This was happening on the
VHF as I listened. Tough conditions. She had lots of water in the engine room and was in real trouble.The Coasties put de-watering
pumps aboard to get her back afloat and keep her from continuing to pound on the bottom. Their 12ft. draft made the inlet impossible under even good circumstances given the recent shoaling.
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ATLANTIC BEACH, NC - Coast Guard 47-foot Motor lifeboat crews from Station Oregon Inlet, N.C., assisted a 77-foot fishing vessel that ran aground and began taking on water near Oregon Inlet Channel Inlet buoy #3, Monday.
Radio watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet received a call from the crew of the
Bald Eagle II at approximately 10:45 a.m. stating that that their sister ship,
U-Boys had gone aground near the #3 buoy in the Oregon Inlet Channel with six people onboard and needed assistance.
Station Oregon Inlet dispatched two rescue crews to the scene. After the crew of the U-Boys re-floated the vessel a Coast Guard engineer transferred aboard the fishing vessel and assisted the crew de-water the vessel.
“This scenario is something that we train for at the coxswain and boat crew level, but we don’t encounter it very often,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Lars Kent, Station Oregon Inlet’s officer in charge.
“We have an extremely knowledgeable and professional crew here at Oregon Inlet. Our constant training allows them to step up and meet the many unique challenges that they encounter,” said Kent.
Due to insufficient draft at Oregon Inlet the crew of the U-Boys is currently en route to Portsmouth, Va.
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Here's a pic my buddy took. She was rolling from side to side so much that both outrigger tips were in the water on the rolls.
u-boys 034.jpg
