U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Sierra Division 11

Author: Jack Leth Flotilla 11-01 Operations Officer

In an earlier posting we covered the Marine Radio aspects of a fishing derby at Pyramid Lake. In this one we're going to take a look at two separate incidents that required the combined efforts of some of the boats that patrol the lake during fishing derbies. The event was the KBUL (a Reno, NV radio station) Hook, Line & Sinker fishing derby the weekend of March 13th & 14th. A weather front went through the night before the event; while it had mainly passed by Saturday morning there were still some pretty strong winds blowing down the length of the lake from the North. The Coxswain on the Auxiliary facilty Following Sea commented, as we commenced our patrol, that with this much wind still blowing we would be helping somebody pretty soon. Not five minutes later we were advised there was a fishing boat taking on water about 4 miles south of our present position. We increased speed as much as practical and headed in that direction. The first on scene was a Washoe County Sheriff's Office patrol boat, part of their SAR/SVU organization. He reported the boat was on the beach and the occupants were all safely ashore.

For those of us in the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, this normally means we will no longer be involved and can resume normal patrolling. When we arrived we found the boat with no problem and confirmed the report from the Sheriff's boat.

This type of boat uses an outboat motor which is fastened to the transom (stern) in a low cutout. Since this area has very little "freeboard" a following sea can enter the back of the boat and begin the swamping process (which is exactly what happened). Keep this in mind as you look at the subsequent pictures. Shortly thereafter the tribal Rangers and a tribal fire vehicle arrived on scene.

After assessing the situation they tried to pump out the boat but with every wave adding more water it was just not possible. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard boat also arrived and the Coxswain assessed the situation as well.

Since this lake is on a reservation and way out in the desert there aren't the usual commercial salvers present as in other areas with recreational boaters. It was decided we needed to help get this boat off the beach, dewatered, and towed back to the launch ramp so it could be put on it's trailer. At this point it was decided the best way to accomplish this was to have the Sheriff's boat tow it off the beach and the Coast Guard boat to go alongside and dewater it with their gasoline engine driven dewatering pump. We on the Coast Guard Auxiliary boat got as close to the beach as we could and communicated the plan to the owner and others on the beach using a megaphone.

The folks on the beach were able to turn the boat around so the Sheriff's boat could get close enough to attach a tow line. The Sheriff's boat uses a jet drive system so they could get much closer without worrying about their propeller striking a rock.

The Sheriffs boat got the tow line attached and pulled the boat out to deeper water.

Once they had settled on course the Coast Guard boat made an approach to put itself alongside the swamped boat.

They also began rigging their gasoline engine driven dewatering pump. Note how the transom of the swamped boat is completely open to the lake water.

Meanwhile, we on the Coast Guard Auxiliary boat took a safety position astern of them in case somebody fell overboard and had to be rescued.

Even with the pump running at full speed it became pretty obvious pretty quickly the water was still coming in faster than the pump could pump it out.

The course of the towing vessel was changed about 90° to the left which reduced the amount of water coming in and in short order the boat was pumped pretty dry.

From there it was just a routine tow to the launch ramp.

Later that afternoon we got another report of a small boat taking on water. First on scene this time was the Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel Shiv'r Me Timbers. Same problem...low cutout in the transom allowing water to enter the boat when they were hit by a following wave. The Auxiliary boat had the crew (two men and a boy) move to the bow to raise the back end up a little higher. Because they were being blown on the the beach they also took the boat in a stern tow.

Once they were settled on course Following Sea made an approach on the boat being towed so it could pass them a 12 volt bilge pump (with a long cord!) to be used to dewater their boat.

Smaller boat, smaller pump, calmer conditions but the results were the same. Boat pumped out, occupants assisted and a happy ending to what could have been a tragic day on the water. Once they were safely tied up to the pier, do you think the little boy looked happy to be safe?

Of course for us in the Auxiliary we still had paperwork to do and a debrief on the events of the day.

A good day of being America's Volunteer Lifesavers. This is why we joined and why we do so much training. If you'd like to join us, we're looking for a few good volunteers. We'd love to hear from you. Photos by Dee Walter, Reno Flotilla 11-03