Boating Accidents of the Week - January 28, 2023
January 28, 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.
Hunter Rescued After Kayak Capsized in NY
1/15/23 – Ronkonkoma, NY
Kayaker was wearing PFD
What started as a calm day hunting off Narrow Bay turned harrowing for Nick Shakalis of Plainview. With a life vest on, he went out in a kayak to retrieve a duck when winds suddenly picked up to 30 mph.
"Everything was calm and stable before that, and then in the blink of an eye I was in the water," said Shakalis. The kayak overturned and Shakalis, 34, held on for dear life. "At first I was like, 'Oh my God I'm going to die,' and then afterwards I calmed myself down and I said you gotta just be cool and keep it together and somebody will come," he said.
Rescue time crucial in 40-degree water
Several members of the Suffolk Police were summoned by a 911 call from Shakalis' cousin on shore. Police sent a chopper and rescue swimmer into the 40-degree water.
"This was a fast-moving situation, the water's cold, so the time that we have to act is very short," said Suffolk Police Command Pilot Sgt. John Vahey. "The person is unable to help themselves after about 20 minutes in the water."
Officer Jonathan Jensen, in a survival suit, tried to keep Shakalis conscious and alive a quarter-mile off shore. "It was a little scary seeing the condition that he was in," said Jensen. "He was barely holding on to the kayak."
Shakalis said he had to ditch his hunting gear, which was weighing him down, before police arrived. "I flipped it over, I tried to get back in. And then after I realized I wasn't going to get back in the kayak, what I did was I locked my arm into a strap on the kayak and that became my life preserver basically," said Shakalis.
"He said 'Help me,' and obviously that's why we were there," said Jensen. "I was able to do what we come to work for every day." "I can't thank them enough," said Shakalis. "They saved my life. I'm not so sure I would've made it. Pretty sure I wouldn't have made it if they didn't come do that. Yeah, I wouldn't be here today."
The flight paramedic said she's sure it was a matter of minutes before the day could have ended tragically. Police remind anyone going out in a kayak to let someone know ahead of time or have someone watch you, as Shakalis did.
Two Men Rescued After Kayak Flips
1/16/23 – Santa Barbara Co., CA
Santa Barbara County firefighters rescued two people stranded in the ocean off Isla Vista Monday.
Fire officials say two college age men were in a kayak off Del Playa, between Camino Corto and Camino Del Sur at 5:17 p.m. The Kayak flipped in surf and the two men ended up in the water.
Kayakers wearing wetsuits, no PFDs
Both men were wearing wetsuits and did not have life jackets. Rescue swimmers and a rescue watercraft were used to bring the two men to shore.
Neither person was injured, and they were released on their own accord.
Missing Man Found Dead Off Wisteria Island
1/15/23 – Monroe Co., FL
Authorities were searching for a missing man from the Florida Keys on January 15.
The U.S. Coast Guard said 50-year-old Jayson Harbison was last seen on the west side of Wisteria Island in the lower Florida Keys on January 14 at 10 p.m. Officials said he reportedly fell off a sailboat.
The Coast Guard later said that Harbison’s body had been recovered off Wisteria Island. No further information was released by the authorities.
Canoe Capsizes on Lake Havasu, Man Drowns
1/14/23 – San Bernardino Co., CA
A man drowned on Lake Havasu on the morning of 14 January after his canoe capsized. His body was recovered by a dive team two days later.
On 14 January at around 10:13 am, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department boating deputies responded to a report of a boat accident with one missing person near Cove 1, south of Havasu Landing Marina on Lake Havasu.
The vessel, an aluminum canoe, was determined to have capsized approximately 100 feet from shore. The victim, a 52-year-old male from West Covina, California, attempted to swim to shore but struggled, went underwater, and did not resurface.
San Bernardino County Dive Team members arrived on scene to assist with the search for the victim. The victim was located, deceased, by divers on 16 January at approximately 8:46 am and released to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s division.
Man Pulled Overboard by Huge Tuna is Missing
1/15/23 - Honaunau, HI
Rescuers searched for a third day on 17 January for a Hawaii fisherman who went overboard from a boat after hooking a tuna over the weekend, authorities said.
Mark Knittle, 63, of Captain Cook, was fishing with a friend off Honaunau on the Big Island on Sunday, when he hooked an ahi, or tuna, police said. "The friend heard Knittle say, 'The fish is huge,' then saw Knittle go overboard into the water," according to a police news release.
The friend tried to grab the line, but Knittle disappeared within seconds. The friend jumped in but couldn't see Knittle.
The Hawaii County Fire Department was helping the Coast Guard search from the sea and air. They were expected to continuously search the area for 72 hours, police said.
"Usually our incidents like this are along the coastlines. This is a different situation because it's out in the deep," said Darwin Okinaka, Hawaii County Fire Department assistant chief of operations. According to police, Knittle and his friend were 4 miles from the Honaunau Boat Ramp.
Tuna can weigh up to 400 pounds
"If there's a fish that's actually pulling him around, you don't know where he could go," Okinaka said. Ahi can be up to six feet long and weigh up to 400 pounds, according to NOAA Fisheries.
Police described Knittle as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 185 pounds. The Coast Guard said he was last seen wearing dark shorts and a dark shirt, on January 15, off Honaunau, Big Island.
Five Passengers Uninjured After Toon Capsizes
1/18/23 – Seminole Co., GA
Five people were uninjured after their pontoon boat overturned in Lake Seminole on 18 January.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Law Enforcement Division says that Game Warden K.P. Boatright had responded to a capsized vessel call in the Lewis Pond area of Lake Seminole.
Boatright launched a patrol vessel and located a large pontoon boat completely on its port side with five occupants who were standing on portions of the vessel that remained above water.
The operator stated that they were contacted by the Corps of Engineers and were attempting to replace channel makers. They were using a crane system with a 1600 pound "hammer" on the front of the 26-foot pontoon when the wind picked up and caused the hammer to sway and ultimately flip the vessel on its side.
Seminole County Volunteer Fire Rescue posted to their Facebook page that they, along with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, Ga. DNR,
Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Department and South Georgia EMs also responded.
With assistance from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, units all five occupants were transported to shore and did not require any medical treatment.
Good Samaritans, USCG, Rescue Capsized Boaters
1/16/23 – Tokeland, WA
A pair of men were plucked from the water near Tokeland, WA on the morning of January 16th after their skiff capsized while they were pulling crab pots.
Neither of the men, who were picked up initially by a nearby vessel before the Coast Guard took them aboard, suffered any serious injury, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Garrett Boob from Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor.
The call came in around 11:30 a.m. on January 16th, Boob said. The station responded by deploying a 29-foot-boat, towing their boat via truck and trailer to the scene to deploy more rapidly, Boob said. Boob was the vessel’s coxswain and oversaw the response.
“We got a report that there was a capsized vessel over in Tokeland with two persons in the water,” Boob said in a phone interview. “En route, we got another call that a good Samaritan had picked up them.”
The Coast Guard boat crew got their boat in the water and met the vessel that had rendered assistance, taking the two men aboard. The names of the men have not been released. “We talked to them for a little bit. From what we understand, they were pulling up a crab pot,” Boob said. “Just some bumps and bruises and cold. Other than that, they were fine.”
Both fishermen were wearing PFDs
The skiff, a 19-footer, had gone over while the men were attempting to pull up a crab pot, Boob said. Both men were wearing life vests, said Chief Dennis Benn of the South Beach Regional Fire Authority, whose personnel also responded to the call.
“The added flotation helps keep your head out of the water,” Benn said. “By doing that, it allows your body to retain that much more heat with all the blood that flows through there.”
Pacific County Sheriff’s Office fielded the initial call before contacting the Coast Guard and the SBRFA. The two men had spent about five minutes in the water, Benn said; they were evaluated by medical personnel but declined further treatment. After dropping off the two men, Boob said they investigated the capsized skiff, but it was already blowing toward shore.