesel fuel on board.

Coast Guard personnel from the Sector Columbia River Emergency Management Division have responded to the potential for environmental pollution by deploying hard boom and absorbent pads.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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Coast Guard evacuated a 19 year old fisherman suffering from a significant knife wound from the Canadian-flagged commercial fishing vessel Ocean Pearl operating 50 miles west off Neah Bay, WA, Saturday afternoon.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Port Angeles safely hoisted the 19-year-old crewman and transferred him to emergency medical services at the Coast Guard base for transport to Olympic Medical Center for further care. The fisherman reportedly suffered a knife wound in the leg, which needed more extensive medical care than the Ocean Pearl boatcrew could provide.

The medevac request came from the captain of the 110-foot fishing vessel Ocean Pearl at about 1 p.m. The aircrew arrived on scene at 2:14 p.m. conducted the hoist and transferred patient care to EMS at 3:23 p.m

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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A Coast Guard aircrew medevaced a 16-year-old Sitka Wilderness Therapy student experiencing chest pains on Duffield Peninsula, approximately 30 miles north of Sitka, Alaska, Sunday evening. The aircrew safely hoisted the patient from a narrow tidal flat to awaiting emergency medical services personnel in Sitka for further care.

An early evening call from the Sitka Wilderness Therapy team leader indicated that a student was experiencing chest pains throughout the afternoon while on a hike near Duffield Peninsula. The aircrew was dispatched to the area of Peril Strait and was able to land on a rocky area between the shoreline and treeline. They used a light and a signal flare and communicated with the helicopter directly with a portable VHF radio thus eliminating searching and made entry into the unprepared landing zone very quick and uneventful. The patient was transferred in good condition to Sitka EMS for further care.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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The search is on for a fishing boat crewman from F/V Pail Rider, home ported from Dillingham, in the water in Nushagak Bay, in the early morning hours of Monday. Coast Guard reported up to 10 good Samaritan vessels are assisting.

Coast Guard and others are searching for a male crew member from the commercial fishing vessel Pail Rider who went overboard at approximately 3 a.m.

The crewman was not wearing a life jacket, but was wearing orange pants and bib. The crew aboard the Pail Rider fired flares and other vessels arrived on scene to assist with the search. Approximately 10 good Samaritan fishing vessels are on scene assisting with the search.

Ray Dwyer, Coast Guard 17th District command duty officer for the case said “Going overboard without a life jacket greatly reduces the likelihood of survival, especially in cold water. But with the help of all the good Samaritan crews out there, we’re doing everything we can.”

Conditions in Nushagak Bay at the time the man entered the water included a water temperature of 52 degrees and an air temperature of 54 degrees.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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A 56-year-old crewman was safely medevaced from the fishing vessel Caiti Jo near Uganik Bay, Alaska, Saturday.

A Coast Guard helicopter aircrew hoisted the crewman from the fishing vessel Caiti Jo and transported him to awaiting emergency medical services in Kodiak in the early evening hours.

The alarm was raised and Coast Guard notified that a crewman aboard the vessel was experiencing stoke-related symptoms. A Coast Guard Jayhawk aircrew launched from Air Station Kodiak to perform the rescue.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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A crewman aboard the 181-foot Royal Canadian Navy Ship HMCS Nanaimo, transiting the northern section of Admiralty Inlet, sustained a head injury and symptoms of concussion after taking a fall. US Coast Guard crews hoisted the injured man from the Canadian naval vessel , Friday.

The crew of the Nanaimo reported that the man had a laceration on his head and showed signs of a concussion. The command center diverted a Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew conducting training exercises nearby the location of the HMCS Nanaimo.

The aircrew, with the help of the Canadian crew members, put the injured man into a basket and hoisted him into the helicopter. The injured man was transported to Harbor View Medical Hospital, he was then transferred by ambulance to Virginia Mason Hospital to receive medical care.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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The Coast Guard suspended its search Wednesday night after more than 22 hours of combined searches in the vicinity of Brookings. Missing is Dan VanCleave.

Coast Guard Sector North Bend coordinated 14 combined searches, which were conducted by an MH-65 Dolphin aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station North Bend, an aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay, a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Chetco River and a beach-combing search conducted by members of Station Chetco River.

All searches resulted in negative results.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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The Coast Guard is searching for a 59-year-old man reported missing in the waters in the vicinity of Chetco River.

Dan VanCleave, who was reported overdue Tuesday night by his wife after he failed to return home before sunset.

The 13th Coast Guard District Command Center in Seattle conducted a forensics investigation, and VanCleave’s cellphone company produced the phone’s location on land in Brookings, with a 2000-foot radius area of uncertainty that includes the beaches and ocean.

At 7:10 p.m. members of Coast Guard Station Chetco River conducted a land-based search of beach areas within the cell phone range and launched illumination flares.

At 7:40 p.m. Coast Guard Sector North Bend launched an aircrew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter to search above the marine layer to possibly draw a flare and a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Station Chetco River searched outside the Chetco River entrance.

At 8 p.m. VanCleave’s truck and trailer was located at the Brookings Boat Basin.

Coast Guard members reviewed the day’s footage from the bar-tower camera to determine if or when VanCleave’s vessel departed the harbor.

At 10 p.m. the aircrew located an unlit boat 1.7 miles south of the Chetco River Jetty.

The MLB crew arrived on scene and confirmed that the 16-foot vessel, which was found with the engine idling in the down position, was registered to VanCleave. His cellphone and other personal items were found, however, the boat was unattended.

The crew towed the boat into Brookings and then continued with the search effort through the night.

Aircrews from Sector North Bend and boatcrews from Station Chetco River continue to search the area Wednesday morning.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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The Coast Guard rescued the skipper from a 33-foot, recreational, wooden, fishing trawler Onyx after he avoided sinking by intentionally running aground on Strait Island near Port Protection, Saturday. The man was hoisted from the island’s rocky shoreline, and taken to Sitka, uninjured.

The skipper called via VHF-FM channel 16 from his 33-foot, recreational, wooden, fishing trawler Onyx at about 2:40 p.m. and reported that the boat was taking on water. He had activated his EPIRB, put on his survival suit, and he was preparing to beach the boat on Strait Island to avoid sinking.

The helicopter crew arrived on scene and spotted the man’s red meteor flare and strobe light. They successfully hoisted the man in spite of high winds at the time of approximately 40 mph, and rainy and misty conditions.

The skipper saved himself in bad conditions by reporting his position and intentions on VHF Channel 16, signaling with a flare, and having a strobe light on his survival suit, which he was actually wearing.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading