OCTOBER RESCUE REPORT  
 

10/3/09 7:30 AM  

Received call from Glen Rolle that a 23 foot Mako, 1 250HP, 5 persons, food and water, flares and 6 or 7 life jackets, gray with black haul overdue from Freeport to Bimini. Boat left at 8:30 PM Thursday during bad storm from SW. Owner has sent out a plane and 2 or 3 boats Friday and did not notify BASRA till 10:00 PM Friday night. USCG was notified to prepare a search grid. Old Bahama Bay was notified to put out a security. Mr. Bain Capt. on board 473-3012, Wendell 443-6706, and Smiley 441-9734. Unable to contact any of them on board. Owner of boat is Glen Rolle 442-3256 and contact in Bimini was Shannon Bullard 473-0153.  We arranged with Glen Rolle who contacted Fritz Cambridge to take him up for search, BASRA Mark Albury and USCG Falcon 10:45 AM Fritz took off to search Freeport- Great Isaac- Great Harbour- Hole-in-the-wall to Freeport. 11:50 AM received search grid, faxed to mark at airport and take off at 12:00 noon. 12:32 USCG Falcon in touch with ship (Hurricane I) which had scene the boat 3 hour earlier. I called the Falcon put they said no location was given. 12:45 PM updated Defense force on search. 1:15 Fritz back with no luck. 2:20 USCG Falcon in touch with ship (Hurricane I), boat anchor at Ginger Bread shoals 25.57/078.47. 2:30 PM Notified Mark Albury who returned to area. Bimini reached ship Hurricane I and gave closer coordinates. 2:45 Boat from bimini on way to coordinates. Mark Albury spotted boat 7 miles from report location, coordinates transferred to rescue boat. 5:30 boat was out of gas and was on it way to Bimini. Men on board reported that they where bring grills to Bimini, dove up fish and had a hot meal, they were missing for 44 hours. They also reported that a G&G ship passed them Friday night; the set off all there flares and talked to the ship put the ship did not stop or report their position. USCG is looking into the matter.  

10/4 2:15 PM  

Call from Dolores Pratt 348-1471, 24 foot boat white 1-200HP T top 2 persons, left Grand Cay for Freeport broke down between Grand Cay and Mangrove. Capt Robbie Laing 646-3310 on board called in they are broke down, lower unit problem. We were unable to reach him back. Contacted Mark Albury to start air search. Contacted regional air who had a 2:45 flight to Grand Cay to also watch out for boat. Mark up at 2:30. Contact Defense Force and they said they a boat in the area and would help in the search. 3:30 Mark sited boat, signal another boat in the area and directed them over to boat in distress. 2 boats on scene and tow boat to Freeport.  

10/12 2:00 AM  

Call from Police command, report of capsized vessel 15 south of Andro. Call USCG John Berry. Launched Falcon at 2:30 am and located boat. USCG Hilo picked up 2 people and took to Nassau, one to hospital and one ok.  

10/14 4:40PM  

USCG reported overdue 22 foot white/blue Mako, 4 persons, FLA 8053BP from Miami to Memory Rock overdue, Possible human smuggling. Notified Defense force command. Called Old Bahama Bay to put out call. GB BASRA on standby. 10/17 boat reported back in Miami.  

10/14 6:40 PM  

Call from Stefan King 646-2241, 28 foot white Century with 6 persons and baby left 8 Mile Rock on 10/13 at 5:00 PM headed 270/280 degree and is overdue. Notified Defense Force and USCG. BASRA and USCG Put out distress call to vessels. We were told that this may be human smuggling. Agent for Disney Magic headed for Florida asked them to check radar in the area of West end. 11:00 PM Disney Magic spotted boat off wood Cay at 26.45.8 – 78.58.2. 10/15 1:00  PM USCG was called by the mother of Women with baby on board, Nelly Peror and determined boat was headed to Florida. 10/16 5:00 PM Mark Albury, Hank and myself flew from West End to Mattanilla shoals to Walkers and back to West End with no luck. Requested grid search map from USCG. 10/17 10:00 AM Sent 2 planes plus USCG Falcon and search grid, no luck. 10/18 The boat had floated close enough to land for the women with the baby to place a cell phone call to her mother in Miami. Using BTC they were able to tell us which tower the call came through, that gave us a 20 mile grid, we sent up a plane and in 10 minutes we had them spotted off Hall Point North Grand Bahama. A rescue boat with medical personal was launched from North Riding point and the people were rescued at 4:50 PM on the 18th. All on board were in good health. We notified police to meet the rescue boat at North riding point dock. The true story is the boat actually left from the Abacos and not 8 mile rock as reported and had knocked off the prop.  

10/17 1:00 AM  

A report of an overdue boat with 3 persons left 10/14 from West end headed for Memory Rock. At 1:00 AM on the 17th Carnival cruse ship picked them up east of Grand Cay Abacos. They were taken to Florida.  

10/19 5:10 PM  

Report from Vobac pilot that a large vessel (Modessa Express) we running out of fuel 13 miles from Freeport harbour and claiming port of refuse. Notified Defense force for assistance. 6:00 PM located at 26.35.5 – 78.58.72. 6:30 GB BASRA on stand by, no further call.  
 

10/26 12:45 PM  

Report from vessel AZUL that they were relaying a message from Char Linn a 36 foot Trojan out of fuel at location 26.28.5 – 78.47.75. Notified Ocean Rescue and Recovery who took out fuel...  

10/27 10:00 AM  

Call from Officer Russell Bimini police reported a 15 foot boat towing a 12 foot boat with 2 persons went out on 10/26 at 5:00 PM to dump couch shells and fish for dinner off North Bimini and did not return. Local boats went out and could not find them. Notified Defense Force and USCG John Berry, asked USCG Dist. 7 to prepare grid search. Winds were strong out of the south west. 10/28 USCG Falcon searching area with no luck. Notified Freeport Air Traffic Control manager Moultrie Wellington to notify any planes headed for Florida in the search area to keep a close eye out. 2:00 PM oil tanker Vale reported they had picked up the 2 persons and one boat, the other boat had sunk. The USCG asked the tanker to alter course and bring the 2 to Freeport harbour. 6:00 PM rescue boat picked up the to persons age 72 and 50 and provide medical assistance and returned them to port, both men were very weak but in good health.  

10/27 8:00 PM  

David Curry called in they were out of gas off Silver sands. The boat was 32 foot with 5 persons. Fuel was delivered to them.

11/27 9:00 AM

From Bimini Police to BASRA volunteer Orlando in Bimini about a 28 foot sailboat (Nancy R) with 2 persons on the rocks at Gun Cay. Orlando located the boat and their dingy also on the rocks, but no one around. Orlando started the search for the 2 people on the rock, but they had been picked up earlier and arrived back to rescue their boat at 5:00 PM.

SLIDE SHOW: Photographs taken by Grand Bahama residents who assisted in locating a boater on November 27th. In the third photo the boat is seen as a dot in the distance on the upper left of the image.

11/27 9AM

Grand Bahama residents who own their own plane were called in to assist BASRA to locate someone on a 21 foot boat who lost his engine en route to Freeport area via the Lucayan Waterway from the north. The boater spent all of  Thanksgiving Day and all the previous night in the cold, windy weather . who came within an hour to tow him in.Upon locating, coordinate were called in to BASRA who picked up the boater by 10am.

Boater who went missing all night and day of the 26th and Thanksgiving Day, November 27th, seen here after being located by Grand Bahama residents who assisted in the locating with their plane.