Busy day for CG rescues

[Saltwater Fishing]

JUNEAU – A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter aircrew along with a HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew from Air Station Kodiak located and rescued two people in the water after abandoning the Intrepid, a 32-foot aluminum vessel, in North Bristol Bay Saturday as it was taking on water.

Shawn Elliott, 27, contacted Coast Guard Sector Anchorage command center about 12:53 p.m. reporting his vessel was taking water over the railings and he along with Nick Kailukiak, 31, were going to abandon ship. The Coast Guard command center immediately launched the Jayhawk and diverted the Hercules aircrew which was conducting a logistics flight from Cordova.

The Hercules was first on scene locating the two people in Nushagak Bay with their survival suits on. Once the Jayhawk aircrew arrived on scene at 3:45 p.m. they safely hoisted the two fisherman and transferred them to Dillingham where local emergency medical services were waiting.

“Having working survival suits and donning them prior to abandoning ship allowed the Coast Guard the valuable time necessary to arrive on scene and conduct a successful rescue.” said Lt. Herbert Law, command duty officer for the Seventeenth Coast Guard District. “Without these suits the outcome may have been drastically different.”

Weather on scene was reportedly 40 knot winds, 8-foot seas and water temperature was 48 degrees.

http://coastguardnews.com/coast-guar...ay/2010/08/15/

[Saltwater Fishing]

OCEAN CITY, Md. — The Coast Guard and the Maryland Natural Resource Police assisted Ocean City Beach Patrol with two rescues in Ocean City Saturday night.

The Coast Guard received a call for the first case at 6:50 p.m., asking for assistance with the rescue of three boogie boarders who were caught in a rip current near the jetties.

A Coast Guard Station Ocean City rescue boat crew arrived on scene after beach patrol already rescued and brought two of the three men to shore. Two beach patrol members were with the third man but were having trouble fighting the outgoing tide back to shore. The station rescue boat crew pulled all three people aboard while natural resource police assisted with vessel traffic.

The second call came in at approximately 8:30 p.m., when two teenagers were also caught in a rip current.

A Coast Guard Station Ocean City rescue boat crew arrived on scene, pulled the two teens and two of the four beach patrol members who initially responded out of the water. Natural resource police picked up the remaining two beach patrol members.

The Coast Guard urges beach goers to be mindful of rip currents when in the water.

“Beach goers should only swim when lifeguards are present,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Alonzo Curry of Coast Guard Station Ocean City. “People shouldn’t be swimming alone or at night. These are common factors in many of the rip current cases that we receive.”

For more information on rip currents please visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s web site.

http://coastguardnews.com/coast-guar...es/2010/08/15/

[Saltwater Fishing]

August 15, 2010


This graphic shows the search plan implemented by the NOAA Ship THOMAS JEFFERSON on 15 Aug 2010.

While conducting mapping surveys west of Key West, Fla. the evening of August 14, the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson heard a radio report from the U.S. Coast Guard that a small aircraft with one person aboard had crashed in the water about 30 miles away from the vessel. The crew of the Thomas Jefferson immediately contacted the Coast Guard to advise they would help with the search and rescue operation and proceeded to steam toward the reported position.

The crew, using sophisticated navigation equipment including the ship’s Doppler speed log and GPS positioning equipment, was able to estimate the ocean current and focus their search area around a location approximately two nautical miles south-southwest of the reported crash site.

“We posted extra personnel as lookouts and used our searchlights in a sweeping pattern all while keeping a quiet bridge so we could hear any calls of distress from the pilot,” according to the ship’s Commanding Officer, CDR Shepard Smith.

Shortly after 1:00 a.m. EDT, the ship’s crew heard cries for help off the port (left) side of vessel, immediately brought the ship to an emergency stop and deployed a rescue boat. “By turning the ship in the direction we originally heard the sound, we were able to locate the person in the water using the searchlight, and guide the rescue boat to pick him up,” added CDR Smith. The pickup position was about a quarter mile from the ship’s estimated search position.

The pilot was reported to be in fine shape, except for a cut lip, according to medical personnel from the Thomas Jefferson. He was transferred to a Coast Guard boat that was in the area for a return visit to Key West, where he was met by his anxious father, who had been waiting at the airport to pick him up when the news of the crash reached him.
NOAA Ship THOMAS JEFFERSON on station in northern Gulf of Mexico, July 2010

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson on station in northern Gulf of Mexico, July 2010

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

The Thomas Jefferson is one of the most technologically advanced hydrographic survey vessels in the world, and has been in the Gulf of Mexico since April. Its original mission was to map the seafloor and look for hazards to navigation off the Gulf coast. However, following the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill, Thomas Jefferson spent 6 weeks conducting research on submerged oil plumes.

Equipped with high-resolution seafloor echosounders, the 208-ft. Thomas Jefferson and its 36-person crew can map the ocean bottom and identify areas of interest to coastal managers, biologists, geologists and emergency responders.

The vessel is no newcomer to the Gulf region. In 2005, Thomas Jefferson conducted hydrographic surveys to support safe navigation and commerce following Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Thomas Jefferson is part of the NOAA fleet of ships and aircraft operated, managed and maintained by NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, which includes commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps and civilian wage mariners.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories..._tjrescue.html