Proper emergency equipment helps save mariner’s life
13/08/2020
US Coast Guards asked a fisherman to fire flares to help locate his sinking boat – and having the proper emergency equipment may have saved his life.
The 37-foot commercial fishing vessel began taking on water early one morning at the end of July. This was near the entrance to the Columbia River, at Ilwaco, Washington.
It later sank near the Cape Disappointment bar and the fisherman on board send out a VHF-FM radio mayday call.
A Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew and a Sector Columbia River MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew responded. They asked the distressed mariner to activate the vessel’s emergency position indicating radio beacon and set off available flares.
The crew of Columbia River Bar Pilot boat Astoria heard the Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and diverted to assist.
The Coast Guard crew arrived and set up equipment to pump the sunken vessel. However, it started taking on water at an increased rate, so members rescued the mariner and took him to the shore.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Caitlin Maronde, a crew member aboard the Station Cape Disappointment MLB says, “The mariner was prepared for an emergency. Having the proper emergency equipment may have saved his life.”
The stock picture of a 7-foot Motor Life Boat crew from U.S. Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco, Washington, is by Chief Petty Officer David Mosley
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