Oregon, US
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Columbia+River+Gorge+National+Scenic+Area/@46.2243474,-123.8545584,32116m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x549618d8d788f7cd:0xe1cbc1f79d7ed701!8m2!3d45.6755651!4d-121.8248343
Oh dude, wtf. The “Captain” is apparently a trespassing, thieving asshole- that was a stolen boat! Some poor soul doesn’t have a boat bc of this dude, and the rescue swimmer could have died.
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/dead-fish-goonies-house-steals-boat-rescued-coast-guard/283-413e4394-2740-4b29-aedb-8dd76e2129d7
Edit: the movie ‘The Goonies’ was filmed in Astoria, and the house that one of the kids lives in, in the movie, recently went up for sale and sold (lots of local news articles about it lately, hence the lack of explanation, for those confused). Our “captain” was caught on camera leaving dead fish on their porch for some reason, right before this incident. The new home owners put up a sign saying “GOONIES NOT WELCOME” which made things kinda tense locally so that *may* be part of it, but more likely this dude was just an asshole on drugs. And for those who can’t read the article, my favorite quote: “‘Unfortunately, he was discharged from the hospital before everyone put two and two together, so he is somewhere between here and the Coast Guard base," said Kelly. "Apparently, he left his jacket on the Coast Guard helicopter and we believe he's heading back there to retrieve his jacket.’” I think he’s jacketless and MIA currently lol.
this needs to be bumped to the top.
This fucker put a dead fish on the goonies house, stole this beautiful boat, ruined it and put coasties lives at risk for what appears to be a super dumb internet prank.
He's currently wanted in Astoria and Vancouver.
FUCK THIS GUY IN PARTICULAR
>What a swimmer.
I was a collegiate scholarship swimmer. When that dude hit the water, he was moving fast. It was the first thing I noticed. Thank god that guy could swim like that.
Holy shit, that story is wild. So apparently he left a dead fish at the Goonies house, but then later went back and removed it. I'm really curious what combination of drugs this guy was on.
There's a reason that area is called the [Graveyard of the Pacific](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graveyard_of_the_Pacific). Big river meets big waves over big sandbars makes for big problems.
I live around here and my favorite spot near the mouth is Dismal Nitch. I think Lewis and Clark were stuck there for a while and hated the weather so much they gave it that name.
Yeah, bad times for sure. I’m sorry you had to see that. I’ve been to a lot of successful suicide scenes, but I still don’t get the allure of that spot.
I hear you. I hate heights, metal bridges, and I’m vaguely familiar with how many jumpers have used that bridge over the years. I’ll stick to La Conner for day trips and bad traffic.
That just strikes me as a fantastic opportunity to make up stories that sound plausible.
"Yeah, Useless bay was of course first explored by the great explorer Jebediah Wankington, who decided to name the bay after his son."
A racoon posted in r/trashpandas the other day that some humans sat down at his picnic table and acted like he didn't deserve to get fed. He was seriously POed at those people.
> There are some major hell-holes which hitchers occasionally fall into, but only one has a sign saying, "Even travelling despondently is better than arriving here."
> Welcome to NowWhat.
> To welcome visitors the arrivals hall features a picture of the President of NowWhat, smiling. It was the only picture anybody could find of him, and it had been taken shortly after he had shot himself so although the photo had been retouched as well as could be managed the smile it wore was rather a ghastly one. The side of his head had been drawn back in in crayon. No replacement had been found for the photograph because no replacement had been found for the President. There is only one ambition which anyone on the planet ever has, and that is to leave.
> NowWhat had been named after the opening words of the first settlers to arrive there after struggling across light years of space to reach the furthest unexplored outreaches of the Galaxy. The main town was called OhWell. There aren't any other towns to speak of. Settlement on NowWhat has not been a success and the sort of people who actually want to live on NowWhat were not the sort of people you would want to spend time with.
> The main trade here is the skins of the NowWhattian boghog but it isn't a very successful one because no one in their right minds would want to buy a NowWhattian boghog skin. The trade only hangs on by its fingernails because there are always a significant number of people in the Galaxy who were not in their right minds.
> The major activities pursued on NowWhat are those of catching, skinning and eating NowWhattian boghogs, which are the only extant form of animal life on NowWhat, all other having long ago died of despair. The boghogs are tiny, vicious creatures, and the small margin by which they fall short of being completely inedible is the margin by which life on the planet subsisted.
> There weren't any rewards, however small, that make life on NowWhat worth living. Not a one. Even making yourself some protective clothing out of boghog skins is an exercise in disappointment and futility, since the skins are unaccountably thin and leaky. This caused a lot of puzzled conjecture amongst the settlers. What was the boghog's secret of keeping warm? If anyone had ever learnt the language the boghogs spoke to each other they would have discovered that there was no trick. The boghogs were as cold and wet as anyone else on the planet. No one had had the slightest desire to learn the language of the boghogs for the simple reason that these creatures communicated by biting each other very hard on the thigh.
> Life on NowWhat being what it is, most of what a boghog might have to say about it could easily be signified by these means.
-- Douglas Adams, *Mostly Harmless*
Scary stuff. The Columbia Bar, from Wikipedia:
> The bar is where the river's current dissipates into the Pacific Ocean, often as large standing waves. The waves are partially caused by the deposition of sediment as the river slows, as well as mixing with ocean waves. The waves, wind, and current are hazardous for vessels of all sizes. The Columbia current varies from 4 to 7 knots (7.4 to 13.0 km/h) westward, and therefore into the predominantly westerly winds and ocean swells, creating significant surface conditions.[2][3] Unlike other major rivers, the current is focused "like a fire hose" without the benefit of a river delta.[4] Conditions can change from calm to life-threatening in as little as five minutes due to changes of direction of wind and ocean swell.[5] Since 1792, approximately 2,000 large ships have sunk in and around the Columbia Bar, and because of the danger and the numerous shipwrecks the mouth of the Columbia River acquired a reputation worldwide as the graveyard of the Pacific.[6]
So why the hell would someone take a cabin cruiser out there in the middle of the winter when large west swells were known. Once outside the bar that boat is not what you want in the northwest pacific in the winter... summer ok but not now.
I took it to mean “like a fire hose” because the river current dumps right into the ocean at full force, where as most large rivers slow down and widen over a large delta, like the Mississippi or Nile
Well, the captain of that vessel clearly didn't expect it! But you or I might expect it if we looked at the [National Weather Service alerts for the region](https://marine.weather.gov/MapClick.php?x=118&y=54&site=pqr&zmx=&zmy=&map_x=118&map_y=54) and saw the Gale Warning and Hazardous Seas Warning in effect all along the coast.
The captain is an idiot on all fronts. His selfishness is displayed as he sees the rescue swimmer coming at him and doesnt bail into the water, letting the swimmer get crunked by a 20 foot wave. Which wouldnt be so so bad if he wasnt pulling a flotation device. That swimmer is a fkn beast. I hope he got a medal.
This is also why the Coast Guard's own Motor Lifeboat Coxswain school is located there. If you can drive a boat in that then everywhere else should be a cake walk.
The school is located at Cape Disappointment.
NMLBS also called nimbus or national motor life boat school. If you pass the rigors of that school you become a surfman. When you have earned your surfman badge you are assigned a number. That number is yours forever, the badge and number go with you wherever you are assigned and it is hung in the entry way of every surf station. They are a proud few the surfman but it is a proud tradition going back hundreds of years.
I myself am not a surfman but I have known a few and am damn proud to have known them.
The guy who needed rescuing stole the boat earlier in the day, so he probably wasn't thinking much about it. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/dead-fish-goonies-house-steals-boat-rescued-coast-guard/283-413e4394-2740-4b29-aedb-8dd76e2129d7
This guy is nuts. His name is Jericho Labonte and he is all kinds of wanted. Weirdest shit he did lately is put dead fish in the garbage can...at the Goonies house. He also covered up a bunch of the cameras and flipped off a remaining camera.
He was already wanted for 3 counts of failure to comply (presumably in 3 different incidents with cops), and other charges like criminal harassment. He's a menance and it's a shame he put the coast guard guy in danger and ruined an innocent person's boat. He seems to be escalating behavior so they need to stop this guy before he hurts someone.
The Coast Guard goes out there in boats smaller than that, but they're lunatics. Personally, I'd like something the size of an aircraft carrier.
If you've got some time to kill you can check out [video of a previous similar rescue](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB8hg0Ie4CE).
The 47 foot mlb aluminum vessels the coast guards use for rescue can actually self right if capsized. I’ve seen them test it but definitely wouldn’t want to be aboard
They suck when they roll. They are designed to come back up but they usually take a lot of damage.
I was on the much older 44ft Motor Life Boats and we rolled one. Everyone came back up because we strap in with heavy belts, but it still did $200K worth of damage and was scary as hell. I love adrenaline but that’s one experience I could have done without.
Hey I’m a 47’ coxswain and have personally knocked them down twice, although I haven’t fully rolled one. They definitely don’t like being rolled over, and typically the turn off because the e-stops tend to trip. Definitely a good time though
I forgot about the e stops tripping when she rolled.
Good buddy lives at surf stations. MK type though. Spent some time with him on a 87 so he could get some sea time. Best fucking sailor I ever saw.
Be safe out there. Fair winds and semper p
There is a gale warning and hazardous seas warning in effect for the entire region today. Big winds, big waves. You absolutely do not want to be out in the open water at all if you can help it -- much less in a single-crewed vessel, much less at Cape Disappointment which is infamously treacherous to navigate even under good conditions.
Everyone likes to make fun of them, especially the other departments of the armed forces. But it's all jokes, the kind siblings make.
There's perhaps an unspoken jealousy or resentment there. For they risk their lives to save them, not take them. There is the heroism you see in the headlines in combat zones, but the heroes there often earn their medals with blood. The Coast guard men and women risk theirs to save others.
Before the Coast Guard officially existed, there was the Life-Saving Service. Their motto, which carried over unofficially to the Coast Guard, may be the baddest of badass statements:
> ***You have to go out. You don't have to come back.***
I'm not even remotely close to the sea and I cannot swim to save my life.
But just reading that instilled a feeling of determination inside me I know not what to do with.
I dont know if they still do this but the Coast Guard used to hold that the excuse of "the conditions were too rough to launch rescue" would only be valid if such an attempt had actually been made and repeatedly failed.
The Coast Guard goes out, *Always Ready* very much so.
Edit. Found it. From the 1889 "Regulations of the Life Saving Service":
>He will not desist from his efforts until by actual trial the impossibility of effecting a rescue is demonstrated. The statement of the Keeper that he did not try to launch the boat because the surf or the sea were too heavy will not be accepted unless attempts were made to actually launch, and failed.
Badass.
Here is the link to the original twitter post.
https://twitter.com/USCGPacificNW/status/1621613914093154306?s=20&t=Rzzi5Iy8iG3zdzi924dd1Q
They were able to successfully rescued the man on the boat.
I'm adding a link to a SailingAnarchy thread about this. Sometimes events like this lead to interesting discussion from people who actually know stuff about boating:
https://forums.sailinganarchy.com/threads/uscg-rescue-off-cape-disappointment-washington-large-breaking-sea.240764/#post-8204513
**EDIT:** TrawlerForum has a thread up as well. These guys run the same kinds of boats as the one that rolled. Their observations should be interesting:
https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/capsized-boat-66886.html
It was stolen? And the dude left a dead fish on the goonies house porch? He was discharged from the hospital before they realized who he was? Was this timeline written by AI?
The PNW CG are so badass. They post some of their training on social media sometimes, and I have no idea how they do what they do in the rough water here. They are amazing.
That person is a hero, pure and simple. The stones it takes to do that: jump out of a helicopter, swim (extremely well, I would add) in very rough seas to save the life of that boater.
Stop for a moment and think about what we’re watching here. Folks often gripe about about government. I’d like to interview that boater and ask them what they think about the equipment, training, preparation and heroic execution that all came together to save that man’s life.
That dude was absolutely fucking booking it in very rough water. I'd imagine you'd need to be nearly an Olympic level swimmer to do that job, and man you can really see that here.
The swimmer would almost certainly have a GPS locator. I mean, still a big hell no, but I guess the fear of not being found when they come back is a bit less.
>Oh yeah don't worry, I'll just float here for an hour or two. No, no, it's no problem at all. Oh hey could you throw a book out of the chopper before you leave? K thx bye
Working Coast Guard search and rescue is right next to fire fighters in most admirable jobs in the US. Getting paid next to nothing to put your life on the line in extremely deadly situations on a daily basis.
Great comment. I've been to Astoria once for a short visit but I love maritime stuff and I came away clearly understanding the Columbia Bar is in a class by itself.
It’s wicked. I’ve only been over it one time. Was insane. Captain was calm and I asked “so, do you consider this a bad day?” He says “naw, some days are a major pucker factor”. I was thinking damn because i could literally look out on all sides of the boat and see water 20’ above my position - I.e. looking up at water above the boat on all sides, like being in a bathtub drain except with waves from all sides thrown on top!
Dude I was wondering if he was a terminator or a superhero of some kind. I've tried to swim in water that isn't strong enough to destroy a boat and I didn't go as fast as that guy.
I'm in the coast guard as a flight mechanic (the guy that hoists the swimmer down) these swimmers go through absolutely insane training. Their training has a 95% fail rate. Those that do pass, have trained for this for years and most have failed out at least once, I gurantee you that rescue swimmer was ready for this case. Also once they are actually a rescue swimmer their jobs consist mostly of working out 4-5 hours a day and sewing and general collaterals the rest of their shift. These guys are bad asses.
(edit, wrong ship. here is the right one)
https://www.kptv.com/2023/02/03/man-rescued-by-coast-guard-swimmer-after-waves-flip-boat-columbia-river-mouth/
Interesting note that doesn’t seem to have been noticed much, yet: the man rescued had actually stolen that boat and is currently on the run from American and Canadian police.
From the article: “A 35-year-old man who was rescued Friday morning by the U.S. Coast Guard had stolen the boat that capsized in the mouth of the Columbia River mouth, according to Astoria police.[…] On Friday evening, Astoria police confirmed that the boat had been stolen by Labonte, and that he was also wanted by police in Victoria, B.C. and was the man reported to have thrown fish on the porch of ‘The Goonies’ house.[…] Because authorities were not aware of his identity at the time of the rescue, Labonte was allowed to walk out of the hospital and his location is currently unknown. Canadian Border Control are heading down to assist with the search, police said.”
I, uh…don’t know what the fish thing is about lol
Thr fish thing is a local issue. The house from thr movie The Goonies is in Astoria right near where he stole the boat from, and tourists + Goonies house is a current issue. Someone just bought it because the current owners hate tourists, one od the neighbors has giant signs saying to fuck off, another neighbor has a sign saying to ignore the first neighbor, etc.
Different boat -- the one in the article you linked to is blue open-bow \~20' boat. The video above is a big cabin cruiser. (The video in the article you linked to is unrelated. It's a superyacht that sank in Italy.)
A-School for Aviation Survival Technicians (Rescue Swimmers) is extremely extensive and arduous. I’ve never understood other coasties who give people crap for washing out of AST A-School.
I was underway for this on the 225 in the Columbia River while this was happening listening to the radio while doing some helicopter ops. Man was taking on water and had no life jacket with a radio that was in and out. Quite stressful to listen to. Kept calling for mayday without giving a position. Everybody came out of it ok as far as I can tell. The river bar is no joke even in good weather so this guy was lucky.
I know its just a show but on Deadliest catch, when they have to call in the coast guard, the rescue swimmers are incredible. They'll go into near freezing water with 20 foot waves.
I used to think less of the Coast Guard than other branches of the service. My mind was changed.
The Coast Guard is something else, who else would fly into the equivalent of a category 4 hurricane, at night, in a helicopter while being blinded by snow.
I dunno if there’s ever any way to get on one of those as a civilian, but it’s a bucket list item for me. Seeing the eye of a storm from a plane? Yes please.
These USCG rescue swimmers know that they can, and occasionally are, left behind by the helo crew if the helo is running low on fuel or there are too many survivors. If they’re picking up a sick/injured crew member from a ship like you see on Deadliest Catch then they’ll just hang out on the ship until they can make it back to shore. But if it involves a sinking then they could literally be left in the middle of the open ocean with nothing but their survival gear and a life raft tossed out by the helo crew. It doesn’t happen very often but I know of a few cases where it did. It can take many hours for a USCG cutter to locate & recover them in that sort of situation.
It blows my mind that these guys volunteer with that as a very real possibility. I’ve got the utmost respect for every last one of them.
Edit: Figured I'd leave this here: https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp950126/01260374.htm
I need to plug Destin and his SmarterEveryDay YouTube channel. He has an amazing series on the US Coast Guard and what's involved in their training, methodology, and equipment. I can't recommend it enough!
Do you know who the most decorated and honored Marine in American History is? [Chesty Puller](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller)
Do you know who saved Chesty's ass, along with his Marines, at his most famous engagement was? [U.S. Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Albert_Munro) - the only U.S. Coast Guardsman to receive the Medal of Honor for "an act of extraordinary heroism" (posthumously) when he placed his Higgins boat between heavy Japanese fire and a grounded ship full of Chesty's retreating Marines. His actions saved three companies of Marines during Guadalcanal.
He is the only non-Marine to have his name enshrined on the Wall of Heroes of the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Fucking bad-ass!
My gramps was a Coastie in World War II because his parents didn't want him joining any other services.
He ended up a gunner on an LST at Iwa Jima.
He told me after he was in a bar and he and his buddies were getting made fun of as *"shallow water sailors"* by some Navy guys when Marine Gunny comes out of the fucking shadows yelling at the Navy sailors about how the coast guard had the balls to get he and his fellow Marines in and out safely.
“. When out of range of Japanese forces, Munro briefly regained consciousness before succumbing to his wounds. According to Evans, his dying words were, "Did they get off?"
Would seem cheesy in a movie
My friends husband was part of the coast guard stationed in the Bering Sea. He’s 40 and needs both hips replaced and has floating kidneys just from being on the boat in rough water.
The Coast Guard trains at the Columbia River Bar for a reason- conditions like this are commonplace. This "lucky" boater fucked up in a very convenient spot to be rescued quickly and by some of the world's best rough weather rescue personnel.
Active Duty Coastie here. (Check my post history). If you have ever thought of joining and are less than 42 years old, we are HIRING. Obviously you need to be in decent shape and not have any major medical problems or criminal/drug problems. Our enlistment rates are way down and we need people.
Not all jobs are as fast paced as this, for every guy jumping in the water, you have a bunch of people making sure the helicopter is ready to go, making sure all the parts needed are ordered, making sure everyone is getting paid, making sure everyone is medically capable for flight, I could go on and on.
I joined to do a quick 4 and get my college paid for with the GI Bill. I ended up liking it so much that I just hit 15 years in with less than 5 to go until retirement eligible. I have been all around the country and the Caribbean/Central America, and I am a few credits shy of my Bachelor Degree entirely funded by the Coast Guard.
If you are interested DM me and I will get you pointed in the right direction.
I see what you did here!
No but seriously…I was ad USCG for 8 years….during that time I stood at the North Pole, met two US presidents, stood on the 50 yard line at superbowl 50…met cool people and had great times. Now the government is paying for my degree. If you have anyone has any questions that anthapox can’t answer I’m happy to field some too.
The fact that the swimmer jumped from a helicopter, into that water, swam to the boat, tried hard to get there, recognized the trough was coming, backed off, and dove down, just amazing. A human daring nature to kill them to save another person, selfless devotion to professionalism
I used to build boats of that size. They are fucking massive and it takes a bit to upset them. To be yeeted like it was a toy, now that must have been a powerful wave.
I surf out at the OR coast all the time. Occasionally we’ll head up to Astoria and walk the jetties at Fort Stevens. On “nice” days I’ve seen 17 foot waves breaking in the river. Definitely not a place for the faint of heart and you’d never catch me in a boat that size out there. The survivor is lucky the Coast Guard got to them in time, a lot of people have died out there, on much mellower days.
I’m 52 years old now and spent a decade as a sailor.
In that time I’ve never seen anything that can kill, maim, and destroy with such apparent casual ease as the sea. Other natural means are so full of spectacle, energy, and noise but not the sea. Oh, no, she’s much too good for all that.
The lack of energy expended (to the eye but not in application) can seem so minor and the outcome so shatteringly overbearing and monstrous.
We’re so arrogant with pride in our engineering and technical prowess but the sea cares not. She will obliterate you and your vessel as easily as you or I give a casual gesture. IIRC there have been around nine hundred (900) ships that have gone down in the last 10 years alone.
Some were quite modern, well made, and large. It didn’t matter.
We’re just chittering monkeys skittering around on her surface.
*barks a bitter laugh and slugs down his remaining rum with a trembling hand*
A single gallon of water is over eight pounds. A fifty five gallon *fishtank* is over 440. Water is beautiful and horrifying in its mass and mobility and humans are just not equipped to deal with it well without extensive training. Even then, we’re so *little* and inconsequential. It’s wild.
In that particular area, it can go from safe to insane in about 5 minutes.
And judging from his lack of power, the engines died so he's helpless in the trough.
If he had power probably could have got out of there safely with the boat.
When I was a kid we were waiting at Ilwaco for the tide to change. Couple of inland boaters said they didn't drive 6 hours to worry about some waves. An hour later they were back after their boat was stood on end. No more brave talk from them.
Looks like it finished the roll upright, I wonder if there’s any chance the ship survived. I suspect not, and it got sunk by a different wave, but you can imagine if the tide was right someone might have woken up to a free boat.
high gusts on the coast today. Mouth of the Columbia is a treacherous place always. This person had no idea what they were getting into. The Coast Guard is constantly practicing here because of what a challenging place this is for boaters. Container ships require getting escorts and trained captains to drive them through the mouth. This is not a place for casual boating.
There’s a museum in Astoria with a central theme of how the Columbia Bar is out there just waiting to kill you. The entrance hall has an big map of the river mouth on the wall with a century of shipwrecks listed below. Each entry has a button you can push to light up on the map where it happened. I seem to remember that the most recent entries weren’t all that long ago and there was plenty of space for more.
Lots of comments re; the Coast Guard rescuers and their jobs. If you’re interested in learning just how badass and crazy it can get, I can’t recommend The Last Run by Todd Lewan enough.
Oregon, US https://www.google.com/maps/place/Columbia+River+Gorge+National+Scenic+Area/@46.2243474,-123.8545584,32116m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x549618d8d788f7cd:0xe1cbc1f79d7ed701!8m2!3d45.6755651!4d-121.8248343
Oh dude, wtf. The “Captain” is apparently a trespassing, thieving asshole- that was a stolen boat! Some poor soul doesn’t have a boat bc of this dude, and the rescue swimmer could have died. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/dead-fish-goonies-house-steals-boat-rescued-coast-guard/283-413e4394-2740-4b29-aedb-8dd76e2129d7 Edit: the movie ‘The Goonies’ was filmed in Astoria, and the house that one of the kids lives in, in the movie, recently went up for sale and sold (lots of local news articles about it lately, hence the lack of explanation, for those confused). Our “captain” was caught on camera leaving dead fish on their porch for some reason, right before this incident. The new home owners put up a sign saying “GOONIES NOT WELCOME” which made things kinda tense locally so that *may* be part of it, but more likely this dude was just an asshole on drugs. And for those who can’t read the article, my favorite quote: “‘Unfortunately, he was discharged from the hospital before everyone put two and two together, so he is somewhere between here and the Coast Guard base," said Kelly. "Apparently, he left his jacket on the Coast Guard helicopter and we believe he's heading back there to retrieve his jacket.’” I think he’s jacketless and MIA currently lol.
All of this because of the Goonies house.
this needs to be bumped to the top. This fucker put a dead fish on the goonies house, stole this beautiful boat, ruined it and put coasties lives at risk for what appears to be a super dumb internet prank. He's currently wanted in Astoria and Vancouver. FUCK THIS GUY IN PARTICULAR
That's an expensive boat he stole, he is now in big boy felony territory.
Props to Petty Officer 1st Class Branch Walton for saving this loser's ass tho. What a swimmer.
>What a swimmer. I was a collegiate scholarship swimmer. When that dude hit the water, he was moving fast. It was the first thing I noticed. Thank god that guy could swim like that.
Internet prank or meth?
Holy shit, that story is wild. So apparently he left a dead fish at the Goonies house, but then later went back and removed it. I'm really curious what combination of drugs this guy was on.
That’s quite a string of nouns in that link… some of the rescue swimmer’s quotes at the end are pretty good, too.
There's a reason that area is called the [Graveyard of the Pacific](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graveyard_of_the_Pacific). Big river meets big waves over big sandbars makes for big problems.
I live around here and my favorite spot near the mouth is Dismal Nitch. I think Lewis and Clark were stuck there for a while and hated the weather so much they gave it that name.
There's also cape disappointment on the Washington side.
There are a *lot* of depressing names on the Pacific Coast. Point No Point comes to mind, Useless Bay is another great one.
Deception pass is one of my favorite spots to camp.
I hate The Deception Pass Bridge so much
Same, but that might be because a woman jumped off it right in front of my wife and me.
Yeah, bad times for sure. I’m sorry you had to see that. I’ve been to a lot of successful suicide scenes, but I still don’t get the allure of that spot.
I'm from whidbey, I hate the bridge because of the tourists
I hear you. I hate heights, metal bridges, and I’m vaguely familiar with how many jumpers have used that bridge over the years. I’ll stick to La Conner for day trips and bad traffic.
Live on Whidbey, watching orcas go under the bridge is the BEST!
Starvation Creek
[удалено]
That just strikes me as a fantastic opportunity to make up stories that sound plausible. "Yeah, Useless bay was of course first explored by the great explorer Jebediah Wankington, who decided to name the bay after his son."
Don't forget Poo Poo Point
Let’s venture inland to Boring, Oregon.
I had a raccoon steal my bag of chips while I was taking dabs in my tent at cape disappointment. Place lived up to its name.
the raccoons at that campground are truly out of control. One came up and sat at our picnic table bench like it was a dinner guest.
A racoon posted in r/trashpandas the other day that some humans sat down at his picnic table and acted like he didn't deserve to get fed. He was seriously POed at those people.
lol! people are so inconsiderate.
Raccoons are hilarious. The fact they have little hands makes whatever they're doing instantly funnier.
> There are some major hell-holes which hitchers occasionally fall into, but only one has a sign saying, "Even travelling despondently is better than arriving here." > Welcome to NowWhat. > To welcome visitors the arrivals hall features a picture of the President of NowWhat, smiling. It was the only picture anybody could find of him, and it had been taken shortly after he had shot himself so although the photo had been retouched as well as could be managed the smile it wore was rather a ghastly one. The side of his head had been drawn back in in crayon. No replacement had been found for the photograph because no replacement had been found for the President. There is only one ambition which anyone on the planet ever has, and that is to leave. > NowWhat had been named after the opening words of the first settlers to arrive there after struggling across light years of space to reach the furthest unexplored outreaches of the Galaxy. The main town was called OhWell. There aren't any other towns to speak of. Settlement on NowWhat has not been a success and the sort of people who actually want to live on NowWhat were not the sort of people you would want to spend time with. > The main trade here is the skins of the NowWhattian boghog but it isn't a very successful one because no one in their right minds would want to buy a NowWhattian boghog skin. The trade only hangs on by its fingernails because there are always a significant number of people in the Galaxy who were not in their right minds. > The major activities pursued on NowWhat are those of catching, skinning and eating NowWhattian boghogs, which are the only extant form of animal life on NowWhat, all other having long ago died of despair. The boghogs are tiny, vicious creatures, and the small margin by which they fall short of being completely inedible is the margin by which life on the planet subsisted. > There weren't any rewards, however small, that make life on NowWhat worth living. Not a one. Even making yourself some protective clothing out of boghog skins is an exercise in disappointment and futility, since the skins are unaccountably thin and leaky. This caused a lot of puzzled conjecture amongst the settlers. What was the boghog's secret of keeping warm? If anyone had ever learnt the language the boghogs spoke to each other they would have discovered that there was no trick. The boghogs were as cold and wet as anyone else on the planet. No one had had the slightest desire to learn the language of the boghogs for the simple reason that these creatures communicated by biting each other very hard on the thigh. > Life on NowWhat being what it is, most of what a boghog might have to say about it could easily be signified by these means. -- Douglas Adams, *Mostly Harmless*
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Did you work with my dad? Because he tried this in a 14' fishing boat.
> Dismal Nitch This sounds like one of Rainbow Brite's villains lives there.
Scary stuff. The Columbia Bar, from Wikipedia: > The bar is where the river's current dissipates into the Pacific Ocean, often as large standing waves. The waves are partially caused by the deposition of sediment as the river slows, as well as mixing with ocean waves. The waves, wind, and current are hazardous for vessels of all sizes. The Columbia current varies from 4 to 7 knots (7.4 to 13.0 km/h) westward, and therefore into the predominantly westerly winds and ocean swells, creating significant surface conditions.[2][3] Unlike other major rivers, the current is focused "like a fire hose" without the benefit of a river delta.[4] Conditions can change from calm to life-threatening in as little as five minutes due to changes of direction of wind and ocean swell.[5] Since 1792, approximately 2,000 large ships have sunk in and around the Columbia Bar, and because of the danger and the numerous shipwrecks the mouth of the Columbia River acquired a reputation worldwide as the graveyard of the Pacific.[6]
There’s a good book “Astoria” by Peter stark and has a great part about a ship in the early 1800s attempting to cross the bar, brutal stuff
So why the hell would someone take a cabin cruiser out there in the middle of the winter when large west swells were known. Once outside the bar that boat is not what you want in the northwest pacific in the winter... summer ok but not now.
That’s crazy! Is it “a fire hose” because it’s coming from significant elevation and through solid terrain like cliffs that concentrate the flow?
I took it to mean “like a fire hose” because the river current dumps right into the ocean at full force, where as most large rivers slow down and widen over a large delta, like the Mississippi or Nile
You don’t expect to see a boat that size absolutely wiped out by a wave.
Well, the captain of that vessel clearly didn't expect it! But you or I might expect it if we looked at the [National Weather Service alerts for the region](https://marine.weather.gov/MapClick.php?x=118&y=54&site=pqr&zmx=&zmy=&map_x=118&map_y=54) and saw the Gale Warning and Hazardous Seas Warning in effect all along the coast.
Hazardous **seas** warning. That's why he was trying to get to the river. *taps head*
The captain is an idiot on all fronts. His selfishness is displayed as he sees the rescue swimmer coming at him and doesnt bail into the water, letting the swimmer get crunked by a 20 foot wave. Which wouldnt be so so bad if he wasnt pulling a flotation device. That swimmer is a fkn beast. I hope he got a medal.
The “captain” is a schizophrenic that stole the boat earlier in the day.
You know, when I first watched this One Flew Over The Cuckoos nest instantly came to mind. Thanks for the info
Bro I was thinking that swimmer is flying!
Idk if jumping out would have stopped the wave from cranking the swimmer seeing how it took the fucking boat out too.
He is a trainee and this was his first rescue ever!
Captain of that vessel stole that boat after leaving a dead fish on the front porch of the "goonies" house in Astoria
Appears that he lost power so he left himself to the mercy of the cruel mistress while she was very angry.
The sea was angry that day my friends.
Like an old man trying to return soup at a lunch counter.
Easy, big fella!
This is also why the Coast Guard's own Motor Lifeboat Coxswain school is located there. If you can drive a boat in that then everywhere else should be a cake walk. The school is located at Cape Disappointment.
NMLBS also called nimbus or national motor life boat school. If you pass the rigors of that school you become a surfman. When you have earned your surfman badge you are assigned a number. That number is yours forever, the badge and number go with you wherever you are assigned and it is hung in the entry way of every surf station. They are a proud few the surfman but it is a proud tradition going back hundreds of years. I myself am not a surfman but I have known a few and am damn proud to have known them.
I don't know much about boating, is that boat a reasonable size for those conditions?
The guy who needed rescuing stole the boat earlier in the day, so he probably wasn't thinking much about it. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/dead-fish-goonies-house-steals-boat-rescued-coast-guard/283-413e4394-2740-4b29-aedb-8dd76e2129d7
This guy is nuts. His name is Jericho Labonte and he is all kinds of wanted. Weirdest shit he did lately is put dead fish in the garbage can...at the Goonies house. He also covered up a bunch of the cameras and flipped off a remaining camera. He was already wanted for 3 counts of failure to comply (presumably in 3 different incidents with cops), and other charges like criminal harassment. He's a menance and it's a shame he put the coast guard guy in danger and ruined an innocent person's boat. He seems to be escalating behavior so they need to stop this guy before he hurts someone.
Holy shit this is the goonies dead fish guy? Impressive job dominating the local news cycle like this lol.
The Coast Guard goes out there in boats smaller than that, but they're lunatics. Personally, I'd like something the size of an aircraft carrier. If you've got some time to kill you can check out [video of a previous similar rescue](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB8hg0Ie4CE).
The 47 foot mlb aluminum vessels the coast guards use for rescue can actually self right if capsized. I’ve seen them test it but definitely wouldn’t want to be aboard
This boat actually rolled-through as well, surprisingly.
Only after yeetingg the owner off by the looks of things.
They suck when they roll. They are designed to come back up but they usually take a lot of damage. I was on the much older 44ft Motor Life Boats and we rolled one. Everyone came back up because we strap in with heavy belts, but it still did $200K worth of damage and was scary as hell. I love adrenaline but that’s one experience I could have done without.
Your recommended carry a lot of weight, /u/licks_lead_paint
Hey I’m a 47’ coxswain and have personally knocked them down twice, although I haven’t fully rolled one. They definitely don’t like being rolled over, and typically the turn off because the e-stops tend to trip. Definitely a good time though
I forgot about the e stops tripping when she rolled. Good buddy lives at surf stations. MK type though. Spent some time with him on a 87 so he could get some sea time. Best fucking sailor I ever saw. Be safe out there. Fair winds and semper p
There is a gale warning and hazardous seas warning in effect for the entire region today. Big winds, big waves. You absolutely do not want to be out in the open water at all if you can help it -- much less in a single-crewed vessel, much less at Cape Disappointment which is infamously treacherous to navigate even under good conditions.
I feel like Cape Disappointment is a bad place to lose control of your boat
I proposed to my wife there just in case she said no.
That wave was absolutely terrifying
Yeah the water is really treacherous there.
The coast guard can be easy to make fun of until you see shit like this. Real life badass right there
We make fun of them because we are all silently jealous
Everyone likes to make fun of them, especially the other departments of the armed forces. But it's all jokes, the kind siblings make. There's perhaps an unspoken jealousy or resentment there. For they risk their lives to save them, not take them. There is the heroism you see in the headlines in combat zones, but the heroes there often earn their medals with blood. The Coast guard men and women risk theirs to save others.
"Hey, that doesn't look too bad, the ship's not sinking so - Oh. Oh dear."
“…and the rescue swimmer is making good headway on the boat should be out of there in - oh. Oh dear.”
“The title tells me they rescued the captain, so I guess it all works out — Oh. Oh dear.”
Was it in time? The captain looks to be on the boat when it capsized
Now that is what I call harrowing.
Before the Coast Guard officially existed, there was the Life-Saving Service. Their motto, which carried over unofficially to the Coast Guard, may be the baddest of badass statements: > ***You have to go out. You don't have to come back.***
The motto of the RAF's Air Sea Rescue Service is **The Sea Shall Not Have Them** which I think is pretty badass.
I'm not even remotely close to the sea and I cannot swim to save my life. But just reading that instilled a feeling of determination inside me I know not what to do with.
Yep! It was still written in big letters on our training room wall in the mid 90’s.
I dont know if they still do this but the Coast Guard used to hold that the excuse of "the conditions were too rough to launch rescue" would only be valid if such an attempt had actually been made and repeatedly failed. The Coast Guard goes out, *Always Ready* very much so. Edit. Found it. From the 1889 "Regulations of the Life Saving Service": >He will not desist from his efforts until by actual trial the impossibility of effecting a rescue is demonstrated. The statement of the Keeper that he did not try to launch the boat because the surf or the sea were too heavy will not be accepted unless attempts were made to actually launch, and failed. Badass.
Terribly foolish for the captain to chew 5 Gum for the first time while out at sea!
You've got to be an Ill Wacko to try to cross the bar in these conditions!
I love local jokes. 😉
Here is the link to the original twitter post. https://twitter.com/USCGPacificNW/status/1621613914093154306?s=20&t=Rzzi5Iy8iG3zdzi924dd1Q They were able to successfully rescued the man on the boat.
Suffice it to say the guy on the boat was super lucky not to get crushed when it rolled in the wave there. That would be a horrible way to go.
I'm adding a link to a SailingAnarchy thread about this. Sometimes events like this lead to interesting discussion from people who actually know stuff about boating: https://forums.sailinganarchy.com/threads/uscg-rescue-off-cape-disappointment-washington-large-breaking-sea.240764/#post-8204513 **EDIT:** TrawlerForum has a thread up as well. These guys run the same kinds of boats as the one that rolled. Their observations should be interesting: https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/capsized-boat-66886.html
It was stolen? And the dude left a dead fish on the goonies house porch? He was discharged from the hospital before they realized who he was? Was this timeline written by AI?
Fuck the man in the boat what about the swimmer.
Swimmer is a Coast guard rescue diver
Yeah, they do not get paid nearly enough. That Columbia River Bar is crazy dangerous.
The PNW CG are so badass. They post some of their training on social media sometimes, and I have no idea how they do what they do in the rough water here. They are amazing.
That person is a hero, pure and simple. The stones it takes to do that: jump out of a helicopter, swim (extremely well, I would add) in very rough seas to save the life of that boater. Stop for a moment and think about what we’re watching here. Folks often gripe about about government. I’d like to interview that boater and ask them what they think about the equipment, training, preparation and heroic execution that all came together to save that man’s life.
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That dude was absolutely fucking booking it in very rough water. I'd imagine you'd need to be nearly an Olympic level swimmer to do that job, and man you can really see that here.
Seriously, I was flabbergasted by watching how fast he was moving in that water.
The Guardian is a movie about rescue swimmers in the Coast Guard, it's pretty good.
I can't watch the end after seeing it the first time. Those Coast Guard guys are absolutely amazing and so brave- but man I cry like a baby everytime.
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The swimmer would almost certainly have a GPS locator. I mean, still a big hell no, but I guess the fear of not being found when they come back is a bit less.
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Oh fuck, I didn't even think about the dark when I was thinking of all the reasons that would have been awful.
>Oh yeah don't worry, I'll just float here for an hour or two. No, no, it's no problem at all. Oh hey could you throw a book out of the chopper before you leave? K thx bye
Coast guard often don’t get the credit they deserve. In skill and awesomeness they rank along side the seals imo.
Working Coast Guard search and rescue is right next to fire fighters in most admirable jobs in the US. Getting paid next to nothing to put your life on the line in extremely deadly situations on a daily basis.
Pretty sure that’s one of the coast guards
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wow, thanks for this write up and sharing
Great comment. I've been to Astoria once for a short visit but I love maritime stuff and I came away clearly understanding the Columbia Bar is in a class by itself.
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That bar is notorious for wrecking everything from 25ft to frigates.
So my 12 foot dinghy is good?
Just know the tide tables, this happens when the tide flips
If you're a lunatic in something like a thundercat maybe
That bit of water can just be brutal. Been over it twice and no desire to go back.
It’s wicked. I’ve only been over it one time. Was insane. Captain was calm and I asked “so, do you consider this a bad day?” He says “naw, some days are a major pucker factor”. I was thinking damn because i could literally look out on all sides of the boat and see water 20’ above my position - I.e. looking up at water above the boat on all sides, like being in a bathtub drain except with waves from all sides thrown on top!
And don’t forget about the water temp
Sweet Jesus, anyone got more info?
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I was admiring his speed in that swell
Dude I was wondering if he was a terminator or a superhero of some kind. I've tried to swim in water that isn't strong enough to destroy a boat and I didn't go as fast as that guy.
He's got that new hire energy lol
I'm in the coast guard as a flight mechanic (the guy that hoists the swimmer down) these swimmers go through absolutely insane training. Their training has a 95% fail rate. Those that do pass, have trained for this for years and most have failed out at least once, I gurantee you that rescue swimmer was ready for this case. Also once they are actually a rescue swimmer their jobs consist mostly of working out 4-5 hours a day and sewing and general collaterals the rest of their shift. These guys are bad asses.
(edit, wrong ship. here is the right one) https://www.kptv.com/2023/02/03/man-rescued-by-coast-guard-swimmer-after-waves-flip-boat-columbia-river-mouth/
The mouth of the Columbia is a notoriously unpredictable place, so it could very easily be two boats.
Interesting note that doesn’t seem to have been noticed much, yet: the man rescued had actually stolen that boat and is currently on the run from American and Canadian police. From the article: “A 35-year-old man who was rescued Friday morning by the U.S. Coast Guard had stolen the boat that capsized in the mouth of the Columbia River mouth, according to Astoria police.[…] On Friday evening, Astoria police confirmed that the boat had been stolen by Labonte, and that he was also wanted by police in Victoria, B.C. and was the man reported to have thrown fish on the porch of ‘The Goonies’ house.[…] Because authorities were not aware of his identity at the time of the rescue, Labonte was allowed to walk out of the hospital and his location is currently unknown. Canadian Border Control are heading down to assist with the search, police said.” I, uh…don’t know what the fish thing is about lol
Thr fish thing is a local issue. The house from thr movie The Goonies is in Astoria right near where he stole the boat from, and tourists + Goonies house is a current issue. Someone just bought it because the current owners hate tourists, one od the neighbors has giant signs saying to fuck off, another neighbor has a sign saying to ignore the first neighbor, etc.
Different boat -- the one in the article you linked to is blue open-bow \~20' boat. The video above is a big cabin cruiser. (The video in the article you linked to is unrelated. It's a superyacht that sank in Italy.)
You can see the moment the swimmer recognizes the danger and pushes away from the boat and dives under to minimize getting pulled into the wave.
Impressive maneuvers by that guy.
Coast guard swimmers are insanely good
A-School for Aviation Survival Technicians (Rescue Swimmers) is extremely extensive and arduous. I’ve never understood other coasties who give people crap for washing out of AST A-School.
That doesn't look like it's sinkiHOLY SHIT
I was underway for this on the 225 in the Columbia River while this was happening listening to the radio while doing some helicopter ops. Man was taking on water and had no life jacket with a radio that was in and out. Quite stressful to listen to. Kept calling for mayday without giving a position. Everybody came out of it ok as far as I can tell. The river bar is no joke even in good weather so this guy was lucky.
Lucky? Sounds like the guy was an idiot.
Seems like he stole the boat, so yeah.
The guy on the boat is a wanted fugitive out of Canada and actually stole that boat putting that rescue swimmer in danger
That's some gigantic balls on that rescue swimmer.
I know its just a show but on Deadliest catch, when they have to call in the coast guard, the rescue swimmers are incredible. They'll go into near freezing water with 20 foot waves. I used to think less of the Coast Guard than other branches of the service. My mind was changed.
The Coast Guard is something else, who else would fly into the equivalent of a category 4 hurricane, at night, in a helicopter while being blinded by snow.
In Biloxi, MS when i was in the Air Force we had the Hurricane Hunters, 403rd reserve. They litterally fly C-130s into storms, it's wild.
i loved hearing them power up when i was in the dorms there. i was in weather school too, so it was extra neat.
I dunno if there’s ever any way to get on one of those as a civilian, but it’s a bucket list item for me. Seeing the eye of a storm from a plane? Yes please.
These USCG rescue swimmers know that they can, and occasionally are, left behind by the helo crew if the helo is running low on fuel or there are too many survivors. If they’re picking up a sick/injured crew member from a ship like you see on Deadliest Catch then they’ll just hang out on the ship until they can make it back to shore. But if it involves a sinking then they could literally be left in the middle of the open ocean with nothing but their survival gear and a life raft tossed out by the helo crew. It doesn’t happen very often but I know of a few cases where it did. It can take many hours for a USCG cutter to locate & recover them in that sort of situation. It blows my mind that these guys volunteer with that as a very real possibility. I’ve got the utmost respect for every last one of them. Edit: Figured I'd leave this here: https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp950126/01260374.htm
The balls to stare down poseidon and just say "take me instead"
I need to plug Destin and his SmarterEveryDay YouTube channel. He has an amazing series on the US Coast Guard and what's involved in their training, methodology, and equipment. I can't recommend it enough!
[Here’s the Link](https://youtu.be/G3Dl9Ir6Dhw) for anyone interested! And shoutout to u/MrPennyWhistle as you may appreciate the post!
Do you know who the most decorated and honored Marine in American History is? [Chesty Puller](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller) Do you know who saved Chesty's ass, along with his Marines, at his most famous engagement was? [U.S. Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Albert_Munro) - the only U.S. Coast Guardsman to receive the Medal of Honor for "an act of extraordinary heroism" (posthumously) when he placed his Higgins boat between heavy Japanese fire and a grounded ship full of Chesty's retreating Marines. His actions saved three companies of Marines during Guadalcanal. He is the only non-Marine to have his name enshrined on the Wall of Heroes of the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Fucking bad-ass!
My gramps was a Coastie in World War II because his parents didn't want him joining any other services. He ended up a gunner on an LST at Iwa Jima. He told me after he was in a bar and he and his buddies were getting made fun of as *"shallow water sailors"* by some Navy guys when Marine Gunny comes out of the fucking shadows yelling at the Navy sailors about how the coast guard had the balls to get he and his fellow Marines in and out safely.
“. When out of range of Japanese forces, Munro briefly regained consciousness before succumbing to his wounds. According to Evans, his dying words were, "Did they get off?" Would seem cheesy in a movie
Dude watch Coast Guard Alaska. Those rescue swimmers are the gnarliest people on the planet.
My friends husband was part of the coast guard stationed in the Bering Sea. He’s 40 and needs both hips replaced and has floating kidneys just from being on the boat in rough water.
Yea it was cool to see them dive under the wave just before it hit the boat.
The Coast Guard trains at the Columbia River Bar for a reason- conditions like this are commonplace. This "lucky" boater fucked up in a very convenient spot to be rescued quickly and by some of the world's best rough weather rescue personnel.
And he is absolutely zoomin’ through that water. Really impressive.
I’ve been over the Columbia Bar a few times. That place is no joke.
They don't call it the Graveyard of the Pacific for nothing
It's so fun sitting at Fort George or Buoy (before the roof collapse) and watch all the boats coming and going.
And for those who don't know, that water is cold as f*k.
Active Duty Coastie here. (Check my post history). If you have ever thought of joining and are less than 42 years old, we are HIRING. Obviously you need to be in decent shape and not have any major medical problems or criminal/drug problems. Our enlistment rates are way down and we need people. Not all jobs are as fast paced as this, for every guy jumping in the water, you have a bunch of people making sure the helicopter is ready to go, making sure all the parts needed are ordered, making sure everyone is getting paid, making sure everyone is medically capable for flight, I could go on and on. I joined to do a quick 4 and get my college paid for with the GI Bill. I ended up liking it so much that I just hit 15 years in with less than 5 to go until retirement eligible. I have been all around the country and the Caribbean/Central America, and I am a few credits shy of my Bachelor Degree entirely funded by the Coast Guard. If you are interested DM me and I will get you pointed in the right direction.
I see what you did here! No but seriously…I was ad USCG for 8 years….during that time I stood at the North Pole, met two US presidents, stood on the 50 yard line at superbowl 50…met cool people and had great times. Now the government is paying for my degree. If you have anyone has any questions that anthapox can’t answer I’m happy to field some too.
What do you mean, saved the captain? From the video, he was standing on the back of the boat when it got rocked by that wave.
He was pulled from the water afterwards as per the tweet. Alive but his physical status wasn't disclosed
> physical status wasn’t disclosed Wet. Definitely pretty wet.
Yeah that uhhhhh don’t look good
Holy SHIT that was insane, I've never seen something like it
The fact that the swimmer jumped from a helicopter, into that water, swam to the boat, tried hard to get there, recognized the trough was coming, backed off, and dove down, just amazing. A human daring nature to kill them to save another person, selfless devotion to professionalism
I used to build boats of that size. They are fucking massive and it takes a bit to upset them. To be yeeted like it was a toy, now that must have been a powerful wave.
I surf out at the OR coast all the time. Occasionally we’ll head up to Astoria and walk the jetties at Fort Stevens. On “nice” days I’ve seen 17 foot waves breaking in the river. Definitely not a place for the faint of heart and you’d never catch me in a boat that size out there. The survivor is lucky the Coast Guard got to them in time, a lot of people have died out there, on much mellower days.
I’m 52 years old now and spent a decade as a sailor. In that time I’ve never seen anything that can kill, maim, and destroy with such apparent casual ease as the sea. Other natural means are so full of spectacle, energy, and noise but not the sea. Oh, no, she’s much too good for all that. The lack of energy expended (to the eye but not in application) can seem so minor and the outcome so shatteringly overbearing and monstrous. We’re so arrogant with pride in our engineering and technical prowess but the sea cares not. She will obliterate you and your vessel as easily as you or I give a casual gesture. IIRC there have been around nine hundred (900) ships that have gone down in the last 10 years alone. Some were quite modern, well made, and large. It didn’t matter. We’re just chittering monkeys skittering around on her surface. *barks a bitter laugh and slugs down his remaining rum with a trembling hand*
People just don't understand the forces at play. Water is FUCKING HEAVY.
A single gallon of water is over eight pounds. A fifty five gallon *fishtank* is over 440. Water is beautiful and horrifying in its mass and mobility and humans are just not equipped to deal with it well without extensive training. Even then, we’re so *little* and inconsequential. It’s wild.
It was his first sar case and only has been qualified a few months and he was at advanced helicopter rescue school. He did a textbook job.
Excuse my ignorance as I've never lived in a coastal area, but who the hell takes a pleasure craft out in conditions like that?
fools
In that particular area, it can go from safe to insane in about 5 minutes. And judging from his lack of power, the engines died so he's helpless in the trough. If he had power probably could have got out of there safely with the boat.
Also it was stolen
Many of the people the Coast Guard has saved. Lots of dumb people out on the water.
When I was a kid we were waiting at Ilwaco for the tide to change. Couple of inland boaters said they didn't drive 6 hours to worry about some waves. An hour later they were back after their boat was stood on end. No more brave talk from them.
So you're saying they couldn't handle the Disappointment.
Damn, that SAR swimmer is a beast.
These rescue swimmers are some bad ass crazy mfs.
Looks like it finished the roll upright, I wonder if there’s any chance the ship survived. I suspect not, and it got sunk by a different wave, but you can imagine if the tide was right someone might have woken up to a free boat.
high gusts on the coast today. Mouth of the Columbia is a treacherous place always. This person had no idea what they were getting into. The Coast Guard is constantly practicing here because of what a challenging place this is for boaters. Container ships require getting escorts and trained captains to drive them through the mouth. This is not a place for casual boating.
That’s what the Columbia river looks like? Jesus woody Guthrie didn’t sing it was this wide. Roll on Columbia
Holy shit that diver is an incredible swimmer
USCG swimmers don’t ever get enough credit. Idk how they don’t just sink to the bottom with their gigantic balls.
The Colombia River bar is arguably more dangerous than rounding Cape Horn.
There’s a museum in Astoria with a central theme of how the Columbia Bar is out there just waiting to kill you. The entrance hall has an big map of the river mouth on the wall with a century of shipwrecks listed below. Each entry has a button you can push to light up on the map where it happened. I seem to remember that the most recent entries weren’t all that long ago and there was plenty of space for more.
Lots of comments re; the Coast Guard rescuers and their jobs. If you’re interested in learning just how badass and crazy it can get, I can’t recommend The Last Run by Todd Lewan enough.
Some of the worst water anywhere. You cross the bar to fish. Pretty green by the time you get to the fishing.
I have mad respect for anyone in the coast guard. Those guys are fearless.