Two MOB Stories: Two Lessons Unlearned

Last month a 20-year veteran tugboat
captain fell overboard in the frigid waters of British Columbia -- in broad daylight
from his slow moving tug, which kept on moving. About a month later (last week)
on the opposite side of North America a 41-year old fisherman fell overboard off
his small fishing boat off the east coast of Florida – he was all alone and his
boat kept on moving away. Both fell overboard for different reasons, and both were
rescued in different ways. And both broke cardinal rules of good seamanship. Both
men had been boating long enough to know the lessons, yet – being human – they,
we suspect, regularly disregarded them. Read a Tale of Two MOBs --

With Vancouver Island to the left, British Columbia to the right and 46-degree F (8-degrees C) water all around, this captain was in a pickle and about to be pickled.

See Capt. Steve’s solution
to MOB tale #1…

See BoatTEST’s
test of the solution to MOB tale #2…


MOB Tale #1

Capt. Kevin McGonigle said the accident was “nobody’s fault.” We beg to differ.

From the Victoria Times Colonist—



Kevin McGonigle thought he was a goner as he treaded water in Georgia Strait clad
in nothing more than a T-shirt, a sweater and pajama bottoms. McGonigle lasted an
incredible 70 minutes in the frigid sea before he was rescued by a fishboat.


Man’s Greatest Pleasure



The 49-year-old captain of the tugboat Regent, owned by Humphries Tug & Barge
of Campbell River, has worked on tugs for 20 years but never thought he’d die doing
what he loved. On Tuesday, however, he stepped outside to urinate and stumbled,
falling overboard.



“I lost my balance and the next thing I knew, I was in the sea,” he said yesterday.
The tug was on its way back to Campbell River from Vancouver, where it had delivered
a log boom. The other two crewmen didn’t realize McGonigle was gone until 25 minutes
later. McGonigle was suddenly floating in 8°C water, the cold numbing his limbs
and creeping into his core.



It took a moment to realize what had happened, then McGonigle summed up his predicament
in a word: “Shit!”



He was in Georgia Strait 3.5 nautical miles south of Cape Mudge. “I felt terrible.
Watching the boat disappear was the worst.”



McGonigle has lost fellow mariners to the sea over the years and knew his chances
of survival were slim. “I tried not to panic. I tried to tread water and passed
out a couple
of times.”


MAYDAY in March




The tugboat crew called in a mayday at 1 p.m., said Dennis Kimoto, marine controller
at the Victoria Joint Rescue Communication Centre. Mariners in the area were alerted
by radio to join in the search. A coast guard vessel was dispatched from Port Hardy
and a Cormorant helicopter was sent from Chilliwack.



McGonigle knew boats were looking for him, but couldn’t raise his arms to wave because
of the cold. “My arms, I couldn’t move my arms.”


Lost and Found



McGonigle figures he didn’t have much longer to live when the 86-foot troller Pacific
Faith located him after 20 minutes of searching. He was
close to unconscious, but
McGonigle has the image of his rescue vessel etched in his memory: “I remember looking
up at that word “Faith.” I remember that vividly.”



McGonigle said he was once religious, “but I haven’t been practicing much lately.”



He was taken to hospital, where he was reunited with his crew: “We just hugged.
I feel sorry for them, actually. It was just a freak thing that happened. It’s nobody’s
fault.”



He hopes mariners become more aware of their mates when there’s someone out on deck.
Electronic devices are available that can send out an alert if a crew member is
separated from the boat, he said.



Kimoto said McGonigle was in pretty good shape considering the amount of time he
was in the water. “If he would have fallen overboard at night, it would have been
a totally different story.”

MOB Tale #2

Fishing just 200 yards off the beach in this Florida panhandle resort community, our brother boater found himself in the gulf.

Report From News Channel 7--



Coast Guard Officials are still on the lookout for that runaway boat, but the good
news is that its owner and skipper is in good health after his accident.



It happened a little before 6 p.m. last Friday near the west end of the beaches.
Bay County Sheriff's Deputies say 41-year-old Michael Joseph Bursten swam ashore
near the Laguna Beach Christian retreat on Highway 98.

This is a kill switch. Wear it when boating. It could save you from swimming for your life.

He told authorities he'd been Cobia fishing alone, about 200-yards off shore.



Bursten was standing in the tower, when the rough surf knocked him overboard. The
boat, with a full tank of gas, just kept on going, heading west in the Gulf. Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers and the Coast Guard are still
searching for the boat.



As for Bursten he is being treated for salt water ingestion and according to hospital
officials.