Sad news in the Chronicle this morning.

[trseato]

boating tragedy

Conroe man survives 30hours in Gulf, but loses friend




Courtesy photos via Associated Press

These undated photos provided by Ashley Coen show her father Ed Coen, left, and best friend KenHenderson during a fishing trip.

Sorry, I havent figured out how to include a link to this article but it's a tragic reminder of what can happen out there.

[Gulfcoast13]

Terrible. RIP.

[Milkjug]

That sucks, the gulf can humble you in a heartbeat. Prayers sent.

[Rollo]

Yan,you took the words out of my mouth many a strong man met his maker in the Gulf O Mexico!

[Robalo]

Terrible tragedy and very sad. They were in a 31' Scarab, tied to a rig, taking on water, called mayday, no response, Cell had no service either, untied from platform apparently thinking water would flow out-it didn't, boat sunk (if you are filling with water and know the bilge is full, gassing motors will force water to rear and transom will go under and so will motors and batteries, and boat will sink-just hit bilges and if tied to platform, get on Platform while boat bilges-of course hindsight is 20/20 and am not blaming anyone, but do not gun boat thinking water will drain out-it won't-it will go to aft and aft will go under). Now too far from platform and boat is nose up and sinking, tied together but hypothermia set in and finally one cut tie line and swam to platform while other lost life-30 hours in water. A fisherman found the poor souls body.

Another point to consider, the hull could have cracked, so making headway could just fill boat up faster. A loose drain hose will fill up a boat also-check hoses each year, inspect hull, keep a ditch bag handy, EPIRB or SPOT, don't leave what likely is a safe place when in danger of sinking-boats are replaceable.

Prayers to Mr. Coen's Family.

[2112]

Sounds like good advice Robalo.

[SCHU]

Yep, unfortunately, you can't leave anything for Mr. Murphy to handle. Leave nothing to chance and most of the time you don't get a second chance. Sad trip. R.I.P. ...

[evansmarine]

That's horrible, Prayers for there family.

[WestEndAngler]

Prayers up. We see too many of these type scenarios every year.

I wouldn't venture past the Jetties without Class I life jackets & an EPIRB. I bet many who go off shore never even think about the higher class life jackets. They think the standard orange type III are okay... WRONG! Reflective material, higher buoyancy on Type I make a person easy to spot. Each Type I on my boat has a signal mirror & whistle fastened to it.

An EPIRB is standard in my ditch bag along with SAT phone, my SPOT beacon is always added as backup, even a portable VHF all of which are waterproof. 500' of floating reflective tape, dye markers, spare rope, water bottles, & an emergency desalination device.

[WestEndAngler]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/27/texas-boating-accident_n_1383959.html

CONROE, Texas — Treading water hours after his fishing boat started to sink in the Gulf of Mexico, Ken Henderson made a decision that saved his life but lost him a best friend.

He cut the string connecting their life jackets and swam for help.

“He couldn’t kick his legs to swim anymore, and I knew I had a choice,” Henderson told the Conroe Courier of his friend, Ed Coen. “I told him, ‘I need your help,’ or we would both be stranded out here and die.”

And so, more than 30 hours after Henderson’s boat started taking on water and both engines failed he managed to swim to a natural gas rig where he called his wife and the Coast Guard. A fisherman found Coen’s body floating in the water a short time later.

“He was a very big-hearted person, and would do anything in the world for me,” Henderson said. “We were true brothers. I really miss him.”

The men’s saga began around noon Thursday when they were sitting in Henderson’s 30-foot Scarab sipping soft drinks. That’s when Coen noticed the boat was taking on water. They tried to get the engines running to clear out the water, but both failed and the boat rapidly began to sink. They tried to call 911, but had no cellphone service. They made two Mayday calls to Marine Radio, but received no response.

Coen, meanwhile, collected anything they could use to float, so when the boat suddenly made a violent flip leaving the two in the water they had life jackets, a boat oar, a dock pole and what was left of Coen’s soft drink, which he quickly zipped into a bag.


For some 35 hours the duo worked to stay alive. Henderson ripped a spare life jacket open to leave a trail of foam behind them in the water. They tightened a strap connecting the two of them and took turns sleeping on each other’s chests to try to stem off hypothermia and rest.

Coen, though, was a thin man.

“The hypothermia set in after a few hours, and he was violently shivering,” Henderson said.

By Friday afternoon, Coen could no longer swim, and Henderson knew he had little choice.

“We had been best friends for 25 years,” Henderson said. “All of his kids call me Mr. Ken. We were as close as two guys could be.”

Coen’s daughter, Ashley, said the family is trying to take comfort knowing he died doing what he loved most, fishing with Henderson. Minutes before he left for the fishing trip, she brought him his cellphone charger.

“Once again, I told him, ‘I love you,’” Ashley Coen told the Conroe Courier. “I’m glad those were the last words we said.”

[Robalo]

X 100 on Coe's post.

Per the Chronicle:

"Coen quickly unhooked the boat from one of the many oil rigs in the area where they had been fishing. Henderson revved an engine, but it died. Frantic, he got both motors roaring - only to have the saltwater that had leaked in kill them quickly."

Sounds like they were able to make some headway and the motors drowned out. That's why I say "Stay Put" if tied up and taking on water. So sad. Prayers to all.

[WestEndAngler]

X 100 on Coe's post.

Per the Chronicle:

"Coen quickly unhooked the boat from one of the many oil rigs in the area where they had been fishing. Henderson revved an engine, but it died. Frantic, he got both motors roaring - only to have the saltwater that had leaked in kill them quickly."

Sounds like they were able to make some headway and the motors drowned out. That's why I say "Stay Put" if tied up and taking on water. So sad. Prayers to all.

Exactly.

If you have a hole or develop a leak best bet is to stay put & tied up! At least your near a structure & can climb aboard out of the water etc. Your best bet is to turn on the bilge pump & physically start bailing until you either realize the breach far exceeds you & the bilges capability or you have it under control & sustained where the water coming in verses going out remains the same. This allows you additional time and can even allow you to find & potentially solve the leak problem or slow it so you can run back in.

There was a boat last year that we were not more than 5 miles from that was taking on water. We pulled our divers out of the water & ran to help but heard they were successfully pumping & eventually called off the coast guard & spare pump that was in route to their location. We monitored & stood by in the immediate area fishing ready to assist as needed.

Jumping back to Robalo's post about slowly putting power to the motors, this would be under a last resort IMO. If I was drifting or fishing an area away from a rig the putting power to the boat would be done in a last ditch effort to get the boat closer to a permanent structure. Power applied should be barely in gear. ANY rise of the bow would cause the boat to squat so low in the back thus flooding the engine(s). Take all weight forward etc. as you slowly make your way towards a structure.

Don't freak out because water is in the boat or below it. Your first inclination will be to get the heck out of Dodge. DON'T! Stay calm. Assess the situation. How bad is it? Develop a plan (this should be done BEFORE leaving dock). Get your ditch bag in front of you (it should always be out & readily available). Start sending out calls for help & assistance. Most boats built these days will not sink but float just above the surface. NEVER EVER leave the boat unless you are off loading onto a platform or have a SURE way of getting to safety. Swimming is not a sure way! The currents are strong in the gulf & with clothes/ shoes on you will not be swimming your best and thus you may not even be able to swim to the rig structure. An EPIRB costs a few hundred bucks and is small price to pay for a lifeline.

[Robalo]

EXCELLENT POST COE!!! THIS APPLIES IN THE BAY AS WELL AS OFFSHORE!!

Another thing-if you get stuck on an unmanned platform, oil companies are required to do a flyby at least once a week. Also, there is an emergency shut-down switch that will shut-in the platform's production-someone will arrive within 24 hours-HOWEVER use that ONLY IF LIFE-THREATENING OR AS A LAST RESORT (YOU CAN GET IN BIG TROUBLE MESSING WITH PRODUCTION-FINES, CIVIL SUITS, FEDERAL PENALTIES, value of lost production-megabucks, plus copter time and personnel). PS: I dint tell ya that.

[fathernson]

very sad and unfortunate...

That is very good safety info. All great things to keep in mind if things start turning south

[FlatoutFishin]

Another aspect of a heavy water laden boat...you gun the motor to get on plain...you spin a hub do to the weight of the boat. Happened to a buddy of mine and yes, their boat went under partially on its side(cat hull). Luckily they didn't leave the boat, crawled on the side, and the gell cell battery's kept the lights glowing somewhat...enough for a passing crewboat to see. My two words of wisdom...never leave a bigger floating object, and never untie as previously mentioned by Robalo.