UPDATE 1- GOOD SAMARITAN LOCATES 24-FOOT RECREATIONAL BOAT DISORIENTED IN FOG
SEATTLE-
A Good Samaritan located the 24-foot recreational boat with five people
aboard this afternoon about 2:45 p.m., near the entrance to
Quillayute River, Wash.
The Good Samaritan located the 24-foot
recreational boat after hearing an urgent marine information broadcast
to mariners. The recreational boat was found two miles south
of La Push, Wash., and had been lost and disoriented in the fog
since Saturday.
A 47-foot motor
lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Quillayute River was directed to
the 24-foot recreational boat and escorted it to La Push.
The Coast Guard searched with two 47-foot motor
life boats from Station Quillayute River, one 47-foot motor life boat
from Coast Guard Station Neah Bay, Wash., the Coast Guard Cutter
Osprey, an 87-foot patrol boat stationed in Port Townsend, Wash., and a
C-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento,
Calif. A Navy P3 from Naval Station Whidbey Island, Wash., was
also used to search for the boat.
The air crews and boat crews searched more than 1,366 square miles.
The
recreational boat did have a VHF radio on board and could hear the
Coast Guard's urgent marine information to mariners but could not
transmit their location to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard
would like to remind boaters to equip there vessels for safe operations
in a quickly changing marine environment. The summer months along
the Oregon and Washington coast are known for quick moving dense fog.
The
Coast Guard recommends vessels operating offshore should have low
visibility navigation equipment. At a minimum they should have an
operable global positioning system and a VHF marine band radio.
Radar and global positioning systems, while moderately expensive, can
guide boaters safely to shore during thick fog. A VHF marine band
radio is essential for contacting the Coast Guard during an emergency.
The
Coast Guard can track a VHF marine band radio broadcast to its source
which can speed rescuers to your location. Also when a boater
broadcasts a call for help on channel 16, they are heard by everyone
around them that is also monitoring the radio. Compare this to a
cell phone which only enables you to contact one person and cannot
currently be tracked.
Additional boating information can be found at http://www.uscgboating.org/index.
### 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. |
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