Canoe overload, men overboard
Four fishermen were rescued early Saturday morning when their overloaded canoe capsized on Duck Lake at Ocean Shores. Shortly after midnight a resident heard people screaming “I need a boat.” They were also blowing a rescue whistle and flashing a light. Ocean Shores Police responded and found the four men clinging to the side of the overturned canoe and teamed with Ocean Shores Fire Department to bring them to shore in boats borrowed from area residents. One of the men was taken to the hospital with severe hypothermia; the men said they had been in the water for several hours and were wearing flotation devices.
Barging into Westport with Coast Guard assist
A Coast Guard boat crew assisted a tug and barge past fast-moving ebb tide conditions near West Haven Marina in Westport preventing a barge from running aground late last week. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received a cell phone call for help from the captain of the tug MaryAnne requesting assistance due to being beset by the ebb tide, which was running at about 4.6 mph. The MaryAnne had been only able to maintain position for the previous two hours at Light 7 with no forward movement with the barge carrying an excavator and 30 tons of rock.
The Coast Guard crew was already under way preparing for training with an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and diverted to assist. Although there was no standard towing equipment available on the barge, the boat crew rigged a towing line and worked with the crew of the MaryAnne to get to safe water and moor up. “The ebb (that) night was one of the biggest ebbs of the year – added to water runoff from recent rainfall and river currents — it was certainly difficult to maneuver to safety,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Steven McDougal, coxswain of the 47-foot Motor Life Boat. “En Route to the scene the crew had formulated a plan and it all fell into place pretty smoothly because of great teamwork between my crew and the crew of the MaryAnne.”
The estimated weight of the loaded barge was about 160 tons while the maximum allowable weight to be towed by a motor life boat without a waiver is 150 tons. The full weight of the barge was never fully on the motor life boat because of the assistance from the MaryAnne.
Lock up your cars!
Four more vehicle prowls were reported to Aberdeen Police since Thursday: A wallet and iPod were taken from an unlocked car at Walmart; a window broken and purse taken on Anderson; a window broken but nothing taken on Simpson; and a garage door opener, shed key and car keys taken from West 6th. Monday morning a firearm was taken from an unlocked vehicle on West 2nd.
