Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

[jim phillips]

Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters off Keaton Beach, Fla.<br /> <br /> The Coast Guard suspended its search for Dan Hutchinson, Jeremy Giffin, Amanda Player and Dominic Barrows this evening.<br /><br /> Sadly, the four missing boaters, who were expected to return to the Keaton Beach Marina Saturday evening from a fishing trip 20 miles west of Keaton Beach, were not located after an extensive search that included Coast Guard boats and cutters, airplanes and helicopters from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., and Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala., and help from the Air Force and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.<br /><br /> A Good Samaritin located their 20-foot Sea Craft boat capsized and debris within the search area 51 miles south of Keaton Beach, Fla., Wednesday afternoon. The debris included several unused flares and lifejackets. The boat was towed to shore by the FWCC.<br /><br /> The six-day search consisted of 53 sorties totalling more than 47,000 square miles, an area the size of New York.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

 

[SeaMasterZ@aol.com]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

well of course they cant find the bodies<br /><br />they are being processed into shark manure!!!<br /><br />notice moderators - very clean language here!

 

[jim phillips]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

But a poor choice of words ray

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

wow<br /> Thats a bummer to hear. kinda sad when a small portable saltwater activated EPIRB might have saved them. I try to get all my offshore customers to buy them. they work and work very well.<br /> good luck and keep posting if ya hear anything more.<br />Its always sad to see another set of statistics added.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

 

[bubbakat]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

Jim this is a sad day and we wish we could take some of the hurt away from the family but only time will do that.<br /><br /> Ray after making a comment like that I have finally determined that although educated you have as much common sense as a billy goat.

 

[timothyl]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

Ray, that was just too cold man! Sometimes, discression is the better part of valor, which is precisly why I won't say to you what I am thinking right now.<br /><br />During my time in the Coast Guard, I have been on searches where the bodies were not found and I can tell you that the families grief over their loss is multiplied when they cannot have closure.

 

[cggcpa1]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

WOW that is exactly where I fish for grouper...off Stienahatachee Fla. We didnt hear about that in the media in Atlanta. Does anyone know what the weather conditions were? I commonly go out in the same area up to 40 miles offshore. I am now seriously thinking of an EPRIB now. I thought having GPS chartplotter, GPS handheld backup, fixed mount vhf, and a handheld submersible vhf backup was enough....I guess all those things depend on ME to use them. EPRIB would do it automatically. Just rattles my cage a bit....

 

[grandx]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

Any one, or all of the lost crew may have been members of this board... Enough salt in the wound, Ray??? As I also fish offshore, I often think about such things, especially when people are lost and in the news. For all the crew to be lost and the boat capsized, you've got to think something quick and catastrophic happened to them. Small craft in the big water must always be alert. My thoughts go out to their families who may never know what happened.<br /><br />cg, I have an EPIRB, but it's not the cure all. If your thrown from your vessel and parallyzed you'll surely drown before being rescued.

 

[catfish1]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

sorry guys, whats a EPRIB?

 

[RetNav]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

cggcpa1,<br />I was fishing the same day they were lost, approx 5 miles north of buckeye and at 5 pm the seas where I was at was about 6.5'. Coming back to spring warrior had to head directly into the wind so it was a little rough.

 

[Snailman]

Re: Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters

EPIRB is an acronym that stands for:<br /> Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon.<br /><br />They're fairly expensive ($1000.00) devices that are normally stored on the deck of a boat (usually mounted in a case to the railing or hard-top). If the boat sinks or capsizes and the EPIRB comes in contact with the water it sends out an automated distress signal encoded with its GPS location.<br /><br />A NECESSARY device if you're going to be boating off-shore! It takes the SEARCH out of Search & Rescue!<br /><br />Lots of information about EPIRBS is available on the WWW . Just do a search on Google for EPIRB.