Setting the record straight FREETOFISH & Coop

[Coop]

This is the new press release from the coast guard after they talked to me Troy The only one that was there.
If any IFISHERS would like to attend the memorial service for my Dad FREETOFISH Harold Cooper They will be in oregon city Wensday @ 1:00 PM @ Hillside Chapel on 7th hope some of you can make it. Thanks for all the nonjudgemental kind words from all of you. To all of you that wear PFD life vests I would have second thoughts. That is what cut my dads air supply off.


 Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard Thirteenth District

DHS USCG BANNER

Â
Press Release

Date: Aug. 27, 2005
Contact: PA3 Adam Eggers

(206) 220-7237

SON'S ATTEMPT TO PERFORM CPR WHILE IN THE WATER UNSUCCESSFUL, FATHER DIESÂ

SEATTLE - The Coast Guard responded to a call Thursday from the master of a vessel stating his crew had pulled two people from the waters of the Columbia River.

The research vessel Point Sur's crew spotted a father and son, from Oregon City, Ore., floating in the water two and a half miles south of the Columbia River's mouth and called Coast Guard Group/Air Station Astoria, Ore., at 9:52 a.m.

The pair had been in a 20-foot jet drive boat when it was swamped by a wave and capsized. The Point Sur lowered their small boat to recover the two men.  The 32-year-old son was responsive when pulled aboard but attempts to rescucitate the 62-year-old father were unsuccessful.

The father and son were wearing lifejackets at the time. The father's inflatable lifejacket was too tight around his neck and was affecting his air supply. When the son noticed his father struggling for air he punctured the lifejacket, removed it and placed an inflatable cushion underneath his father to keep him afloat.

Due to the choppy sea conditions, the son was unable to keep his father afloat. While in the water, the son attempted to perform cardio pulmonary rescucitation but was unsuccessful.

Group/Air Station Astoria launched an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to hoist the son from the deck of the research vessel and transported him back to the air station where emergency medical technicians were waiting. Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment, Wash., launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat to recover the father from the research vessel.

Video of the hoist is availible at Coast Guard Group/Air Station Astoria by calling (503) 861-6214.

###

The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the
Department of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America.

Â


View this document online
U.S. Coast Guard - 13th District
13th District Public Information Site

[Canyon Man]

Coop-
We also went out to the ocean that day and I can not even imagine what you have been through. I have not met you but my heart is heavy for you right now. Please know that me and my family will be praying for you and yours. If there is anything that can be done please ask as there are a ton of awesome people on this board that I'm sure would love to help! God bless you.
Canyon Man

[Pete]

Coop, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I can't imagine what you are experiencing. I hope you're able to find some peace and comfort and will treasure your memories of the great times you and your dad had together.

[RODACTION]

Coop, my thoughts are with you. It is a great loss to you and you family for sure. You will remember all the good times and your hurting will go away. My best of wishes to you and your family....carry on. Ken Bolstad

[Stew]

It's hard to find the right words at a time like this but I'm sure your dad would be very proud of you and the efforts you made to save his life :applause:
My sincere sympathy to you and your family in your time of loss :depressed:
Stew

[jokester]

My condolences to you and your family during this extremely difficult time :depressed: I'll be praying for you guys. :angel: :angel:

-jokester

[Artwo]

You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.......

"God grant that I may live to fish until my dying day And when it comes to my last cast I then most humbly pray That in his mercy I be judged as big enough to keep.
Amen."

JK

[HammondSeaRanger]

with all my condolences ... your fathers passing will not be in vain. I will think of him each time I cross the bar.

Matt

[Jennie@ifish]

Thank you for posting this.

And please know that all of our prayers and good wishes are with you in this difficult time.

Jen

[Starfish]

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. You and your father were heavy on my mind as I crossed the bar for the first time this Saturday and Sunday.

For the benefit of us saltwater rookies, anything that you could share about what caused the boat to get swamped would be appreciated as a learning opportunity.

Again, my prayers are with you.

[garyk]

Words aren't sufficient to convey our thoughts....so all I can say is you have our best wishes and sincere condolences.

Gary & Sharon

[Coop]

Well Thanks Everyone for the kind words I will most likely never go in the ocean agian but if I did so I would have and had a open bow boat I would get a taunno cover for the bow. The bow on our boat filled with water and the boat just dove into the water and would not plane out of it. I don't think there is any amount of bilge pumps that could pump enough water out of the boat when it starts to fill up. make sure your flare kit is handy or on your life jacket. ours did us no good in the glove box when we were in the water and couldent get to them. same with the VHF get a hand held that is water proof. I'm lucky the water was temp was 68. My friend is a rescue swimmer in the NAVY and he said my surival rate for the conditions were 50% if it was any colder I probably would never made it.

[FisherJack]

Coop, you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. These are mighty tough times that you are going through, I am certain. Rest assured, there are a lot of us who are thinking of you and your family, and wishing that there was something that we could do to help. I don't know what it might be, be if there is something that I could do, please let me know.

It was very thoughtful of you to make these posts on Ifish. Thanks for your good suggestions for those who venture out in the ocean.

Jack

[KZ4LIFE]

I am sorry for your loss.

[Silver Hilton]

Coop, I am very sorry. Best wishes to you and your family.

[RichH]

Words really can't express the sorrow one feels at a time like this. Thanks for caring enough for others to share some insite into what happened and things to keep in mind when and if it happens again. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

[trap50]

I don't really have any idea the pain your feeling. I can only think how I would feel. all my thought and prayers are with you at your very deep time of sorrow. Ron

[riverrat]

Coop
Thanks for sharing this terrible accident with the Ifish community, hopefully fishermen will benefit from your words when going out into the ocean. Please accept my condolences and may peace be with you and your family during this difficult time.
Tom Biondi

[Tight Lines]

Coop,

While we do not know each other we are all brothers chasing the fish of our dreams. Be thankful for each and every moment you and your father spent fishing or in the great outdoors.

You have helped many people with your statements and I to will remember your father and you each and every time we cross the bar or find our selves in mother natures path.

This really it home with our family as my son Jon, is on the boat everyday with me in the summer time and weekends. We have inflated my vest tp check for sizing and tightness issues.

Our family prays for yours and yes you father is very proud of his son for his actions and his helping others in his own time of need!

Tight Lines my Brother stay the Course.

[WildHawg]

Coop,
There, but for the grace of God, go I.
Things happen so fast out there--I know you did all you could. As was posted above, your father would be very proud of your efforts to save him.
It is an important lesson about inflatables as well. My family and I wear them when on the salt, as the freedom of movement is so much better than with a traditional jacket.
I will be reassesing that choice.
Thank you for helping us to understand what happened--we are all just one swell away when we are on the water.
God Bless you, your father, and your family.
Charlie

[Gundog]

God bless you and your family in your time of grief. Thank you for setting the record straight maybe someone will learn something by this horrific tragedy.
The Miller family

[Coop]

Thanks for your kind words Troy Cooper

[Coop]

Thank you for taking time out of your life to lend some kind words. I let my mother and sister read all these posts and it meant a great deal to her and our famly Thanks Troy Cooper

My father will guild me in the night when it is to dark,
he will be my gut feeling, my eyes in the woods when I can not see, my fish finder in the river, my guilding light for the rest my life.

[KChookem]

Troy, and family...

I hope you soon find the inner-Peace, comfort, joy and happiness that your father wants for you, with every fiber of his heart and soul.

As a father and a son myself, I'm very confident that your father would want you to pass quickly through the grief stage of his passing, and get to the fond memories of your lives together. Your father taught you many things, and part of your job as a son, and a father, will be to pass those lessons along. When you do that, your father lives forever.

May God Bless you and yours...

... Ken Chambers

[hookumhi]

Coop, I do not know you and had never met your father but like as stated prior your fathers very proud of you. It is with a very heavy heart that I write this, much like many have written , thinking of they're own fishing trips with their father's and time well spent together. I can only say If my last days are spent on the water fishin, I have done well. Take care ifish brother and may God bless you and your family.

[fishbait]

I feel sorrow for your loss and offer my condolenances. The one thing I would like to share is that in time the pain will be gone and be replaced by only fond memories. It will take time but it will happen, on that you can be sure.

Steve Salveson

[timinthegorge]

Coop, I'm so sorry for your pain, and the loss to your family, but like others have said, over time, it'll turn to your memories of the great times you and your Dad spent together....

My heart is heavy for your loss, and my thoughts are with you and your family. Tim

[Lucky 13]

So very sorry for your loss. Our prayers are going out to you and your family.

[chappy]

I am extremely sorry for your loss. From your messages you sound like a strong person who will make your way through this hard time and find happiness again. I wish you luck and you are in my thoughts.
Regards,
Dan S

[Katie Ann II]

Crossing the Bar

Sunset and Evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the
boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
the flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar. :angel:

[mandinga]

We are so sorry for your loss.

I pray that your father will walk beside you here and beyond.

R.I.P. FREETOFISH.

[greenbuttskunk]

Troy, I heard about this from Mike the day it happened. I can't tell you of the pain I felt in my heart for the tragedy and your loss. That could have been me and my dad. It could have been any of us on Ifish. I know you did everything humanly possible to safe the situation and more importantly you dad. CPR in rough open water conditions is nearly impossibly. It truely was a heroic effort. The result of the inflatable life jacket is really such a terrible shame.
My deepest and most sincere prayers to you and you family for the loss of your dad. I'm sure he's resting peacefully, and maybe the waters where he's fishing now are calm and peaceful, and full of salmon.

Respectfully,
Greenbuttskunk :

[Mr. Fisherman]

Troy, You and your family have been in my thoughts and prayers.
I have looked over my personal safety equipment and asked those I know to do the same. I am hopeful that the knowlege of what you have endured has spured discussion about safety gear and our use of it that may one day save lives.
I thank God you are alive. I hope you find comfort, even if it is only slight, in knowing that your actions and the loss of your father have brought to light the importance of knowing that your safety gear is reliable.
May God bless you and your family.

[Beefcake]

Thank you for sharing this in your time of grief. I will pray for your family, and I am sorry for your loss.

If it helps at all, you may have saved my life by telling us about this. I recently got one of the inflatable vests as a gift and assumed it was the perfect safety item, but now I plan to test it thoroughly before trusting my life to it. Also, you have re-affirmed my decision not to take my marginally seaworthy open-bow boat across the bar. I hope to someday have a boat worthy of the ocean, but this has reminded my why I have stayed "inside" with my current boat (I was starting to get brave and was considering a make-shift bow cover, but now I think I'll wait until I can afford a different boat).

I know none of this can make your loss easier, but I am grateful for your willingness to share.

[Coop]

Thanks for the kind words I let my mom and sister read all these nice posts they really likes them . There are a lot of nice people on this board. All your kind hearts has tought me to be more simpthetic towards others. I have had a hard time with that in my life I think because I never had anything tragic happen in my life until now. It kind of makes all the little stuff that usually bugs you seem so insignificant. Thanks for all the wisdom Ifishers. I will never be to old to learn a lesson from others.

[Coop]

I have a question? I really want to get out to rainer and fish but it seems like its to soon. I almost feel gilty. I have been watching the counts over bonneville continue to climb and I feel like I should go catch some fish for my Dad. what do you guys think? Oh and I don't have a boat any more but I know that JUSTCASTIN will take me.

[Rip'N'Lips]

Coop-

I have never met you or your father, so I don't know for sure. But I would suspect that you and your father had great times on the water like most of us. My dad would want me to continue making memories with my son rather than never return to the water.

Be safe, but get back on the horse. You now have a respect for the water that most of us will never have, but you also need to balance that with the good memories you will treasure forever.

I suspect you will always feel closest to your father while on the water...

My thoughts go out to you and your family.

Rip'N'Lips

[grsteelies]

Coop

I believe that feeling inside of you to get back at it is your dad inside of you telling you it is O.K. I know my Dad would want me to go and do it. My dad would would be hurt if I gave up my love of fishing. I'm am so sorry for your loss, but know that your loss is not in vain. This afternoon I went out with my Dad just catch some little planted trout. No thrill for me, but man did it make him smile watching me catch those baby trout. Don't feel guilty, just go catch one for him! He'll be watching! Hang in there man, nothing will change the facts, and nothing will change your love for him! Stay the course,and keep your head up. Soon the time will come when you only remember the lessons he taught you, and the great times you shared! One of the great blessing God has given us is to be able to forget the bad times and only remember the good. God bless you and your family.

rick

[Coop]

Thanks grsteelies I am going with JUSTCASTIN to Ranier and if that don't pan out after the moring tide were going to Bonneville after that, So wish me luck I'm going to catch one for my Dad

[PhoebusGroup]

Coop,

Firstly, condolences and prayers for you and your
family.

Secondly, it is extremely kind of you to provide
our community with insight into what happened.
In particular, I wear an inflatable PFD and I've
never inflated it. I have a secondary waterproof
marine radio, but it's not always handy. The
flare gun is way too far away... Who knows, your
report may save my life or the life of one of my
guests.

Kind regards,

David King
PhoebusGroup

[Coop]

Well I did it I went to Rainer with JUSTCASTIN and I bonked two Fish one decent size Steelhead and one high teen nook. Mikes girl friend Kim had a pig on and it spit the hook right at the boat. She handled the pole like a pro Mike has been training her well. I will post pics when I get them from JUSTCASTIN. Thanks for the advise about getting back on the horse I really needed to get back out there and Fish I did not want to be scared of it. I know in my heart that my Dad was with us. he directed two fish our way.

Here's the pic http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Troy1Fish.jpg

[Pete]

That's great news, Coop. Glad you got out. Glad you had fun. And I'm especially glad you caught one for your dad!

[KROY]

I'm sure your Dad is proud. :applause: :applause:

I lost my Dad a few years ago and he was my fishing partner. I like to think he rides with me sometimes.

Take care and we'll be praying for you and your family.

Ken

[CATCH AND EAT]

Coop, very sorry to hear of the accident and your loss. Tragic to say the least and very unfortunate. Your efforts to revive your father are to be admired.

Treasure the memories of your days with your dad.

[grsteelies]

Right on my man, thats the way to DO IT! A nice bonus steelie to boot. I'm sure you know there will be good days and bad days ahead, but when those bad days happen, just remember all those lessons he taught you. I don't even know you and your family at all, but its sounds to me like he did a fine job of raising a great son. Keep doing it, if for no other reason than for him! Carry on my friend!

rick

[ET]

Coop,

My condolences, thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. My father has been in poor health the last couple of years and lives a couple thousand miles away so I've only seen him a few times in the past several years. I have great memories of camping and fishing with my father but doubt we will be able to get out again. I trust the memories of all the great times you were able to spend with your father will overwhelm this tragedy.

Thank you for "Setting the record straight" and making my life vest feel a lot more comfortable. I was down at Bouy 10 last week and the trip from the Astoria bridge back to Ilwaco was rough in the afternoon. Your tragedy was at the forefront of my mind and I was extra careful.

Best regards,

Eric Thompson

[bandwcow]

Coop, first off condolences to you and your family.
Thirty plus years ago my Dad and Uncle drowned on the Columbia Bar. The captain of the 20' cuddy cabin survived. Three in total drowned. No one had their life jackets on. A real shame.
I just turned 56 years old. I still wish for my Dad today. But I know one thing Dad would not want me to give up is fishing, or any other sport due to his death.
It does get easier, but never will it be easy. Remember what your Dad taught you so you can pass it along to your kids. He is watching and would want you to hit the water as soon as possible.
Hope your fishing brings you smiles, memories, and of course, tight lines!

God Bless :flowered:
Bill

[Coop]

This board is kind of like therapy to me. I need to talk about things to get them off my shoulers but I'm not to good at talking about my feelings face to face so this works out great. All the warm thoughts are overwhelming to me I never knew people could be so compashiate. Thanks agian Troy Cooper

[BCF]

Coop thank you so much for sharing with all of us. Your kindness and gentleness shows through everything that you have written.

I believe that a real man is not always the toughest or what appears to be the "most macho". But the man who can show his feelings at the time when he is most vunerable. This is true bravery.

It is obvious to me that your Dad did a great job raising you." You got it." Life has so much more for you my young brother. And you are teaching us all by showing us what a real man is and can be during such a tragedy.

Continue to show your love for your Dad, and family and your community. It was one of your Fathers' gifts to us all. It was you.

BCF

[OdieWon]

All the things these fellow fisherperson's have told you are true. My dad and i had 3 things we loved todo together more than anything else. We fished, hunted and golfed together as often as we could. When Dad passed away 15 years ago, I felt that I had lost my long time partner in these sports, and honestly, right after that i didn't have a desire to do any of them. But, i followed the advice of a few of my friends and my dad's friends and 'got back on that horse'. The first time i went fishing & hunting, it was pretty tough. I really missed him. But, afterwards I realized that Dad was still there with me, in spirit. It wasn't long before my son was old enough to start going with me and now my son has his Dad as a partner, just like I did. Those are the most special of times and I know your Dad would not want you to give them up. His spirit and memory are always with you. Smile with them and thank God for the time you two had together. As one of the others said, your Dad obviously did a grand job of raising you. Keep the string going. :angel1:

[Jennie@ifish]

I'm going to unpin this, now.

It will always be available off of the front page under "Last Cast" in the right hand column.

Thanks,
Jen