Flotilla 33 first at Rappahannock River crash scene

The information in the following article was submitted by Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 33 of Kilmarnock.

In the faint light of dawn on Tuesday, July 6, one could see the outline of rescue facilities at Millstone Landing at Water View that had generated all the flashing lights and noise throughout the long, hot night. 

About 8 hours earlier at 10:06 p.m., Jim and Amy Thomas of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 33 in Lancaster County received a call from Coast Guard Station Milford Haven in Mathews requesting assistance at the scene of one of the worst boating accidents ever on the Rappahannock River. One person died and nine were injured when a 22-foot fiberglass Chaparral bow-rider crashed into Channel Marker #10 off Morattico at about 9:52 p.m. on Monday, July 5.

With no time to gather other crew members, Jim and Amy Thomas responded immediately and got under way on their boat AUX 27137 (27-foot hard-top cruiser Sportcraft) from the Corrotoman River in Lancaster. They were the first to arrive on the crash scene at 11:18 p.m.

Sitting, from left, are Flotilla 33 members Jim Thomas and Amy Thomas; standing, Coast Guard members SN Brittainy Luke, MEC Richard Gonzalez and MK 2 Milton Marks. All five participated in the search and rescue and #10 Channel Marker in the Rappahannock River.

Arriving a short time later were Coast Guard Rescue Unit 25837 from Station Milford Haven with BMCS Matthew Welsh, FN Erin Key and SN Kevin Zuercher, along with Coast Guard Rescue Unit 41503 (41-foot aluminum utility boat) with MEC Richard Gonzalez, MK2 Milton Marks, BM3 Sean Tully and SN Brittainy Luke.

Marine Enforcement Chief (MEC) Gonzalez served as the on-scene commander at the crash site throughout the night, coordinating the on-water search and rescue efforts.  As CG 41503 arrived, MEC Gonzalez directed AUX 27137 to pick up emergency medical personnel (EMS) at Water View on Parrots Creek and transport them to the accident scene more than a mile north in the river. 

Shortly thereafter MEC Gonzalez coordinated a medivac with a Coast Guard helicopter from Elizabeth City, N.C. A Coast Guard rescue swimmer was deployed from the helicopter to assist CG 41503 with the basket hoist of a seriously-injured 11-year-old boy.  During this operation, EMS personnel continued to stabilize the injured at the scene. 

CG 25837 (25-foot aluminum response boat) with BMCS Welsh started transferring the injured to emergency vehicles and helicopters waiting at Millstone Landing at Water View.  A landing zone had been set up by the Upper Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department next to the Water View Firehouse. 

Jim and Amy Thomas aboard AUX 27137 started a vector search of the area, looking for a missing person, 25-year-old Amanda Brady of Glen Allen. 

After all the injured were stabilized, AUX 27137 transported the final four injured persons (one on a stokes litter and two on backboards), arriving at Water View about 1:12 a.m. 

Of the 10 people on the boat when it crashed, four were transported by helicopter to VCU Medical Center, five were taken to either Riverside Walter Reed Hospital in Gloucester or Riverside Tappahannock Hospital, and one was missing.

AUX 27137 returned to the accident scene and was directed by MEC Gonzalez to continue searching for the missing person. 

Sector Hampton Roads used computer programs to calculate the set and drift (direction and speed) of the river and established the area for the search.  Using this data, MEC Gonzalez requested creeping line searches on both the north and south shores. 

AUX 27137 conducted the north shore (Lancaster) search, while the Virginia Marine Police covered the south shore (Middlesex). 

“We practice the different search patterns all the time, both individually and with Coast Guard Station Milford Haven,” said Jim Thomas, coxswain on AUX 27137. “We are trained and prepared to conduct any type of search that the Coast Guard requests. Our twice-a-week, two-boat training with Coast Guard coxswains, crews and boats really helps prepare us to assist the Coast Guard in times of need.”  

It was a long and hot night and the search and rescue operation was still going on when dawn broke. At 7 a.m. on Tuesday, July 6, MEC Gonzalez and CG 41503 were relieved by the Coast Guard Cutter “Cochito” CG87329 (87-foot steel cutter) from Sector Hampton Roads in Portsmouth. 

Calls also went out to additional members of Flotilla 33.  At 7:25 a.m. Wally Dawson and Brian McArdle were picked up at a nearby pier by Jim and Amy Thomas to provide fresh eyes and ears aboard AUX 27137, along with much needed food and water. 

Station Milford Haven also called out additional auxiliary boats to relieve AUX 27137. At 8:11 a.m., AUX 22906 (22-foot Shamrock) arrived with Frans Kasteel and Ian Duncan aboard. AUX 25598 (25-foot Parker)with Roy Sheppard, Andy Ernst and Don Gallagher was en route from Fleet’s Bay. AUX 25888 (25-foot C-Hawk) with John Mill, Dave Herndon, and David Pope was placed on standby in case they were needed.

John Bull, director of Public Relations for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), described the accident “as one of the worst boating accidents in the history of VMRC. No one I’ve talked to remembers one any worse. People were thrown every which way. The emergency response was heroic, and I don’t use that word casually.”

Captain Mark Ogle, commanding officer and captain of the Port Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads, who spent the entire night at the command center at Water View, added, “Our volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary members in that area were the first on scene. They came in and did a great job in one of the worst boating accidents I’ve ever seen.” 

MEC Gonzalez, the on-scene commander and coxswain aboard CG 41503 agreed. “It was definitely the worst boating accident I’ve seen in my 17 years with the U.S. Coast Guard,” he said.

Amy Thomas, auxiliary coxswain, added, “I am extremely proud to be a member of Team Coast Guard and have the opportunity to assist during this type of emergency situation. Many years of training were utilized during this case getting the nine survivors to shore where they could receive appropriate medical attention for the injuries sustained.”  

Wally Dawson, Flotilla 33 commander, said, “We are saddened by the tragic loss of life in the accident. I was proud of the quick and professional response by our Coast Guard auxiliary members. We were fortunate to have facilities and trained personnel ready to respond quickly.”

The rescue was “an all hands effort,” said Jim Thomas. “The folks in Middlesex County should be very proud of their emergency response team. They were ready and organized to  go when Amy and I arrived to pick them up and during the victim transports. Due to the great inter-agency coordination and actions, nine victims were evacuated from a remote part of the river, and lives were saved.”

posted 07.15.2010

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