TOURNAMENT- LOST AT SEA

[MYRTLE BEE]

Oregon team on a 31 foot mexacian charter boat with no compass or GPS only raido is now spending the second night at sea, his name is Scott believe last name Taylor. we along with other tournament boats stopped fishing to search for Scott, last raido contact I had with Scott was about 4:00pm we headed back in to re-fuel and our captain is headed back out for the night along with other boats the fuel dock is staying open all night to help the rescue. one member is dieobetic (sp) which has now become a serious problem.
I do not know if Scott is a I-fish member but maybe someone knows.
will not post fishing stories untill we find Scott, US Coast guard has not been able to help (red tape) but got word around 6:00pm they are now on the way.
everyone thinks Scott is 100-150 miles south south west of Cabo last night and today seas 5-8 feet wind chop 5-seconds apart, tonight laying down, tired hard to type. will post tomorrow.

[puffins crew]

I will pray to the God of my understanding for their safe return to port.

Peace, Tom

[Mr. Fisherman]

Know your skipper.....
I pray for their safe return.
God bless you for having your priorities straight and breaking off to aid the search.
Please keep us posted and godspeed.

[bait boy]

I hope they are found safely!!!! I'll send one of these hopefully he'll keep an eye on those fishermen

[Kentucky Hog Hunter]

These are the tough stories to tell....


Praying they will return to port safely

[skein]

It's hard for us to imagine a charter without what we consider essential equipment, especially a compass.

We sincerely hope they are found safe and brought in with nothing more than a story to tell. Good on you for breaking off to join the search, and good luck - both in finding them and in your tournament quest.

Skein

[salmon whisperer]

[5 for Fighting]

The boat was found and the crew recovered, a cruise ship spotted them. Everyone is safe and heading back to Cabo. They were picked up about 100 miles off shore.

[RODACTION]

That is great news, WOW !!!

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

Thats awesome news!

[Cliff]

were lookin out for em! Great news!

[Anthony1013]

SWEEEEEET!!!! Now what the heck happened?

[5 for Fighting]

They lost power to the motor on Thursday and couldn't get it started. And without GPS they wen't able to tell people on the VHF where they were.

Down there you'll see boats without navigational equipment, 99% of the time your close to shore and there is little need. But he is the one case where it would have really saved them. Goes to show you the hand held GPS should always be packed...

[Anthony1013]

Wow..... it is amazing how "avoidable" that situation could of been. Thank god this story has a happy ending to it and can teach us all a lesson while sitting in the comfort of our homes.

[Metal Manipulator]

This is great news. I am sooooo happy they are safe and back to shore.

[MYRTLE BEE]

Scott Taylor and crew was rescued this morning around 2:00am 210 miles from Cabo, the cost guard figured a 10 mile grid they would be at from Calif and hit it on the edge, cruise ship stayed untill one of the tournament boats arrived going 30 knots and getting beat hard in the dark.
I'm sure the complete story will be posted soon.
Scott talked at the awards party a few hours ago everything turned out good this time.

[Mr. Fisherman]

Good deal. I am glad they are ok. I bet they invest in a handheld and a compass.

[skein]

the coast guard figured a 10 mile grid they would be at from Calif and hit it on the edge

Nice job, Coasties. Do those guys know what they're doing, or what?

Glad everyone is okay. Now go and catch that WINNING fish!!!!

Skein

[Metal Manipulator]

You left no dog behind. and now as Skein said go get a winning fish.

[tracker]

Agree the good Karma is with you! Catch a big one! Lets see your smiling faces on TV whenever this all airs!

[Buck]

Sure glad this turned out the way it did. Sounds to me like the Coast Guard really knows their stuff in reading currents, etc. Thanks for report this Myrtle Bee.

[northriver1]

Next time I go with a Mexican skipper I may take my hand held gps/vhf. I don't think that would be rude and may come in handy. You always like to hear the good news. Not sure I would enjoy being a drift at sea for a very long time. Might do strange things to ones head.

[Mr. Fisherman]

I don't know about the rest of you but I bring the essential equipment I would need to get me back to the beach no matter who the skipper is. In my bag I have a compass, handheld GPS, Hand held VHF, my PLB EPIRB in addition to a PFD that fits. I often bring along my backup navigation system. When I made my Alaska trip my backup navigation system became our primary navigation system as we lost 2 computers on the trip up. It was a good feeling to know that I could get us where we needed to be. I have relied on my handheld GPS and VHF many times. Well worth their weight. Having my PLB EPIRB is a real comfort when I am in the wilderness of Alaska or over the horizon Tuna fishing. In addition to knowing your skipper you need to know yourself and have what you need in case you have to rely on yourself to get back safely.

[pnwcoast]

You the man.

You nailed it.

You could say that again.

[Anthony1013]

I couldn't agree more..... excellent advice.

[Billfisher]

That is great news! It is pretty cool that we have all this gear (such as GPS or LORAN), but boats outta Cabo have been fishing for a lot of years with little more than a compass. Either way, I'm glad that the "Leave no dag behind rule" applies there as well! Heck, I've even heard salty radio chatter on 78 in Cabo (though it was in Spanish.)

[corrirod]

In Mexico it's not Salty Dogs, it's "Perros Salados", and instead of Leave no dog behind, it's "No deje ningún perro detrás."

[USCG Yaquina Bay]

Hindsight is 20/20, and now everyone is talking about what we "should" take out when we go offshore. While we may seem to have strict laws governing the carriage of passengers aboard commercial vessels and the safety equipment aboard such vessels, many foreign nations do not have those requirements. Keep in mind that the Coast Guard's requirements are only the minimum. Everytime you go out aboard someone else's boat you are placing your life in their hands. Regardless of the requirements, be prepared. Many of you Salty Dogs have made several recommendations as to what to carry and when, please learn from this most recent case and Boat Smart. In Alaska many of the Coast Guard's Search and Rescue cases are over land, looking for lost/injured hunters. Most of them carry hand held GPS units along with Personal EPIRBs. This is a great forum to learn from others mistakes. Thanks for allowing me to put in my thoughts. R

[skein]

As far as "lost on land" goes, I couldn't agree more. For example, one thing that goes in my day pack is an orange smoke flare. It's small and light, yet might make a big difference if you're down in the heavy trees while the search party is overhead.

Skein

[TundraIII]

I was sitting at the Palapa bar poolside in Cabo on Friday when an elderly lady sat down beside me with a hand held VHF radio. She was listening to this story unfold and several of us joined in to listen. I would have been completely amazed and surprised if this had happened here off our coast but after spending a few nights in Mexico....not surprised at all. I could spend the next hour explaining what a dump Cabo San Lucas is....but as I am now dealing with dysentary and heading to the clinic for antibiotics because of something I ate or drank there last week...I'm too angry to comment on what I experienced there. I hope they got some help and everyone is ok.

[blubeast]

I'm glad it had a happy outcome.

That said, I'm not surprised it happened. Eight years ago a friend and myself were in Cabo and went out after marlin in a panga. We hooked a big fish that pulled us way way out. :shocked: Turned out the only emergency equipment on the panga was a single childs pfd, and a CB radio. There were 4 people on the panga.

Knowing how safety conscious the Dogs are up here, and comparing it with what I experienced, it's a very different world down there. Would I go again... yes, but would take along MY OWN gps, handheld vhf radio, pfd, and epirb, just as I do when every time I go on another captain's boat.

I know better now.

[tracker]

Lets remember that for many of these captains below the border, a GPS is a years wages. Any help they get from you is often appreiciated. Remember this is a third world country. You dont drink the water, or eat vegatables that may have been washed in that same water. Bottled water is often just water bottled at the local spiggot. Alcohol with ice in it is somewhat safe. I always bring a water purifing straw to drink water through. So to sum this up, there are many things we need to survive on the water and many things we need to know to survive the land. But man, that is what makes mexico so great. Yes Cabo may not be a five star resort, or maybe it was that you did not pay the money for a five star resort, but it is what it is. And going well versed on survival techniques would have helped.

[elkhuntr28]

Goes to show you the hand held GPS should always be packed...

EXACTLY what I was thinking. A cheapo $100 GPS would have been priceless!

[Sublime]

Montezuma's Revenge, Tundra!! :grin:

John , the Kharma is going to come back to you! You are always willing to put other before youself. You are an upstanding, great guy! Can't wait to hear the stories and fish with you again soon! Great Job with your help and efforts. ..its why people like me, look up to the other Salty Dogs on here, and learn the comradory (sp)that goes along with being a Salty Dog. Thank you!

[Seelicious]

There are some things they did right that we could learn from as well.

Making a drift sock from a cooler or clothes to slow the drift...rationing their food and water immediately are a couple.

Sea Fox and I fished the Joanna in June...we did not take anything but a cooler...people make mistakes.

T-3 sorry to hear about your experience in Cabo...it's not that easy down there if you don't have some good local knowledge.

Peace-

[greenbuttskunk]

I'll second the "revenge" Carumba!!!!!
I'm eating a banana right now.
bud is right on the boat, they did well to stay calm and do what they had to in a very scary and tense situation. We followed it all day and I sat next to the radio and listened to much of it also.
It's easy for us to judge, but let's just say when you get down there and you have been lucky to get a boat period, and all you are focused on is the tourney, some things just don't get challenged. The lesson most learned there was if we return next year, we'll all bring down some good gear with us thatwill help prevent this. It's just different down there. We are prepared here because we have too.

[bajadan2000]

Glad it all worked out ok and everyone is safe..

I hope everyone takes to heart the information that was shared here by so many, and has learned from it. If you are going out on a boat in Mexico, please take as much of your own safety equipment as you can carry. One thing I would like to add is. I always have 2-3 days worth of food and water on my boat in Baja. Many take water but little or no food along. I was caught in a freak strom one day. It went from flat to 20' seas in about 10 minutes and getting bigger. Had to spend the night on an island with a bunch of Mexican fisherman that also could not make it back to the bay. We had a nice time and the food and water was shared by all. The strom could have lasted longer but we managed to limp in the next day. Everytime one of those Mexican fisherman now sees my boat, he will come over to make sure I am OK.

In Baja there are no buoy reports, no Coast Gaurd, no weather forecast, no channel 16 help, and very little chance to view satellite weather in remote areas. You are on your own. Always plan for the worst.

I have very little exsperience in Cabo because it is not my kind of place. Please do not judge the rest of Baja by what goes on in Cabo. You will be missing out on a wonderful time.

[FASTWATER]

Last year when we went to Mexico we brought radios , gps, and all our own rods,Ixtapa! The real plus was most boats averaged 2 or 3 hookups daily and I think are worst days was at least 8 or 9(sailfish) at the end of the trip we ended up trading our handhelds gps radio and rods for trips this year to the skipper we fished with ,whom we have fished with for a couple of years not only were we happy with the deal but he was most gracious also!!! But yes I agree totally with dan always prepare for the worst and hope for the best!!! PEACE