7 Boaters Saved Off South Carolina Coast
A Baptist pastor and the six other members of his party were rescued 25 miles off the Charleston, S.C. coast 20 hours after their 38-footer flooded and sank up to its bow at 10a.m. Saturday morning, Sept. 4th. Rev. Greg Owenby said he and his crew were saved because of the good Lord, and we agree because this rescue almost didn't happen. The VHF MAYDAY transmission was stepped on so the USCG did not hear the location of the vessel. Hours of daylight searching turned up nothing and the search was called off at nightfall, then restarted later because of a phone call and a clue as to where they might be; then the search was almost called off again because the Coast Guard chopper was running low on fuel.
 A USCG helicopter rescue team spotted the 7 survivors in moonlight and lifted them to safety as the chopper ran low on fuel. |
By Mike Conley, McDowell News
Published: September 07, 2010
Around 10 a.m., the fishing lines hit the water but they didn’t fish more than 5 minutes before an alarm went off. Rex Willimon, who was operating the boat, looked in the engine compartment of the 38-foot vessel and saw that water was rapidly rising.
“The reason the boat took on water so fast is under investigation,” said Lt. Com. Ryan Rhodes of the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Charleston to WCBD-TV.
First, Life Jackets
Willimon quickly made sure everyone was fastened in a life jacket then cut the anchor line, and used the rope to tie everyone together as they abandoned ship. “He sent out a radio transmission that was stepped on by a stronger signal. We heard 'Mayday' and ‘half a mile,’” said Rhodes.
Two radios and a flare set went down with the boat, which submerged just below the surface. The Coast Guard launched a vessel and a helicopter but suspended the search after a four-hour hunt turned up nothing. The radio transmission that another boater stepped on said 21 ½ miles off Charleston. The boat was not equipped with an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) which is optional on recreational boats, but might have saved rescue time, according to the WCBD-TV story.
A Wife to the Rescue
“Saturday evening, we got a call from one of the men’s wifes who said that the boat was overdue. They were fishing at wrecks and reefs off Charleston,” said Rhodes.
Using the new information, a second search launched with helicopters from Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, Ga. as well as a C-130 search plane and an 87-foot patrol boat from Elizabeth City.
“They were finishing up the last leg of the search before returning home to refuel on Sunday morning when a helo crew member spotted the victims,” said Rhodes.
It was 20 hours after the Mayday.
Prayers Answered
Relatives at home contacted Owenby about the search. Members of Grace Baptist and other churches in McDowell prayed for their safe return.
“Several churches were up early in the a.m. hours praying for them,” said Owenby.
Their prayers were answered when the Coast Guard finally located the four men and the three youngsters at 6:02 a.m.
Cooler Plays Role
They were sunburnt, stung by jellyfish and cold, but otherwise alright. Rhodes stated that they ate food and drank beverages from inside the cooler. “They were all tied to that cooler when the Coast Guard found them,” said Owenby, “just the fear and physical stress of it all.”
They were taken to the Medical University of South Carolina’s hospital for treatment. Owenby said Willimon had to spend a night in the hospital. “They wanted to get some extra fluids in him,” said Owenby, adding the doctors cared for Willimon’s muscle stress.
Five-year-old Xander came through it OK.
“He was the one the family was most concerned about,” said their pastor.
Many of the survivors lost their cell phones, their wallets and their keys, said the pastor. But he added they are thankful to God they did not lose their lives.
Three Generations on the Boat
On the powerboat were Roger Gouge of Marion; his son, Jody Gouge of Marion; his older son, Rodney Gouge of Charleston, S.C.; son-in-law, Rex Willimon of Greenville, S.C.; teenage grandsons, Caleb Gouge of Charleston, S.C. and Tyler Mathis, and the youngest grandson, Xander Gouge, who is just 5. Roger Gouge, Jody Gouge and Xander Gouge attend Grace Baptist Church. Willimon and son Tyler also attend Grace Baptist even though they live in Greenville, S.C., according to Owenby.
Roger Gouge, who is 60, said Tuesday he’s still recovering physically from the ordeal. “The only reason we are still here is because of the Lord Jesus Christ and our faith,” he said.
Fox News Gets the Story
Gouge said he and some of the survivors will be interviewed by Fox News in Atlanta next week about their experience. “We have been absolutely bombarded by everybody from ‘Good Morning America’ to ‘Inside Edition’ to Fox News,” he said. Gouge declined to comment further. He stated that the family would talk more about it after the Fox News interview.
But a TV station in Charleston, S.C. was able to talk to one member of the Gouge family not long after the rescue. “We said this was going to be once in a lifetime and it really was, but not for the reasons we thought,” said Jody Gouge in an interview with WCBD-TV in Charleston.