http://www.baltimoresun.com/


A Seaport Taxi boat carrying 25 people capsized in a fast-moving
thunderstorm off Fort McHenry this afternoon, leaving one drowned and three
missing and presumed dead.

Rescuers pulled 21 people from the 44-degree waters shortly after the
pontoon boat flipped over about 4 p.m.

The 36-foot boat was about 100 yards off shore and turning toward the dock
when the wind and waves took it, officials said.

"It just rolled over," said U.S. Naval Petty Officer Edward Mendez, who was
on the second floor of the Naval Reserve Center at the fort when he saw the
accident.

"Ten of our guys went into the water to rescue the passengers. A couple guys
just dove in -- no wet suits."

A woman in her 60s died at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, officials
said.
Earlier in the evening, officials announced two fatalities. But the number
of dead was downgraded to one at a 10 p.m. news conference.

An 8-year-old girl was in cardiac arrest but was revived and was undergoing
surgery Saturday night at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, police said.

The boat's captain, Francis Deppner, 74, of Middle River, and his first mate
were among those rescued, officials said.

Rescuers from the Navy Reserve, city police and firefighters and the Coast
Guard continued searching Saturday night, but they held out little hope that
more survivors would be found given the cold water.

"The physiological aspects of someone surviving in the water for three hours
is pretty slim to none," said Fire Chief William Goodwin, whose department
switched from a rescue mode to a recovery mode at 7 p.m.

The boat was owned by the Living Classrooms Foundation, a non-profit
educational group. Some of the passengers were members of the Puerto Rico
National Guard touring Baltimore, officials said.

James Bond, president of Living Classrooms, said there are life vests are on
every vessel and a safety talk is given before each boat leaves the dock.

The boat is inspected by the Coast Guard regularly. "She was ready for an
inspection on Monday," he said. "It was all ready for inspection on Monday
and in the shape she should be."

Ron Morgan, former owner of Harbor Shuttle, sold nine pontoon boats to the
foundation four years ago. He said the boat involved in the accident was 36
feet long and 12 feet wide -- too small, he said, to cross the harbor.

"That boat should never have been out there today," said Morgan, who is
involved in a lawsuit over financial matters with the foundation. "We would
use that between Fells Point and the Inner Harbor, never across the harbor
to Fort McHenry, especially if it's rough."

The accident occurred near the Navy Reserve center and the city's fire boat
station. It happened on a weekend when drills were taking place, so 200 Navy
personnel were on hand.

Many initially mistook the emergency for a drill, but they had boats in the
water within 3 minutes, said Alfredo Serafica, an engineer, first class.

"I saw people running and they were running to my boat," he said. "But the
engine room was locked so I ran for the key."

The Navy rescuers were the first to arrive, and they pulled eight to 10
people from the water, fire officials said.

Some Navy personnel stayed on shore and helped care for survivors who were
brought back to the base.

"One of the crew members was crying," Serafica said. "He pulled out an 11-
to 12-year-old girl and she wasn't breathing. When the ship pulled into the
marina, I thought it was only one girl. And then the ship pulled in again
and there were 12 [people]."

Serafica and others on shore ran to their lockers for clothes to put on the
drenched passengers, who were taken to a gym at the naval center.

"I gave away all the socks in my locker, rain jackets, uniforms, you name
it," he said. Fred Combs, a member of the reserve, stripped off his Navy
jacket and wrapped it around a man who had been plucked from the water.

"You guys did great. You made it. You're OK," Combs recalled telling the
rescued, who he said were in such shock that they did not sense the cold of
the water.

"The rescue workers said it was really cold," Combs said. "But some of the
victims said they couldn't tell if it was cold or not."

Boaters in the upper part of the Chesapeake Bay and in Baltimore Harbor had
been warned to expect rough weather Saturday. A small craft advisory had
been issued at 4:30 p.m. Friday "and it remained in effect through the time
of the incident," said Steve Rogowski, meteorologist with the National
Weather Service in Sterling, Va.

At 3:58 p.m., about the time the boat capsized, the weather service issued a
short-term forecast for scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms with
wind gusts to 45 mph.

"I was down along Boston Street fishing this afternoon, when all of a sudden
this real strong wind came up. I thought to myself, 'This is no time for
boaters to be out there,'" William Bishop, a 62-year-old retired homebuilder
from Dundalk. "Then I heard people screaming, 'There's a boat that's turned
over out there! There's a boat turned over!'

"Then I saw a police boat come in, and they carried a woman on a stretcher
and put her into an ambulance," he said. "It looked like she only had a
little blouse on. It didn't look like she was dressed for the weather."

Bishop drove from Boston Street to the fort to see what had happened to the
rest of the passengers.

Also drawn to the scene were O'Malley and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who
had left the bedside of his wife, who gave birth to the couple's second
child Saturday evening, a boy named Joshua Taylor Ehrlich.

As a nearly full moon rose above the fort Saturday night, helicopters buzzed
over the historic monument, ambulances screamed through the gates, police
set up a roadblock, television crews positioned their cameras, and
bystanders gathered.

Nicole Gregory, a 26-year-old former nursing assistant from South Baltimore,
walked down to the fort's entrance with her dog after seeing a description
of the accident on television.

"Shouldn't they have checked the weather before they went out?" she asked.

Seaport Taxi, which operates about 10 water taxis around the harbor,
continued to run the boats Saturday night, though they weren't making all
stops because of rough water. The yellow-and-green taxis, popular among
tourists, have 25 to 60 seats, with life jackets under each seat.

When the storm hit Saturday, all taxis on the water headed for the nearest
stop, and the taxis at docks stayed put until the storm passed, according to
taxi captains.

"We came in after the storm started and maintained our position," said Capt.
Jim Nichols of Seaport Taxi, who was plying the harbor Saturday night.

Tourists continued to board the boats all night long, some unaware of the
accident and others simply unconcerned.

Waleed Negm, 32, and fiancee Karen Crisafulli, 30, both of Silver Spring,
boarded a Seaport Taxi Saturday night after a dinner at the Rusty Scupper.
"We've been getting phone calls from our family and friends asking if we're
OK," Crisafulli said while aboard the taxi last night. "It does make you a
little scared, but we're still riding it."

The other harbor taxi company, Water Taxi, also continued to run its boats
after the accident. An official said that the water was choppy through most
of today, but got much worse during the late-day storm.

"There was a brief thunderstorm that was a little vicious -- heavy winds,
extremely poor visibility," said Water Taxi vice president of operations
Zach Rogers. "[Seaport Taxi] uses a very small, narrow, square boat and my
best guess is the captain may have turned in the wrong direction and the
wind forced his boat over."

Say a prayer for the missing. I was home when it passed through Ellicott City.
My power went out on THE FIRST GUST! I went out to my garage and the gusts
had to be 60 mph. Stronger than most if not every summer thunderstorm I've
seen. The gusts seemed stronger than the gusts during Isabell.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"No shirt, no skirt, full service"

Wonder if any boats were blown off their stands?

SV

"SAIL LOCO" wrote in message
...
Say a prayer for the missing. I was home when it passed through Ellicott
City.
My power went out on THE FIRST GUST! I went out to my garage and the
gusts
had to be 60 mph. Stronger than most if not every summer thunderstorm
I've
seen. The gusts seemed stronger than the gusts during Isabell.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"No shirt, no skirt, full service"

Wonder if any boats were blown off their stands?


I thought of that too. Maybe somewhere but I think I'm OK since the radar on
the news showed the cell as extreemly small and it didn't pass over the Glen
Burnie, Pasadena area.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"No shirt, no skirt, full service"

SAIL LOCO wrote:
Say a prayer for the missing. I was home when it passed through Ellicott City.

Ellicott City ... was there on Saturday, what a beautiful little town!

Rick