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Old 07-04-11, 12:37 AM   #1
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Post Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

Reuters - A small boat with 44 mostly American tourists on board sank off Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Sunday and 23 people were still missing after rescuers pulled half of the passengers from the water.

The 115-foot (35 meter) chartered boat left the port of San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez, a haven for windsurfers and sports fishermen, on Saturday but was struck by an electrical storm and capsized early on Sunday, port and navy officials said.

Emergency services officials in San Felipe said 27 of the 44 people on board were U.S. citizens.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which is sending a helicopter to help with the rescue, said one person was dead and authorities were still searching for six others, but had no information on their nationalities.

"(The helicopter) should be there around 0800 (Pacific time) to assist with rescue efforts," Coast Guard official Benny Minton said.

The boat, called the Erik, was found around 87 miles south of San Felipe, a popular holiday and fishing resort located south of Mexicali.

According to an Internet advertisement, the Erik has been operating in the Sea of Cortez since 1989 and can sleep up to 42 guests.

"We are still looking for the rest of the people. The weather is really bad right now, with strong wind," said local port official Felipe Vallecillo.

Vallecillo said weather conditions were normal when the boat set sail on Saturday.

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Old 07-04-11, 05:36 AM   #2
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Post 'Six missing' after boat sinks off Baja, Mexico


Six people remained missing Monday after a tourist boat carrying more than 40 tourists, many of them American, sank off the Mexican coast, the US Coast Guard said.

US Coast Guard Petty Officer Pamela Boehland told CNN that US authorities were sending a helicopter to assist Mexican rescue workers. She said there was one unconfirmed report of a fatality.

Fox News reported earlier that the ship left the port of San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez on Saturday and capsized during an electrical storm Sunday.

Citing El Mexicano newspaper, the network said that all but nine of 42 passengers on board had been rescued by the Mexican navy.

However, other unconfirmed reports put the number of missing at 23.

The accident occurred off Punta Bufeo, near Puertecitos, 87 miles (140 kilometers) south of the northern city of San Felipe, on the Baja California peninsula, Fox News said.




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Old 07-04-11, 02:14 PM   #3
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

Here are some photos of the folks coming back onshore that I received from a friend who works in the governors office in Mexicali...
Attached Images
    
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Old 07-04-11, 04:37 PM   #4
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

I am disheartend to note that as I've read about this story on numerous internet sites, I found way too many blog comments that were disparaging, to say the least, about Mexicans and Mexico.

This was an unfortunate accident. But, it seems to me that the American culture has become a culture that refuses to believe in accidents.

Black and white. Good and bad.

Someone needs to be blamed.

Perhaps that explains why the US has the most people, numerically, and percentage-wise who are in jail, among all nations.

I blame the Christian fundamentalists, given that if one looks back on history and notes that the original European residents of this continent were a group that fled the Church of England because that church was too liberal.

Anyone who has harbored a thought about religious freedom in the context of the pilgrims is greatly missing the mark.

I give you Hester Prynne and the scarlet letter.

We haven't evolved all that far from them. Pity.
Old 07-04-11, 04:43 PM   #5
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bajahowodd
This was an unfortunate accident. But, it seems to me that the American culture has become a culture that refuses to believe in accidents.

Black and white. Good and bad.

Someone needs to be blamed.
I hear what you are saying and it has some merit. I also think the profile of that ship was just too high. It didn't look stable to me and as if they had added one deck too many. As one who spends a lot of time out on the water these days you do learn to really respect the power of the sea.

And here is another photo...

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Old 07-04-11, 05:04 PM   #6
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

Quote:
Originally Posted by BajaGringo
I hear what you are saying and it has some merit. I also think the profile of that ship was just too high. It didn't look stable to me and as if they had added one deck too many. As one who spends a lot of time out on the water these days you do learn to really respect the power of the sea.
I agree some people are too quick to jump on a already bad situation I have never been on either of Gustavos boats, the newer one is a first class looking boat.I lived on the Gulf of Mexico coast and worked on all kind of boats. But fishing on one of those cattel boats was never my cup of tea.
Old 07-04-11, 05:17 PM   #7
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

It would take volumes for me to enumerate the many journeys I've taken around the world, that certainly include boarding small ships.

I just think that given where this happened, it was more a freak of nature, than someone's fault.

As I previously mentioned, it just seems to me that the American culture is deeply commited to the blame game.
Old 07-04-11, 05:22 PM   #8
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

Has anybody seen anything official yet as to what the weather conditions were specifically that caused this? I am having a hard time believing that it was a rogue wave, that close to the shoreline in the Sea of Cortez...
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Old 07-04-11, 05:26 PM   #9
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

You're correct in that details have been very slow in coming. Wonder why.
Old 07-04-11, 05:27 PM   #10
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

Usually means that they're having a hard time getting it by the editor...
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Old 07-04-11, 05:44 PM   #11
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Post Mexico may call off rescue of 7 in boat capsizing (AP)

TIJUANA, Mexico – American tourists on an annual July 4 fishing trip were plunged into the Gulf of California in the middle of the night after a flash storm upended their boat, killing at least one U.S. man and leaving seven others missing.

Mexican officials on Monday were considering calling off the search for survivors and turning their efforts to recovering bodies after rescuing 19 tourists and all 16 crew members, who clung to coolers, rescue rings and life vests for hours before some were discovered by other fishing boats as they tried to swim to shore.

Mexican navy Capt. Benjamin Pineda Gomez said he had no name or details about the man who died.

Navy, army and state officials reviewed their strategy as divers prepared to search the sunken wreckage for bodies, said State Civil Protection Director Alfredo Escobedo Ortiz.

The 115-foot (35-meter) vessel, the Erik, sank about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of the port of San Felipe early Sunday, the second day of a weeklong fishing trip the men had organized for several years each Independence Day holiday.

Most the 27 were from Northern California and had made the trip before, eating gourmet dinners on board every night and coming home with ice chests full of fish.

"I'm beyond concerned," said Kristina Bronstein, who is engaged to missing tourist Mark Dorland of Twain Harte, California.

She heard about the accident Monday morning from a trip organizer's wife, who told her Dorland, 62, was one of the first people to fall into the water. He wasn't wearing a life vest.

The couple were to be married next month.

Charles Gibson, a police officer with the Contra Costa Community College District, said people on the boat were awoken by other passengers and the crew as it began to sink less than 2 miles (3 kilometers) from shore.

Most "were in the water for over 16 hours," said Gibson, who gone on the fishing trip twice before. "Eventually, (we) were rescued by local fishermen and the military."

"We hope that the information is getting to our families that we are here and that we survived," Gibson said.

Tourist Michael Ng of Belmont, California, was rescued with another fisherman as they swam to shore buoyed by a cooler. He was part of a group of 12 friends on the trip.

"I'm relieved I'm alive, but I'm scared for the people who haven't been found yet," he said, adding that he plans to stay in San Felipe during the search and hopes the others are still alive. "We were not very far from shore, so people were beached or stranded on some local islands."

Those rescued were in good condition with a few scrapes after bobbing in the intense sun and warm gulf waters. Photos released by the Mexican navy showed several sunburned fishermen in T-shirts and Bermudas waiting to get on a bus.

They were taken to a clinic for checkups, then to their hotel, Pineda said. One diabetic survivor was taken to a naval hospital in San Felipe, Escobedo said.

According to the Baja Sportsfishing Inc. website, the Erik has been on the Gulf of California, known in Mexico as the Sea of Cortez, since 1989. It was built in Holland and was equipped with stabilizers to handle the turbulent North Sea.

The California Secretary of State website says Baja Sportfishing's business license has been suspended. It doesn't state a reason or give a date.

"We have been working with Mexican Navy authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard in the search and rescue," Baja Sportfishing Inc. said in a brief statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. "Right now our main concern is making sure that everyone is accounted for."

The company didn't respond to an interview request. It said in an announcement posted on its website Monday afternoon that all trips have been canceled.

Jan Ciabattari of Novato, California, said her husband, Richard, 62, managed to don a life vest before going into the water, but that he spent 15 hours in the ocean before he was rescued.

She spoke to him briefly by telephone and said he mentioned something about an electrical storm. He was invited on the annual trip at the last minute when someone else canceled.

Ciabaratti, like most men on the trip, drove to San Felipe about 220 miles (354 kilometers) south of the border city of Tijuana across from San Diego.

"They lost everything," she said, including car keys. "He's pretty shaken up."



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Old 07-04-11, 06:56 PM   #12
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)



One person was reported dead and seven others missing Monday afternoon after a fishing boat carrying 27 U.S. tourists and 16 Mexican crew members capsized in rough seas in the Sea of Cortez, officials said.

The 27 tourists, most of them from California, were aboard the charter vessel Erick when a sudden storm struck the area about 2:30 a.m., hurling people into the ocean in the vicinity of San Luis Island, about 60 miles south of the Baja California port of San Felipe, the Mexican Navy said in a statement. The body water in which the ship capsized is also known as the Gulf of California.

"The weather was calm, and then a strong wind came," Dora Winkler, a spokeswoman with the Port of San Felipe, told the Los Angeles Times.

Some of the first people rescued -- two tourists and the boat's cook -- were plucked from the water by a Mexican fishing boat, according to Winkler.

All of the 16 Mexican crew members were rescued, she said. The tourist who died was only identified as an adult male. Initial reports said six people were missing; officials later raised the number to seven.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from San Diego was assisting the Mexican navy as rescue crews scoured the area for survivors, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Pamela Boehland.

She said the Coast Guard was told by the Mexican Navy that most of the passengers were from Northern California and that one was from Port Angeles, Wash. The search was launched after one of the victims swam to shore and alerted Mexican officials, Boehland said.

"He swam to shore and actually walked to the nearest location," Boehland said, adding that she was unsure whether it was a town or village.

Mexican officials said all of the survivors were wearing life jackets. They were taken to local hospitals and appeared to be in good condition, the Mexican Navy said.

David Zahniser and Robert J. Lopez
LATimes | LANow
Monday July 4, 2011


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Old 07-05-11, 08:40 AM   #13
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

I assumed it was a thunderstrom cell out of this sytem that started moving west. The weather radar on the mainland was solid ugly magenta.

They can come out of almost nowhere. My ex and I were sailing from Martha's Vineyard to Block Island. Haze day, but no wind. We could make out the strobe on Block with binoculars, then we couldn't. Figured oh, oh, Took down the laundry and buttoned up. Praying that our full keel well built boat was going to cork it out.. It was a helluva squall, lasted only 15 or 20 minutes and we were in deep water, thank God. with no other traffic, we got pushed around pretty good It cleared quickly and we sailed on. As we approached Great Salt Pond (Big anchorage on Block) there was a big sea going tug on the beach half over. The anchorage, pretty good size, was mayhem, moorings dragged, lines tangled boats all over each other. Lot of damage can be done very quickly. At that hour, unless they had radar and were watching, they never saw it coming and if they were near the island in shallow water....... not good.

Someone who knows the boat told me this particular boat had been modified, adding decks, for the fishing thing and was noticeably top heavy. Regardless, it is sure a sad situation.

Last edited by dusty; 07-05-11 at 08:48 AM.
Old 07-05-11, 09:50 AM   #14
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

Naw, don't worry .... it's moving away from us....


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Old 07-05-11, 10:03 AM   #15
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

Quote:
Originally Posted by BajaGringo
Here are some photos of the folks coming back onshore that I received from a friend who works in the governors office in Mexicali...

Kinda looks Russian; don't it?

...maybe a MI-17...
4 New Mi-17 Helicopters to Afghan Army
Old 07-05-11, 04:04 PM   #16
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)



Is this a hijack by the moderator?????
Old 07-05-11, 06:08 PM   #17
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

That depends on how a "moderator" defines hijack...

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Old 07-05-11, 06:21 PM   #18
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Default Re: Tourist boat capsizes off Mexico's Baja peninsula (Reuters)

Passengers on capsized Baja California boat

The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 | 4:04 p.m.


Below is the list of passengers and crew on the fishing boat Erik that capsized in the Gulf of California, according to the Mexican Navy.

Confirmed dead:
Leslie Yee
___

Missing:
Don Lee
Russell Bautista
Mark Dorland
Brian Wong
Al Mein
Gene J. Leong
Shawn Chaddock
___

Rescued:
Roman A. Amador Farias
Jose Maria Diaz Ordonez
Marco A. Villa Bejarano
Azor Quintana R.
Charles Gibson
Cary Hanson
Michael Kui Min Ng
Jim Miller
Steven Sloneker
Richard Ciabattari
Lee Ikegami
Gary Wong
Craig Wong
Glen Wong
Pius Zuger
David Levine
Jerry Garcia
Bruce Marr
Adolph Joseph Beeler
Marcelino Morales Villegas
Robert Higgins
Ross Anderson
Crispin Contreras Montes
Alejandro Bermudez E.
Miguel A. Lima Toledo
Miguel Camacho Rubio
Joel Castro Castro
Carlos Miranda Gutierrez
J. Rodrigo Romero Fernandez
Hector M. Rubio Quintero
J. Jesus Sillas Ruiz
Jesus Alfredo Cesena
Miguel A. Alcantara Castro
Dennis Deluca
Warren Tsurumoto


source...
Old 07-05-11, 07:22 PM   #19
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Post 'Good chance' more US capsize victims alive: rescuers (AFP)

AFP - The US Coast Guard said there was a "good chance" of finding more survivors among seven Americans missing after a deadly Mexican tour boat accident, as crews scoured waters off Mexico's northwest coast.




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Old 07-05-11, 07:54 PM   #20
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Post In Mexico, US shipmates await word of 7 missing (AP)

AP - They are fathers, fiances and experienced fishermen.




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