Tragedy on Green Bay

[Juls_WI]

Heard in the news this morning that two men and a 16 year old boy lost their lives last night on Green Bay. The boat they were in was found floating by passerbys at around 8pm last night off of Kewaunee. I think that was the place. I'm not sure.
I haven't gotten the full story, and was wondering if anyone knew what happend. All the news said was that the transom was damaged.

I hate to hear of tragedies like this. My thoughts go out to the families of the lost loved ones.

Juls

[Nofish]

Hey Juls,

It was actually more off Algoma, on Lake Michigan, according to the news report I had seen. They still did not know what happened, or found the bodies, last I heard.

Be carefull out there............R

[Roscoe]

Supposedly they were wearing life vests, but died of hypothermia. One is yet to be found.
They may have been hit from behind, and tore off the transom.

[cisco]

I fished the lower basin of Lake Michigan last weekend, way south of Algoma (or Kewaunee). The highest surface temp we recorded was 52 degrees. Very few ever drown in L. Mich. It is hypothermia that kills.

It's always a tragic situation when small craft fail to provide safe boating on the Great lakes. In this tragedy, as in others, let's hope and pray others learn.

[ibfishn]

The capsized boat,a 19 foot cabin cruiser was found a few miles off of Algoma by anoher boat about 8p.m. They notified the CoastGuard in Sturgeon Bay who sent a boat to begin a search and rescue with the help of the CoastGuard Helicopter from Travers City, Michigan. They found three bodies a 13 year old boy, and two 37 year old men in the water wearing life jackets and unconcious. All three were later reported dead. They did pull a fourth person from the water who is alive and should be able to tell what happened out there. There is also one more person missing, the coast guard was to continue looking today. They said there was a significant amount of damage to the transom of the boat, but don't know what caused it.

[Time to Move]

From the USCG 9th District Ops Summaries:

Ninth District Multi-Mission Highlights

June 19, 2000

SEARCH AND RESCUE: CAPSIZED VESSEL IN THE VICINITY OF ALGOMA, WISC.

Units: Air Station Traverse City, Air Facility Waukegan, Station Sturgeon Bay, Station Two Rivers, &
Marine Safety Detachment Sturgeon Bay

Station Sturgeon Bay received a call from good samaritan that had discovered a capsized 19-foot aluminum skiff off of Algoma, Wisc. A 41-foot rescue boat and a helicopter from Air Station Traverse City responded. It was initially believed there were three persons onboard, however subsequent investigations revealed that there was a fourth. Three bodies were recovered and all were wearing PFDs. Units searched through the night and a first light search utilizing additional units from Station Two Rivers and Air Facility Waukegan is planned. It initially appears that the cause of the vessel capsizing was a catastrophic failure of the vessel's transom. Marine Safety Detachment Sturgeon Bay
will investigate. Case pends.

[AquaMan]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-20-00 AT 02:12PM (CST)[p]19 foot boat is a pretty good sized boat for the Great Lakes. With the reported damage to the rear and transom, it appears that the boat was either rammed from behind or hit the rocks on a rearward drift in the 6-8 footers. Either way, quick abandonment seems evident because the boat was equiped with radios and all the passangers were wearing life jackets.

Very sad story.

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[TJ(wi)]

Nineteen feet is big enough for L. Michigan on an average day. I wonder why the transom failed? Overpowered? Rotten? I can see thread the developing already once we find out what brand of boat it was....

If the engine dropped off the transom, I suppose the it tore the battery out too, hence no distress call from the radio. Makes a pretty good case for a waterproof handheld as a backup.

My heart goes out to the families.

[walleye wisdom]

It's good to see they were wearing life jackets. Is it true one is still alive?

[Eyemadman]

Please keep us posted as to what happened. God bless their families.

[Roscoe]

Update from the Green Bay Press:

ALGOMA -- Two charter-boat captains who took part in an attempted rescue of four fishermen said their years on Lake Michigan didn't prepare them for the experience.
Algoma's Volunteer Fire Department, assisted the U.S. Coast Guard in an attempted rescue of four fishermen beginning shortly after 8 p.m. Monday.
The bodies of three victims were found in the first few hours of the search. All three victims were from Merrill. A fourth man, of Aniwa, is still missing.
The air and surface search went on all night and was suspended at 12:54 p.m. Tuesday "pending further developments" said Petty Officer Howard McCarthy of the Coast Guard Group-Milwaukee.

Searchers concentrated on an area about six miles northeast of Algoma harbor, McCarthy said. He said survival time in the 50-degree water would vary with body weight and clothing, but didn't offer much hope that would be found alive.

The outboard-motor boat the victims used hasn't been recovered, and may have sunk when rescuers diverted attention to victims, McCarthy said. He said a cause for the accident hadn't been pinpointed.

"The weather was good" Monday with just 1- to 2-foot waves, he said.

McCarthy said Coast Guard personnel who got a glimpse of the boat noted the rear transom was missing. The transom is where the outboard motor would normally be bolted, he said.

But he wouldn't speculate about whether the damage seemed consistent with a collision with a floating or underwater object that tore the transom and attached engine from the boat.

"I only saw the first 3 feet of it," he said. He said he saw no damage on the part visible above the waves.

A witness saw the doomed boat leave from the public boat launch in Algoma at about 12:30 p.m. Monday.
"I thought to myself, 'That's an old boat,"' the boat he saw bobbing on the lake Monday evening was an older cuddy, or small-cabin, boat. He said he believed the boat was an early 1960s model.

The state Department of Natural Resources will investigate the cause of the accident.
the boaters shouldn't have run into trouble from the small waves on the lake at the time.
"Something out of the ordinary had to happen to that boat," Haasch said.

[Gray Ghost]

Also makes a good case for carrying adequate flares and smoke signals, and maybe even an EPIRB.

GG

[The Truth]

Most of the info in this post is true. It is true about the four people - one is still missing. The "speculation" about what caused the boat to sink is where I have a problem. The damage to the stern was caused by the coast guard when they tried to pull the boat out of the water and up onto their 41 footer. There must have been too much water in the 19 footer when they tried to drag it on deck causing the stern to blow out. The coast guard then lost the boat reportedly 3 miles off Algoma. They did not get rammed from behind. I don't know why the Coast Guard wouldn't fess up to this mistake but that's what happened. All you have to do is ask yourself if they (the coast guard) saw the boat, why isn't it back on shore? Sometimes the truth hurts but it will still set you free. It seems like an honest mistake to me I don't understand the misinformation. Makes me wonder what else we don't know.

[Nofish]

Hey Truth,

What is your source? I am just curious how you came to this info. No need to give away secrets here, just curious. Was the motor on the back of the boat then?

My heart also goes out to the families involved.

IMHO..........R

[The Truth]

I'd rather not reveal my source. However, if you want to test it just ask the right questions to the right guys and you will see. Try sending the coast guard an E-Mail. See if you could get one to Cheif Hathaway at Sturgeon Bay.

[jeff reed]

If thats the truth, it wouldn't surprise me. The military including the Coast Guard are famous for stretching the truth.

[ibfishn]

Talked to a guy I work with who was fishing out of Algoma right by this boat earlier in the day before something broke in my buddies lower unit and he had to call for the Coast Guard to tow him in. He gave the Coast Guard his GPS coordinates and they almost hit this boat when they came out to tow him in so it would not suprse me if the coast guard was responsible for the damage as described above. He did say that the waves were running at 3 to 4 feet with an occasional roller topping out around 6 feet, it did not calm down to 1 foot until later in the evening, so it is possible that a combination of a large wave and an unbalanced load may have aused this boat to capsize. I did not ask him what time it was that he saw them but he worked until 3 that day and hen it was another hour to get his boat in the water and get out there so I would think by the time the Coast Guard towed him in and went back to Sturgeon Bay it must have been sometime after 5 o'clock that the boat flipped. I know my buddy feels kind of weird knowing that had his motor not broke down it could have been him that capsized or that he would have been able to help them. God Bless the families of these men. Our prayers are with them.

[Time to Move]

And God bless the Coast Guard and other rescue people who put themselves in harm's way everyday to help save people in danger.

[Fishin' Chips]

According to the news reports, the Coast Guard boat that towed your buddy in was still at the fuel docks in Algoma when the capsized boat was reported. The owner of Pier 42 in Algoma ran down to the fuel dock to notify the Coast Guard then took several Algoma fireman and EMTs out in his boat to aid in the search. Our prayers are with the families.

Al

[bob oh]

The Coast Guard actually towed your friend's boat?? On Erie they only tow you if your life is in danger, otherwise you hire a tower????
Just wondered,
Bob

[jeff reed]

Same on Saginaw Bay. The Coast Guard don't TOW nowbody. They say they save people's lives NOT Personal PROPERTY. Guess you Wisconsin folks are lucky. I'll betcha this towing thing is a local commander's decision.

[Kevin A]

The Coast Guard is right in not towing someone who isn't in danger. If they did so it would interfer with local commerce (i.e compete with private business). They are in the safety business, not towing. They will insure you (or they) get things in motion to get you off the water, after that, so-long.

[Time to Move]

That's right. The Coast Guard is not a towing company. That's what insurance and salvage companies are for. Besides, what if they were towing your friend and can't answer the call if you have a heart attack? Towing ties up resources for too long.

Policies probably differ in different areas but in 9CR (Great Lakes Region) if it's not a real emergency they put out a Marine Assistance Request Broadcast on the behalf of the disabled and if a tow company offers to assist, well thats between them and the boater.

[ibfishn]

And if there are no towing companies in the area? Explain why the Coast Guard will tow in a capsized boat even if the people in it have been rescued by another boater. I don't know how they do things in other parts of the country, I guess maybe we are just lucky here. Although it seem to me that a boat that has lost engine power in 3 to 4 foot seas could be considered an emergency. When there are no other boats in the area and no one else can be raised on the radio I think the events of the last week show the importance of the getting aid to any boat in need even if it means the Coast Guard is involved. P.S. 2 more lives were lost off the shores of Door County this past week whe two kayakers left the Cana Island lighthouse and disappeared. Only one body has been recovered.
My prayers go out to the families. God Bless.

[bob oh]

I agree, CG shouldn't be a tow company. They don't have the personnel or resources. If you are in real trouble - fire, taking on water, being pushed on the rocks - they will try to rescue. Otherwise it is your responsibility. $500 towing insurance is pretty cheap - $50 or less, or you can pay as you go. Since CG is federal and supported by my tax dollars I don't think I like the different policies - tow here but not there????
Bob

[RJ]

It's a little late to be trying to rescue someone after their boat goes down or is being slammed on the rocks. I bet 9 out of 10 days the coast guard does'nt see much action, I don't think spendng my tax dollars to tow a boat in before it slamms into the rocks or capsizes is a waste of money. It sure is alot cheaper than a search and rescue. I'm not saying it is right in all cases but I believe that the events of the last few weeks are proof eough that it is better to err on the side of overcaution than to be dead, or leave someone to die. I don't know about the coast guard policies but I do know they regularly patrol the waters off Sturgeon Bay and if a boat needs helpthen why not? They are already on the water.

[Lucky Jim]

Very good point RJ.

[bob oh]

RJ, Read my post, I said if you are in TROUBLE they will respond. If you run out of gas, blow a lower unit etc., call a towing service!!!!!!!1 They are rescuers, not towers.....
Bob

[RJ]

Bob, as I said before it's a little to late to call for help AFTER you are already in trouble. When the Coast Guard is as far away as they were in this instance and there is no towing service in the area I think I would rather have the Coast Guard spending my tax dollar to help me before the problem becomes serious. Tell me how much a life is worth, will your precious tax dollars cover it. No it is not always reasonable to ask or expect the Coast Guard to tow you in but when you are in rough seas and your boat has no power It is their job to make sure it does not become a life threatening situation and if that means towing you in if they are able to resond the fastest and are otherwise not preoccupied then I think it is alot better than a SEARCH AND RESCUE.