This is why people die

[NAUTI-NOTIONS]

Let me set the plan. Halibut Fishing out of Neah Bay, We we’re to follow an old timer out to Umatilla reef which is about 25 miles from Tattiosh Island. He in a 30’ Bay liner classic. A good friend in a 24’ trophy soft top and I in a 22’ trophy hard top, the leader fully equipped with all the goodies. My friend with the min. requirements (radio, 2 gps map) and myself loaded. As we head out the lead boat was running 25kts. Quite fast for the rough conditions. My boat was coming completely out on some of the swells. But all was all was “ok” my kicker is a 92 merc 9.9 if you lift it all the way up it locks. Lift slightly and it unlocks. In the rough water it came unlocked and was dragging in the water. I had to shut down to relock and secure it. Which allowed a large coast guard vessel to get between myself and the boat I was to be following. We’re coming up to the rear of tattoish island and there was no way I could get around him without looking stupid. So I followed him for about a mile. When arriving at tattoish there we’re about 15 boats motoring in the calm behind the island. At that time I thought they were fishing. Mixed in the boat were a number of W.D.F.G. , Sheriff and coast guard boats. Looking around I did not see the two boats I was supposed to be traveling with. I know and believe in Rule #1 don’t go alone. About my experience in the ocean? None zip nata, lots in the straits, Puget Sound and Columbia. But green as a pea on the big blue. Time spent in this boat. Limited two shake down runs of about 7-10 miles on a calm Columbia River. Granted the boat got two thumbs up each time, my confidence was very low in my skills and in the boat. That’s why we decide to run as a threesome. Safety in numbers. Upon reaching tattoish and not finding my mates. I got on the radio a haled the lead boat. Which was out of sight by now? He can back and said the pinch ( a small gap between the rocks and the island was rough but it seemed to get better about a mile out. So in to the sea I went. If I knew than, what I know now I would have stopped right there. But after committing to that terror there was no turning around. Never in my wildest have had I pictured anything even close to that. I have 300 horsepower under the hood and at time the throttle was buried and it felt as we were slipping backwards. Pure terror, water was boiling with 10’+ craziness no rhythm or rime to any thing. Holding my line and working the throttle I managed to battle my way thru the devils throat. My passenger. My brother in-law who has never been in any thing that floated other than a cruise ship looked at me and said “If nothing else I just had an experience of a life time”. At this point we we’re all alone. Breaking rule #1 hard core. And for the next two and a half hours we were completely alone in extreme seas. Following a heading of 210’. Still in aw. That my good friend and the lead boat left us. As we traveled ,the nerves started building. When we lost sight of land. All I could do was to stare at my little gps map and hoped it would not fail. Back up was to look at the compass and turn around 180’ and hope land would come in to view. Loaded with 86 gallons of fuel and averaging 8.5 gph I felt ok in that respect. However many other things raced thru my head? Did I check every thing? Did I get it back together right. Every30 min I would attempt to make radio contact with lead boat and some time it worked but most time no response. Bear in mind the seas were terrible 8-10 swells 2-3’ wind waves. And zero experience in the driver’s seat, but gaining knowledge fast, like this sucks,,, no this really sucks. When I bought the boat I wondered way a person would need power steering now I know, radar was also a let down. Out in the middle of no where all it kept saying was fellows you’re all lone. Well after 2.5 hours at about 20 knots I had had enough. And my brother was relieved when I said I have had enough. I hit the back track page and lord and behold a nice line all the way back to neah bay. I was still on edge until land came back into view. The return trip was a little quicker but seem twice as long. To sum things up now I know how people die at sea and I feel what I did was very fool hardy and yes stupid. Later to find out the boats behind the island were being held there the enforcement in hope the seas would improve, which did not happen. If experience plays any part in this I strongly advise to follow your senses not your friends. Why they left me. I have no ideal as I’m still to upset to even hold a conversation with them yet. The follow day I followed a couple nice older gents who had nothing to prove in speeding across the swells. And caught fish.nothing huge 30-35# The same day (Friday) two boats were swamped. All rescued. And boats were towed in upside down. The dock never looked so good to more than just myself. I noticed some guys had car inner tubes on board. Something to float on until help arrives, that’s not a bad idea.

[Miss B Haven]

The hard lessons are the ones you never forget (assuming you survive to tell the story).
OK- gotta change my shorts and then head for work. :shocked:

[CAPT KUJO]

Been there done that! Got the T-shirt, sent the postcard. Your little story is exactly why myself and passengers wear fully encased drysuits. I was on a sail boat 20 miles off the Oregon Coast when a fire broke out. The boom rope melted and swung around and slamed me off the deck. The sailboat kept moving burned to the water line and sunk!

I was submerged in 50 degree water for a couple of hours injured, then plucked from the ocean by a US Coast Guard helo crew.

My thought process at the time: mmmmm next stop San Francsico. Death never crossed my mind, I have faith in gear made for cold water survival. Because I made it and tested it. Without it, a car inner tube, PFD, a or any other Coast Guard "approved" item would not have helped my survival chances.

Pick your buddy's a little more carefully, but always be ready to be on your own, without a boat under your butt!

GLad you're here to share your experience!

CAPT KUJO

[ 05-06-2003, 07:57 AM: Message edited by: CAPT KUJO ]

[id. painter]

Thanks for the story,, ouch, not a good way to get your fisrt pucker factor of of 9+. I have been out with people (my younger brother) who were not very good about sticking together. It is not worth the extra few minutes at the fishing hole. The first time i went out with my brother , was similar, without the frightening water conditions. He instantly left me in the dust and i never saw or herd from him again all day. Im looking for more reliable partners. id. p.

[Albacore Tuna Captain]

Bumper, your experience turned out good and you now have some hard earn knowledge. You are absolutely correct in that you gained it the hard way and yes, many people lose their lives every year doing just what you did. Here's why;

1. You feel comfortable following someone who gives you the impression THEY know what they are doing.

2. You have a new boat that you feel confident in and take to the big blue knowing it will not go down. Not realizing that it may not go down, but it will go over.

3. Failing to let your instincts guide you. Believe it or not, most of us have the built in protection of COMMON SENSE that we often shove aside as being just the jitters. Follow your gut feelings!

4. The good electronics of today give many the false feeling of security. They can get there and back IF the equipment works. What if it fails? Do you have the rudimentary skills to navigate without electronics? If not, you should get them before you ever go back out.

You experience reminds me of an example of people doing just what you did but without the benefit of common sense. I had a halibut charter and went to the Chicken Ranch to fish. It was a rough ocean and fog with about a 100 foot visibility. It had been that way all day, all the way from the Jaws. Near the end of the day, this boat, a 20 ft Reinal, motors up to me with three guys on board. They say, "We came out here with a friend and we can't find him now. Are you going back to Newport?" I tell them that I will but will be fishing a couple more hours. They tell me they are getting low on fuel and needed to go back now. They then tell me they had no navigation equipment and that was why they followed their friend to the Chicken Ranch. I told them they should contact the Coast Guard and have them escourt them home. The captain of this boat of lost fools says, "We don't have a radio." [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img] I felt they would be okay if they just took a compass heading and head in and told them to head on the correct heading. The captain stated, "We don't have a compass." :shocked: I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The guy sitting in the back finally said, "The idiot owner of this boat broughts us out here with NOTHING. No radio, no GPS, No compass, No life raft, No brains!" The other guy in the front replied, "Yep, the idiot in back went with the two idiots in the front!" [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

I finally decided that these guys did not deserve to have their DNA mixing in with the gene pool but felt God had delivered them to me to get them home safely so I threw them a line and told them to sit there on a tow and drug them home.

They were lucky in that they found a boat to help them. But they were foolish and their friend who allowed them to follow knowing they had no equipment was criminal.

I see this all the time and feel sorry for the innocent victims of someones stupidity. You did the right thing in not pushing it beyond your limits and you are commended for following your common sense and getting out of trouble before it was too late. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[Mello-Yello]

This is a great story BC, and I'm glad you shared it. This discussion board isn't and shouldn't only discuss 'where to fish and what to use'. As it is, we learn a lot from our own experiences. But we can learn even more, and very possibly save our lives and the lives of the people that trust us enough to ride with us, by sharing "near-misses".

I used to think I had a 'built-in' compass. I always know which direction is north, no matter where I'm at. 99% of the time this has been the case.

The other 1%.
One morning I decided to head out of Kingston, WA and fish Point-no-Point. A short jaunt up the shoreline. While it wasn't foggy at my house, it was pea-soup on the water. I had no compass, I mean, who needs a compass when you're surrounded by land? I figured I'd just follow the shoreline as it would lead me to where I was going. As it turned out, due to a few shallow areas, I had to venture out just enough to lose sight of the shore (less than 100 yds). So, then I came up with the brilliant idea of using my depth finder. Knowing the main channel of Puget Sound is hundreds of feet deep, I'd just stay in about 100' of water and be fine. So I'm going along, feeling pretty good about things, though a little uneasy that I hadn't seen land in awhile(it shouldn't be more than a couple hundred yards to my portside). To my disbelief, while gazing around, I see the faint outline of land, off my starboard bow!!! Talk about send my internal compass spinning! I stopped propulsion and sat there in the water in complete disbelief. At first, all I could think was "How in the heck did I cross the sound without going through the deep water?".

Common sense finally prevailed, and I realized that somehow, I'd changed directions 180deg. Through deductive reasoning, I knew there was no way I'd crossed the channel. But what if I'm wrong? Oh good grief!

Well, I finally made it to Point-no-Point. Hooked 4 blackmouth only to lose them all to sea lions. GRRR!!! The fog finally lifted and life was normal again.

By the way, what was normally a 15 min. boat ride, turned out to be over an hour.

It was a very humbling experience for this man with the 'built-in' compass.

Regarding GPS's, it makes me think of something a friend once said after spending an entire night retrieving his son's 'stuck' 4x4. "The only real difference between 4wheel drive and 2wheel drive is, the 4wheel drive gets stuck a lot further in".

[craigc]

Bumper_Chrome, thanks for sharing your story... the others and your story continues to reinforce the ongoing need to focus on safety, and the use of common sense on deciding to go to sea.. so we can fish another day..

so is anyone going to go fishing on Friday ?..

[corrirod]

Thanks for sharing your story. It's stories like that that will help save someones life on this board. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[Pilar]

Bumper Chrome, I am so glad you made it back. Don't bother talking to those guys that led you out and then abandoned you. It's pretty clear that they do not give a damn about you and yours. No need to follow up on that. Have they even called you to see if you made it back?

Your story is compelling and sobering. It takes me back to the day I registered on Ifish. A guy was blatting on and on about following a charter out in the fog to the sparkplug off of the CR bar. His whole deal was based on the principle that someone would help him if he got lost. He had just bought a gps and was going to open the box and use it if he got 'lost'. I believe that he was already 'lost' and did not know it yet. I have yet to see that kind of behavior in any of my Salty Dogs. Time and again I have seen people here going out of the way to help others and even at their own risk and inconvenience.

Friends we have to talk ... Know your capabilities and limits and abide by them.

Friends in other boats is good but it comes down to you, what you have in the boat and what you know if you get marooned. If you can't follow a compass heading or recognize dangerous conditions then get qualified before you hang it out there and risk your life. It's just a fish ... not worth your life.

For you new guys out there. Pay attention to this story, I don't ever want to hear another one like it from any of my 'dogs'. If you are unsure about whether you can do something .. you are probably right. Listen to the little voice of intuition, it will save your life. The good news is that you can learn and most of the experienced here will bend over backwards to feed you if you are hungry for knowledge.

You just have to ask for help.

[ 05-06-2003, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: Pilar ]

[El Shaddai]

BC- Good story......great lesson....I am impressed with your honesty and transparency.

With regards to your "friends" Pilar summed it up very well!

[OceanBlue]

:shocked:

BC: Glad it all turned out okay. When you're done beating yourself up, remind yourself that you must have had something on the ball - you & your crew lived to see the beach, right? So give yourself a big [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

All - Notice Pilar's possessive term when he references

my Salty Dogs

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">- He feels responsible for all you SDs and Salty Pups. Quite the fraternity, eh? I think a lot of us feel the same way!

Gosh, why do you think I hate being left on the beach? I can't stand not knowing that everyone is okay out there....

[skein]

Good story - glad everything worked out and the lesson was just that - a lesson.

I like the attitude of the Salties I've met and talked to. The common thread seems to be "the commitment to get your crew into fish should never compromise your commitment to bring 'em back safely."

When I first got involved with boats for the blue, a friend took me aside and told me two things. He said, "Remember this: the ocean is still the ocean, and the Titanic sank."

Skein

[Mr. Fisherman]

Bumper Chrome, I am glad that you live to tell the tale.
With friends like that who needs in- [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img] laws? They were outlaws before they were inlaws you know.
Anyway, congrats for having enough intestinal fortitude to get your boat and crew back to the beach safe and sound. Sounds like Don Johnson will eventually have his day and you don't have to suffer watching the re-run. Better to part company and cut your teeth with folks around here.
I know that I have learned a great deal and it is just begining.
I hope to see you on the water and to see pictures and read stories about your future sucess.
Thanks for sharing your story. It was well written and must have sent shivers up your spine to relive through your words here. It just might save others from suffering simnilar circomstances.
I know that I appreciate it.

[Degner]

A few years back I was fishing around 24 miles out from Newport on the south end of the rock-pile. There was a very fast drift south. The winds were at around 15 and picking up. On the horizion a little bout appeared and putted past us. It was a drift-boat with a 9 hp kicker with one guy on board. No electronics, no compass. I asked him how he was doing, and he said "pretty good." He said he was out of newport. He refused help. I doubt his kicker would get him back to newport or if he had any idea where he was. I radioed his position and situation into the coastguard. Living or dead he's my pick for a Darwin award.

[Re:Play]

BC--Thankful you are back and OK. Excellent experience for all of us to file away. Thanks for sharing and helping all of us continue to recognize the need for a "reality check" vs. thinking we are invincible. :smile:

[Thumper]

:shocked: Man! This board is a scary place. Think I'm just gonna stay on the NF Lewis!

[Pete]

I have enjoyed learning the capabilities of my boats. With each one, I recommit myself to the idea that what matters on the water is the combined capabilities of BOTH the captain and the vessel. Sure, my boat will do some amazing things, but am I ready to do them? Much of the fun for me is increasing my knowledge and skill within the capabilities of my boat. "Outside the envelope" isn't where I want to be when that envelope is my personal comfort and safety.

[CAPT KUJO]

I'm with Pete here....don't push your envelop! For me, training, experience, edcuation, and top rate survival equipment (and knowing how and when to use it) can "extend or widen" your safe operating envelop.

When you're ready to extend your envelop, let me know!

CAPT KUJO

[NAUTI-NOTIONS]

it seems I'm not alone in lessons hard learned. since the post I have talked to fellows who left me behind. bunch of finger pointing. anyway I will pick who I run with in the future a whole lot more carefully and hope to run with people off the board. the enjoyment factor would more than likly be off the charts. i have pic's of one of the boats that did not make it back in an upright postion and will post them tonite if i get the chance. with an 8 hour drive to Neah bay I may need to look at a more southern port, closer to Daddy Dog and his litter of pups.
Sea pup

[Fishslayer]

BC, great story! Thanks for coming back and sharing it with us! Good reminder.