BoatUS Foundation Emergency
Rescue Beacon Program
Saves Three Off Cape Hatteras, NC
An EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) from the
BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water’s EPIRB
Rental Program has once again helped save the lives of recreational
boaters. The latest incident involved three sailors who abandoned their
disabled 30-foot sloop 120 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, NC.
On the evening
of Monday, June 28, around 9:30pm, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew
from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, safely rescued the vessel’s
owner and captain, Bob Seay and crewmembers Bruce Serinis and Brad Howard
after a tumultuous two days of vessel and engine failures and increasingly
dangerous seas.
The incident
began on Wednesday, June 23 when Seay’s Perfect Day left Bermuda
to return to Annapolis, MD after having competed in the Annapolis to
Bermuda race. By Saturday, an initial forecast for light winds had deteriorated
to 35 knots and 15-foot seas. Perfect Day began to founder as its mast
became loose and its engine failed. Dead in the water, Seay activated
the BoatUS EPIRB.
Although
unable to sail, Seay and his crew used their remaining fuel to sidle
up to the 900-foot, 65,000-ton tanker Gulf Grace which the Coast Guard
had vectored to Perfect Day’s location for a fuel drop. The Gulf
Grace lowered fuel – along with ice cream and cigarettes. “None
of us smoked,” Seay said with a grin, “But the Grace’s
crew wouldn’t have it any other way.”
With calm
seas, Seay, Serinis and Howard repaired the mast. But their luck would
soon run out as the Coast Guard – constantly monitoring the situation
– notified them that gale force winds would soon be upon Perfect
Day. Trying to lessen the impact, the boat turned south on Sunday rigged
in full storm mode – all gear was checked and rechecked and everything
made secure. “My safety at seas classes really helped me prepare,”
said Seay. By noon on Monday winds were back up to 30 knots and seas
were building past 12 feet. That’s when the engine’s alternator
failed, the mast became loose again, and a leak developed in the hull-to-deck
joint near the bow allowing seawater to enter the boat.
At this point
the three agreed that it was time to activate the EPIRB again and call
the Coast Guard. Crewmember Serinis, a retired USCG Search and Rescue
crewman, said that in all his years in the service, he had “Never
pulled anyone off a boat in any situation worse than this.” A
Coast Guard C-130 and rescue helicopter were dispatched. When the helo
arrived, Perfect Day’s crew jumped overboard and were safely plucked
from the stormy seas. Afterward, Seay said, “I thought I respected
the ocean, but I didn’t. I found out what ‘weather’
really was.”
Seay was
effusive in his praise for the BoatUS EPIRB. “I can’t
thank BoatUS enough for having a great rental EPIRB program when I
needed it. I will never go offshore without an EPIRB – it worked
flawlessly. The combination of EPIRB and Satellite phone saved our lives,
but the satphone didn’t always work reliably.”
“The
BoatUS Foundation makes these $900 EPIRB life-saving devices available
for $50 a week as a public service,” said Ruth Wood, president
of the BoatUS Foundation. The program is funded by the voluntary contributions
of 575,000 BoatUS members. For more information, call 888-663-7472
or visit http://www.BoatUS.com/foundation/epirb
The mission
of the Foundation is to promote safe and environmentally sensitive boating,
reduce accidents and fatalities, and increase stewardship of our water
resources. The Foundation also operates the only accredited, free, online
boating safety course, a free Kids Life Jacket Loaner Program, and awards
grants to non-profit groups for boating safety and environmental projects.
