Accidents of the Week - September 30, 2023
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3 Rescued After Boat Overturns Near Charleston
9/23/23 – Awendaw, SC
Three people were rescued after their boat overturned near Bulls Bay, Charleston, over the weekend of 23 to 24 September.
Crews with South Carolina’s Awendaw-McClellanville Fire District were dispatched to Garris Landing on the morning of 23 September, after receiving reports of an overturned watercraft with victims in the water. Several boats were deployed to the area of Venning Creek where crews were able to locate the boaters.
All three patients were taken back to Garris Landing and checked out by Charleston County EMS personnel. Volunteers from US Fish and Game, Charleston County EMS, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and Charleston County Volunteer Rescue Squad provided aid during the operation.
Coast Guard Rescues Man and Dog in Washington’s Samish Bay
9/23/23 – Samish Bay, WA
The U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast Guard posted a video of a crew rescuing a man and dog in Samish Bay, Washington, on 23 September.
The USCG said an Air Station Port Angeles crew had hoisted the pair from a 35-foot sailboat that ran aground. The USCG said the man and dog were safely transported to Bellingham International Airport with no injuries.
1 Dead in Kayaking Incident on Potomac River
9/17/23 – Montgomery Co., MD
A young woman kayaking along the Potomac River died after she was trapped in the water on 17 September, according to officials in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer said officials responded to a call for assistance at roughly 3:15 p.m. in the area of the C & O Canal National Historic Park. One adult female, Piringer said, was pinned “under a rock (in hydraulics)” when multiple people came to try and help her.
The woman was believed to be one of roughly two dozen adults traveling to the area with an out-of-state college kayak group. Details on how the woman became trapped remained under investigation by officials.
Hours after first responders arrived, despite aid from passersby and support from first responders, the unidentified woman died. Piringer said that D.C. police were investigating the incident.
No Injuries Reported in Lake Superior Boat, Ferry Crash
9/17/23 – La Pointe, WI
The Fire Department of La Pointe, Wisconsin, and the Coast Guard were investigating a boat crash that involved a ferry off of Lake Superior’s Madeline Island. Authorities said the crash occurred at around 11 p.m. on the night of 17 September.
According to the La Pointe Volunteer Fire Department Chief, the two people aboard the boat were leaving the docks at the beach club restaurant when their boat crashed into a parked ferry. The boat then became stuck underneath two ferries.
There were no reported injuries, but the two passengers were detained until the Coast Guard arrived. As of the afternoon of 18 September, the chief said that no one had been arrested. The cause of the crash was not yet determined.
Authorities Search for Boater Missing after Hurricane Lee Hits Jersey Shore
9/14/23 – Manasquan Inlet, NJ
The powerful waves stirred up by Hurricane Lee hampered efforts to search for a man, identified as Derek Narby, 21, of Brick Township, New Jersey, who went missing after a boat capsized at the Manasquan Inlet in New Jersey on the night of 14 September.
On 16 September, the U.S. Coast Guard and New Jersey State Police temporarily suspended their search for the missing boater due to adverse conditions. The search was later resumed.
Sgt. Philip Curry of the New Jersey State Police explained that divers had been brought in on the night of 14 September, but had been unable to dive to the submerged boat. “Anchoring a vessel and SCUBA operations are not feasible or safe at this time due to conditions caused by Hurricane Lee,” Curry said.
The 31-foot boat capsized Thursday night after being hit by “large seas,” New Jersey State Police said. A father and two of his sons were on board, and the father and one son were rescued.
3 Rescued from Boat Crash in Lake Ontario
9/17/23 – Henderson, NY
Three people were rescued from a boat in Lake Ontario on the afternoon of 17 September, after they hit a shoal and started to take on water. The incident occurred on the lake near Rays Bay in the Town of Henderson, New York.
According to Fire Chief Bill Griffith, two men and one child were traveling up from Mexico, New York, to visit relatives in Henderson Harbor when they hit a shoal. The boat continued to float toward land until it landed on some rocks, where first responders were able to help them walk to shore.
There were no injuries to report and no fuel leaked from the boat. The owner called in a salvage company to have it towed to a nearby boat launch.
Coast Guard Rescues 5, Including 3 Children, During Tropical Storm Ophelia
9/22/23 – Cape Lookout, NC
Five people were rescued on 22 September during Tropical Storm Ophelia after their catamaran was stranded in rough waters in Lookout Bight in Cape Lookout, North Carolina.
The owner of the sailing vessel Wanderful Life used a cellphone to call Coast Guard Sector North Carolina and report his concern with local weather while being anchored within Lookout Bight. The owner did not feel comfortable in the channel and asked to be rescued by the Coast Guard.
All passengers aboard were wearing lifejackets and three of them were children, ages 10, 7, and 4. A Life Boat crew from Fort Macon made it through the narrow channel using parachute flares to light their way and transferred all five people onto their boat.
A Coast Guard helicopter from Elizabeth City provided an overhead light for the trip back to the station. Officials say there were 6-foot to 8-foot seas at the time, with occasional 10-foot swells, and winds were 35 to 40 mph. Nobody was hurt.
Marine Police Investigate Boat Flip in Alabama
9/24/23 – Orange Beach, AL
Authorities received reports of an overturned boat in Orange Beach’s Cotton Bayou, Alabama, at approximately 5:30 p.m. on the evening of 24 September.
Units from the Orange Beach Police Department were deployed to assess the situation. Concurrently, the Orange Beach Fire Department was tasked with containing a fuel leak by placing a boom around the capsized vessel.
Upon arrival, the Orange Beach Fire Department found that the boat's passengers had already been transferred to the Orange Beach Police Department's vessel. There were no reported injuries, and the passengers were subsequently dropped off at the Tacky Jacks' dock.
The Alabama Marine Police assumed responsibility for the ongoing investigation and took charge of towing the overturned boat.
Missing Boater Found Dead in Tennessee Lake
9/13/23 – Nashville, TN
A missing boater was found dead after being involved in a boating accident in Tennessee’s Rutherford County, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
The TWRA said a boating accident on the West Fork of the Stones River and Percy Priest Lake had claimed the life of a 61-year-old man. Officers were notified of a missing person at about 1 a.m. on 13 September. Upon arrival they found an unoccupied aluminum v-hull boat in the West Fork area of Percy Priest Lake, the TWRA said. Following a search, officers located the man’s body downstream of the boat.
He was not wearing a lifejacket, according to the TWRA. “Tennessee now has a total of 23 boating-related fatalities on the year. This incident remains under investigation,” TWRA said.