Accidents of the Week - November 4, 2023
BoatTEST publishes “Accidents of the Week” as a public service for our VIP Subscribers to acquaint them with potential boating dangers and by inference their prevention.
Man Stays with Sailboat After Beaching in Florida
10/23/23 – Jacksonville, FL
A sailboat was stranded on Jacksonville Beach shores, with its captain refusing to leave the vessel's side after he said it had lost power on 23 October, forcing him to swim to shore.
Anyone who walked onto the beach on 24 October off 14th Ave. N. in Jacksonville, Florida, could see Luke Rehberg and his 40-foot sailboat near the water. The sailboat is also his home. "I have to keep watch over the ship,” he said. “There are looters and people that come in the night. I am tied to this ship until I can get her offshore."
Sailboat Lost Power, Anchor Failed
Like thousands of others, Rehberg visited Jacksonville Beach for the Sea and Sky Air Show over the weekend of 21 and 22 October. The captain and his ship hit tough waters around 4 p.m. Monday. "The weather changed,” he said. “I pulled anchor and was going in and the engine failed." He said the Aquilone lost power about a quarter mile out from the shore. His anchor failed, too. "Once I got to the breakers, it became an unsafe situation, and I got the paddleboard and swam to shore," he said.
The Coast Guard said it was the owner's responsibility to move the boat. Rehberg said the agency had confirmed fluids from the boat weren't contaminating the beach and that he wasn't hurt. Rehberg said it would cost him $10,000 to repair the boat and another $10,000 to have it removed, but he didn’t have the money. Instead, he said he would have to wait for the right conditions.
"[I need] this surf to lay down, and I need a king tide, which is coming with the moon this weekend, to have as much water as possible and a favorable wind," he explained.
Marine Unit Rescues Stranded Boaters, No Injuries Reported
10/24/23 – Jefferson Co., TX
Three stranded boaters were rescued by a Sheriff's Office Marine Unit in Jefferson County, Texas, after their boat went partially up on the rocks due to strong waves and winds.
On Tuesday 24 October at around 7:45 p.m., Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) Marine Deputies were dispatched to reports of stranded boaters taking on water near the jetties. Deputies searched the area and found three men standing on the jetties near their boat. Because of the strong waves and winds, the boat was partially up on the rocks, according to a Facebook post from the sheriff's office.
Boat Maneuvered Off Rocks, Towed to Safety
Deputies threw the boat captain a line and he tied it to his boat. Once the line was secure, the three stranded boaters were told to get back onto their boat and prepare to be transferred to the sheriff's office boat. The JCSO boat captain was able to maneuver the stranded boat off of the jetties and into a safer area where they could transfer the boaters onto the sheriff's office vessel. Even with the choppy seas and the wake of a passing ship, deputies were able to rescue the boaters and secure them on the vessel, according to the post.
Deputies towed the disabled fishing boat and the three passengers safely to a four-way stop boat ramp in Sabine Pass, where the boaters were able to load the boat onto their trailer.
The captain of the fishing vessel was from Florida and visiting relatives in Southeast Texas, according to the post. No injuries were reported.
Search Underway for Boater Missing after Collision
10/26/23 – Georgetown, SC
A search was underway for a missing boater in South Carolina’s Georgetown County following a two-boat collision. The multiagency search to find the boater began after an accident near the Yauhannah bridge on the Great Pee Dee River at the Horry-Georgetown County line, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office’s Marine Unit assisted the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and other agencies in the search. Travelers were asked to avoid the Highway 701 landing on the Pee Dee.
Man Rescued from Delaware River after Boat Capsizes
10/30/23 – Delaware City, DE
A man was hospitalized in "serious but stable" condition after his boat overturned in the Delaware River near Reedy Island on the morning of 30 October, the Delaware City Fire Company said. Initial reports stated that the boat had been struck by another vessel, and the U.S. Coast Guard said it had launched an investigation.
The fire company, along with Port Penn and Good Will Fire Companies, launched a rescue boat into the river after overhearing a mayday call to the U.S. Coast Guard at 8:40 a.m., a spokesperson for the fire company said. New Castle County Paramedics also responded.
Boater Injured by Apparent Collision in Foggy Conditions
Delaware City Fire Company said that the person who reported the incident rescued the unresponsive man from the water, taking the approximately 40-year-old aboard his tug boat, Miss Judy, and heading toward Delaware City. The injured man was then transferred to the faster commercial boat Katy Lynn, and later onto Fireboat 15, where he was treated by emergency personnel.
A spokesperson for the Delaware City Fire Company said that the river was foggy that morning and the ensuing lack of visibility meant all boats had to rely on electronic navigation. While the fire company is regularly called to the Delaware River for disabled vessels and people in the water, the spokesperson said that collisions are rare.
He added that the Coast Guard would likely look into what boats were sailing up and down the river at the time of the incident, in order to determine what had caused the boat to capsize.
Woman Dies after Boat Capsizes in Kentucky Creek
10/26/23 – Boone Co., KY
A woman was left dead after a boat capsized in a creek in Boone County, Kentucky, the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office said.
Just after 3 p.m. on 26 October, sheriff's deputies responded to Boone County's Big South Fork Creek for a boating crash with reports of someone trapped under the boat. Crews found a boat upside down and mostly submerged in the creek, which is roughly 8- to 10-feet deep.
The boat became swamped by its own wake, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources said. The sheriff's office said four people, three occupants and one bystander attempting to help, were on the boat when rescuers arrived.
Crews were able to rescue all four people, while 61-year-old Karen Follis Marz, of Holland, Pennslyvania, was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Florence, where she died due to her injuries.
Bystander Dived into 60-Degree Water in Rescue Attempt
A 71-year-old man from Cincinnati and a 69-year-old man from Union were treated and released at the scene. According to sheriff’s office deputies, the bystander, a 38-year-old man from Dry Ridge, Kentucky, refused treatment after jumping into 60-degree water and diving underwater to free Marz, who was trapped.
The bystander was then able to get Marz on top of the capsized boat and initiate CPR before rescue crews arrived, the sheriff's office said. "(His) actions were heroic, and we applaud him for his part in the rescue," the sheriff's office said.
PWC Riders Rescued from Delaware Bay after Capsizing
10/25/23 - Wildwood, NJ
Two men were rescued from the Delaware Bay on 25 October after their personal watercraft capsized, Wildwood firefighters said.
Firefighters from Wildwood and North Wildwood, New Jersey, were dispatched to Poplar and Bay avenues in West Wildwood after a report of the capsizing came in about 7:05 p.m., at first believed to be a boat. The men were stranded after the watercraft tipped over, tossing them into the water, the Wildwood Fire Department said Thursday in a news release. Both were wearing flotation devices.
Men Treated for Hypothermia after Rescue
Upon arrival, first responders could not see anyone in the water because it was dark, but they could hear someone yelling for help, the Fire Department said. One of the men was eventually spotted about 300 yards from shore. Wildwood and North Wildwood firefighters deployed three rescue swimmers on paddleboards to find the victims.
One of the men was rescued by paddleboard, and the other was brought onto another vessel by a good Samaritan, who also brought the rescue swimmers back to shore, the Fire Department said. Both victims were treated for mild hypothermia and declined to be taken to a hospital.
Wildwood, North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest police, Wildwood Crest emergency medical services, AtlantiCare paramedics, State Police Marine Services and the U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the scene, which was cleared after about one hour. Sea Tow Wildwood secured the capsized watercraft.
Man Falls Asleep in Rhode Island, Wakes Up Crashing onto Massachusetts Beach
10/21/23 – Westport, MA
A sailboat was washed up on the beach on Saturday 21 October, according to campers at the Horseneck Beach campground in Westport, Massachusetts. When asked by a reporter about the boat, the Westport Harbormaster said he was aware of it but declined to offer any further details.
According to Matt Morais of Dighton, Massachusetts, “I was camping in my van at one of those spots right on the beach near where the boat ended up. It was probably 8:40ish when I saw someone running around on the beach with a flash light […]. Then the guy with the light started yelling ‘is anybody there!’ So, I went out to see what was happening,” Morais explained.
He added that the man seemed disoriented: “The guy’s asking ‘Where am I?’ all confused. I told him he was at Horseneck Beach in Westport, Massachusetts. At which point he was like,
‘How did I end up in Massachusetts?’,” Morais said. The man explained that he had boat issues and had been sleeping on his boat at anchor off Little Compton, Rhode Island, but was woken suddenly when the sailboat slammed violently onto the beach.