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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

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The Coast Guard rescued a man after his boat capsized near Shelter Island near Juneau, Saturday. The un-injured man was hoisted from Shelter Island and brought him to Juneau.

The man used his cell phone to call Coast Guard about 10:54 a.m., after his 12-foot Zodiac capsized and was adrift near the north end of Shelter Island. He had righted the boat, and said he would attempt to row to Shelter Island.

The man activated his inReach SOS device when his boat capsized, providing a location for the Coast Guard and was also wearing an anti-exposure suit.

The individual was wearing an anti-exposure suit, and was equipped with an inReach device and a cell phone to call for help including his location. These factors contributed to his survival despite the adverse weather conditions of air temperature about 32 degrees and wind gusts up to 50 mph.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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An Injured crewman was medevaced from the fishing vessel Irene H near Sitkinak Island, Wednesday.

The Crewman had sustained an arm injury, and was hoisted by Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak and transported to waiting EMS in Kodiak.

The fishing vessel Irene H requested the medevac just before noon, when they were about 3 miles south of Sitkinak Island.

Since the weather included 25 mph winds with 10-12 foot seas and restricted visibility the helicopter arranged to meet Irene H in North Tugidak Passage, between Sitkinak Island and Tugidak Island, for protection from wind and waves.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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Two boaters were rescued out of the Multnomah Channel on the Willamette River by Coast Guard and Sauvie Island Volunteer Fire Department crews after their 16-foot aluminum skiff overturned early Saturday morning. A third boater self-rescued and reported the incident.

The two women were pulled from the water by the Sauvie Island firefighters and treated for symptoms related to hypothermia by a 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew from Coast Guard Station Portland. The women were transported to Sauvie Island boat ramp, and care was transferred to emergency medical services.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received notification of the situation from Multnomah Dispatch at 3:16 a.m. and immediately launched the Station Portland boat crew.

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A man was rescued from a 30-foot sailing vessel that was taking on water and stuck on the rocks north of Vendovi Island, Tuesday night.

The man was hoisted by helicopter and transported to Anacortes Airport, where he was safely transferred to emergency medical service personnel to be treated for signs of mild hypothermia at Island Hospital.

The initial mayday call from the mariner was at 7:04 p.m., he stated he was stuck near the island. Watchstanders lost communications, however, confirmed his position using the Coast Guard radio system Rescue 21. A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Bellingham and the aircrew launched in response. They located the vessel on the rocks and the mariner on the island, but were unable to get close to the vessel or the mariner because of shallow water. The aircrew arrived 20-minutes later and performed the rescue.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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A Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles crew hoisted three mariners after vessel ran aground near Boulder Island, Wash., Saturday.

Three mariners drove their 46-foot recreational vessel onto rocks, climbed onto rocks and were they were safely hoisted and transported to Paine Field, a small international airport in Everett.

A Coast Guard boat crew aboard a 45-response boat witnessed the incident. They remained at the location during the helicopter hoist as a precautionary measure.

Both the Dolphin and the RB-M crews were searching the area because of a derelict kayak found on the south end of Lopez Island. The crews reported that the recreational vessel nearly ran into the RB-M prior to running aground and taking on water.

No injuries were reported at the time of the incident.

A Coast Guard Incident Management Team is currently on scene and monitoring the aground vessel in the event of pollution. There is no reported fuel spill at this time but there is a potential for a maximum spill of 200 gallons of gasoline.

Weather at the time of the incident was reported as 20-knot winds and 3-foot seas.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

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Coast Guard crews searched for two people in the water after a skiff capsized near Salt Chuck in the northern portion of Duncan Canal, Friday.

At approximately 1:00 a.m., Sector Juneau watchstanders received a notification from the crew of a vessel that two individuals went into the water after their skiff capsized while in transit to them. The crew was able to save one of the two people, later reported in good condition.

Petersburg Search and Rescue personnel, an Alaska State Trooper boat crew, a Coast Guard Air Station Sitka helicopter crew, other surface assets and the crew of the reporting vessel conducted on-the-water and shorelines searches. Unfortunately, one individual was located deceased by the Coast Guard helicopter crew.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading