"They were seen by crew members on board the ship. After that it's believed they returned towards the beach at Whitecliff, but they were not seen again."
Coastguards believe the pair fell overboard either before or when the boat hit Bembridge Ledge - an outcrop of rock that juts dangerously into the sea.
A 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Galveston and an HH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Houston conducted rescue basket hoist training.
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Train, drill, train.....makes it all work when the real stuff happens.
Dwayne
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Coast Guard today announced the death of Adm. Owen W. Siler, 85, Coast Guard commandant from 1974 to 1978, who succumbed to heart failure last night. “This is a sad day for the Coast Guard,” said Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard. “The Coast Guard lost a close member of our family and America has lost a great leader. Adm. Siler’s relentless service to his Nation, from World War II to the war on drugs, will never be forgotten.
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I had the pleasure of serving under this man while he was Commandant. He was a great leader. We were proud to work for him.
Dwayne
(CBS4) POMPANO BEACH One person has reportedly been killed, several others including a child injured in a personal watercraft accident in Pompano Beach.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said the accident involved two watercraft vehicles that were traveling in the Intracoastal Waterway in the 25-hundred block of Southeast 8th Street.
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Posted by Dwayne
Us - According to the latest available statistics for 2004, more people died in bathtubs and swimming pools (847) than in recreational boats (676). In fact, you have a much greater chance of perishing from a fall involving a bed, chair or furniture (838) or falling from a stairs or steps (1,588) than you do in falling from a boat.
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Is this true or spin??
Let us know.
Thanks,
Dwayne
Florida’s boating accident rate (671) for 2006 was second only to California’s 757. Florida led the nation with 69 fatalities, compared to 47 for Texas and 44 for California. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said the high numbers reflect the reality that Floridians own more than 1 million registered recreational vessels, and they use them throughout the year.
Dwayne
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NTSB PRESS RELEASE / SAFETY RECOMMENDATION
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National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 5, 2007
SB-07-34
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NTSB URGES INSPECTIONS OF LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT ON BOARD VESSELS Safety Recommendation M-07-9 and 10 (Urgent)
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Washington, D.C. - The National Transportation Safety Board is urging the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to inspect certain lifesaving equipment that might not operate properly when needed.
The urgent safety recommendations are the result of information learned by the NTSB during its investigation of the Empress of the North grounding earlier this year. The Board has identified deficiencies in liferaft release units and evacuation slides. The Safety Board regards the issues as serious enough to issue urgent safety recommendations in advance of the final accident report.
"I commend our investigators for their expeditious efforts and thoroughness in identifying this problem," said
NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker "We hope that the Coast
Guard will act just as promptly in addressing the Board's concerns and solutions."
On May 14, 2007, the passenger vessel Empress of the North grounded at the intersection of Lynn Canal and Icy Straits, about 20 miles southwest of Juneau, Alaska, after the vessel failed to negotiate a turn to the west. No injuries resulted from the accident, but the vessel sustained significant damage to its underside and propulsion system. The 206 passengers were safely evacuated to assisting vessels and transported back to Juneau.
The Empress of the North was equipped with 22 inflatable liferafts stowed overhead on the main deck, 11 on each side, and it had two inflatable slides. Safety Board investigators were informed that about half the launching mechanisms in the liferafts did not operate properly.
Investigators also learned that while the crew attempted to launch the vessel's evacuation slides, they inflated upside down. This resulted in the slides having to be manually turned over by crewmembers.
The difficulties in launching the liferafts and the slides did not adversely affect the safe evacuation of passengers from the Empress of the North, because they were not needed due to the proximity of the other vessels.
Nevertheless, the Safety Board is concerned that had the emergency necessitated a rapid evacuation, valuable time would have been lost employing the lifesaving devices, endangering the safety of both passengers and crew. The Safety Board believes that to preclude that possibility in the future and on other vessels, urgent action is needed by the Coast Guard to ensure that this type of lifesaving equipment works properly.
The Safety Board's urgent recommendations state that the USCG should verify the functionality of the model of remote liferaft release units found on the Empress of the North, and should conduct a one-time inspection of evacuation slides last serviced by the company that serviced the slides on the Empress of the North.
The Board classifies both recommendations in the letter as "urgent". A copy of the recommendation letter may be found at the following link on the Board's website
http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/2007/M07_9_10.
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NTSB Media Contact: Keith Holloway, (202) 314-6100
There are some very useful videos for sailors and powerboaters