Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary of a tragedy for the USCG.

Three crew members died when their 40-foot "surf boat"
capsized enroute to rescue a sailboat. There were a lot of mistakes
made that night, but the one mistake that was not made was that the
USCG crew did its duty as ordered.

http://www.piersystem.com/clients/uscg-13/69013.jpg



LA PUSH, Wash. - Seaman Andrew Wieruke removes a wreath from a
memorial at Coast Guard Station Quillayute River. The memorial is
dedicated to three Coast Guard crewmen who lost their lives during a
rescue mission in 1997. The wreath was subsequently placed at sea by
a Coast Guard motor lifeboat crew.

February 12 marked the 10th anniversary of the tragedy that claimed
the lives of Seaman Clinton Miniken, Petty Officer Second Class David
Bosley and Petty Officer Third Class Matthew Schlimme. The three were
killed during an attempt to rescue two people from the sailing vessel,
Gale Runner, that was taking on water in 25-ft seas and 40-knot winds
near the entrance to the Quillayute River. Coast Guard photo by Jeff
Pollinger.

###

I remember seething with anger upon hearing of that tragedy. Any info on
the idiots in the sailboat, who, as I recall, at the time couldn't care
less that their incompetence and carelessness directly led to the deaths
of 3 brave men?
JR

Chuck Gould wrote:

Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary of a tragedy for the USCG.

Three crew members died when their 40-foot "surf boat"
capsized enroute to rescue a sailboat. There were a lot of mistakes
made that night, but the one mistake that was not made was that the
USCG crew did its duty as ordered.

http://www.piersystem.com/clients/uscg-13/69013.jpg



LA PUSH, Wash. - Seaman Andrew Wieruke removes a wreath from a
memorial at Coast Guard Station Quillayute River. The memorial is
dedicated to three Coast Guard crewmen who lost their lives during a
rescue mission in 1997. The wreath was subsequently placed at sea by
a Coast Guard motor lifeboat crew.

February 12 marked the 10th anniversary of the tragedy that claimed
the lives of Seaman Clinton Miniken, Petty Officer Second Class David
Bosley and Petty Officer Third Class Matthew Schlimme. The three were
killed during an attempt to rescue two people from the sailing vessel,
Gale Runner, that was taking on water in 25-ft seas and 40-knot winds
near the entrance to the Quillayute River. Coast Guard photo by Jeff
Pollinger.

###



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Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

On Feb 13, 7:13�pm, JR North wrote:
I remember seething with anger upon hearing of that tragedy. Any info on
the idiots in the sailboat, who, as I recall, at the time couldn't care
less that their incompetence and carelessness directly led to the deaths
of 3 brave men?
JR





Chuck Gould wrote:
Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary of a tragedy for the USCG.

Three crew members died when their 40-foot "surf boat"
capsized enroute to rescue a sailboat. There were a lot of mistakes
made that night, but the one mistake that was not made was that the
USCG crew did its duty as ordered.

http://www.piersystem.com/clients/uscg-13/69013.jpg

LA PUSH, Wash. - Seaman Andrew Wieruke removes a wreath from a
memorial at Coast Guard Station Quillayute River. The memorial is
dedicated to three Coast Guard crewmen who lost their lives during a
rescue mission in 1997. *The wreath was subsequently placed at sea by
a Coast Guard motor lifeboat crew.

February 12 marked the 10th anniversary of the tragedy that claimed
the lives of Seaman Clinton Miniken, Petty Officer Second Class David
Bosley and Petty Officer Third Class Matthew Schlimme. *The three were
killed during an attempt to rescue two people from the sailing vessel,
Gale Runner, that was taking on water in 25-ft seas and 40-knot winds
near the entrance to the Quillayute River. Coast Guard photo by Jeff
Pollinger.

###

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* * * * Home Page:http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The sailor in distressL

He was an active duty Navy man, who should have known better than to
try that coast in February. I once had a professional delivery captain
tell me that he couldn't get insurance to make the run from Washington
to California until mid-March each year (I forgot how late he said he
could be insured in the fall, I think it was into November).

Some details from an account back then (even quoting the former
publisher of a loal magazine)......

From the Seattle Times, February 1997

LA PUSH, Clallam County - Nearly 500 mourners at a memorial service
here today for three Coast Guard members, killed last week in an ill-
fated rescue attempt, heard moving new details about last week's
tragedy.

Rear Admiral J. David Spade, commander of the 13th Coast Guard
District, told the mourners that after a large wave capsized the
rescue boat in darkness and high seas, the vessel righted itself, with
all four crewmen still on board and working as a team to point it back
toward the rescue of a couple in a sinking sailboat.

Another wave struck, Spade said, and the boat capsized again, sweeping
two of the crew - Seaman Clinton Miniken, 22, and Petty Officer 2nd
Class David Bosley, 36, overboard - and leaving Petty Officer 3rd
Class Matthew Schlimme, 24, and Seaman Apprentice Benjamin Wingo, 19,
still on board.

Schlimme "took charge and put out a radio call, and he made sure that
Wingo was properly buckled," Spade said. "Then another wave hit."

This time, Schlimme was swept off the boat, leaving only Wingo, who
"had his life saved by the dedicated efforts of Seaman Schlimme."

Wingo, 19, wiped away tears as Spade spoke.

Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Kramek awarded all four crew
members a medal for heroism. Then he put on his white hat and gave a
final salute to the fallen three: "We bid these guardians of the sea
farewell," he said. "We will miss you but we will not forget you."

Among the hundreds who gathered here today in this tiny coastal
community were Coast Guard members, Navy authorities, Park Service
employees from around the state, Quileute tribal members and friends
and relatives of the victims.

"They gave their lives so someone else could live," said Quileute
Chairman Doug Woodruff who, along with a dozen other tribal members,
opened the memorial service with drumming and chanting.

The Coast Guard has been a key part of this tribal community of 350
people, he said, its members doing everything from bandaging cuts to
helping put out house fires - and rescuing people at sea.

In Seattle, nearly 450 Seattle-area Coast Guard members, Seattle
police, firefighters and Coast Guard crews from Canada attended a
memorial service at Coast Guard headquarters at Pier 36, where the La
Push ceremony was broadcast via satellite.

The rescued couple - Navy Lt. Kenneth Schlag, 31, and a woman
identified yesterday as Marcia Infante, 41, - had radioed the Coast
Guard for help at 12:15 a.m. last Wednesday after a fierce storm off
La Push engulfed their sailboat, the Gale Runner, snapping its mast
and bursting hatches and portholes.

The Coast Guard sent two rescue boats and a helicopter. After one boat
capsized, the helicopter crew "had to make a difficult decision, the
correct decision, and diverted to the rescue" of the sailboat, Spade
said. Working in perilous conditions - high winds and rain - the crew
lowered a life basket down and saved "those two mariners from the
sailboat."

As Coast Guard investigators probe the ill-fated rescue, veteran
sailors continued to question why the sailboat was in the rough seas
at this time of year.

"I've sailed around the world twice, and the Washington and Oregon
coast can be just as treacherous as any place else in the world -
particularly in the wintertime," said Mark Schrader, a Stanwood sailor
who was the first American to sail solo around the world via the five
southern capes. "That area is pretty notorious for blowing up in a
hurry."

The couple's boat didn't have much company on the coastal waters.

"I've been in this office 12 years and we do get them (sailboats), but
not this early," said Bill Cook, harbormaster for the Port of Astoria
at the mouth of the Columbia River. "It's voyager beware."

Schlag, a Navy lieutenant assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Carl
Vinson, has told investigators he had set sail from Oakland about 2
1/2 weeks before the tragedy.

He and Infante were headed for Bremerton, where the Vinson was
transferred in January.

"That's how he was bringing his boat north," said Navy spokesman Chief
David Butts, who spoke with Schlag yesterday aboard the Vinson, where
Schlag, who joined the Navy in 1992, has resumed duties. He is
assigned to the Vinson's deck department, in charge of the carrier's
materiel, readiness and upkeep.

He continued to decline to talk with the media, "because he's talking
to investigators," said Butts.

"I think he's still a little upset, too," Butts said. "But he's
certainly expressed his gratitude to the men and women of the Coast
Guard. Being a fellow man of the sea, he's deeply moved by this."

Schlag told Butts he was on military leave when he started the voyage
and had given himself 30 days to complete the trip. The distance was
about 950 miles, or 825 nautical miles, which he expected to cover in
14 days. But he allowed the additional time in case of poor weather.

He was traveling with Infante, a woman who lives in the San Francisco
area, according to Navy spokeswoman Nettie Johnson, who characterized
the journey as a "leisurely trip" with several stops along the way.

The last stop appears to have been at the Port of Westport, at Grays
Harbor. Schlag registered the Gale Runner there last Monday and is
believed to have stayed the night on the boat, said marina Manager
Lisa Ben. Nobody talked with Schlag or Infante before they left,
presumably the next day.

Storms form rapidly along the West Coast. Peter Worthington, who
publishes Nor'westing Magazine, said the Gale Runner's size - 31 feet
- made it particularly vulnerable.

"I had some friends in a much bigger boat, in a better time of year,
get hit very badly" in a storm off Northern California, he said. "She
broke her arm, he broke his rib. At one point, they even said goodbye
to each other."

When Schlag approached Washington waters sometime in the first week of
February, the sea was generally calm, according to the National
Weather Service.

It stayed that way for several days, but started to stir about the
time Schlag left Westport. By Tuesday afternoon the weather service
issued a gale warning to boaters.

It's not known if Schlag was aware of the warning.

By that night, winds were lashing the coast and 22-foot waves were
reported off shore.

"It came up really fast," said David Owens of the weather service. He
said the peak occurred about 4 a.m. Wednesday, when waves hit 29 feet
and winds reached 34 mph.

By then, the Coast Guard had already launched the rescue mission.

Investigators with the Coast Guard mishap-analysis board are
continuing to review the accident.

The Coast Guard boat is still on James Island, awaiting a salvage
operation beginning tomorrow.

Chuck Gould wrote:


Chuck,
Excellent remembrance piece to true American heroes, who are often
forgotten by many. I know you are a music enthusiast, especially
classic Rock and Roll, so when I first read your subject, I expected a
post about the band.

It was a very touching piece, I hope you plan on including an article
in your magazine.

On Feb 14, 5:38 am, "Reginald P. Smithers III" "remove
wrote:
Chuck Gould wrote:

Chuck,
Excellent remembrance piece to true American heroes, who are often
forgotten by many.

Go here for the rest of the Story..

http://www.uscg.mil/history/USCGSBKIA.html