Stranded crab fishermen rescued.
Byline: LARRY BACON The Register-GuardWINCHESTER BAY - A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hoisted five crab fishermen from the deck of their 67-foot vessel early Tuesday after it ran aground in the surf about 1 1/2 miles north of the Umpqua River entrance.
No one was injured. A salvage tug is expected to try to pull the stricken Jeanette Marrie into deep water today or Thursday.
Coast Guard Lt. Bob Beck said the steel-hulled vessel remained in good condition and chances appeared good that it could be refloated. He estimated its value at $750,000.
The Jeanette Marrie belongs to John Silva of Coos Bay and has its home port in Portland.
Beck said the cause of the grounding, about 100 yards off the shoreline, remained unclear Tuesday and the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office was investigating the incident. None of the approximately 4,000 gallons of fuel aboard the vessel had leaked, he said.
The Coast Guard received a distress call from Silva at 5:08 a.m. Lt. Toby Holdridge said the surf was too rough for a 47-foot Coast Guard rescue boat to reach the crab boat so the crewmen were lifted off individually by a helicopter from the Coast Guard Air Station in North Bend.
"The helicopter hoisted the men off the boat to the beach where a Coast Guard ground party was waiting," Holdridge said.
In addition to Silva, the other rescued crewmen - all from the Coos Bay area - were Charles Parker, Bob Miller, Danny Kutsch and Tim Grout.
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| Title Annotation: | Grounding: Coast Guard helicopter lifts 5 men to safety after boat gets stuck in surf.; Accidents |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) |
| Date: | Jan 15, 2003 |
| Words: | 255 |
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