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Graham
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posted on 6-7-2009 at 11:24 PM
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Marooned in Mexico
“Marooned in Mexico”
Check out Investigation Discovery channel tomorrow, Monday June 8. (10 PM Eastern & 7PM Pacific). The latest episode in the “Escaped” series
reenacts and discusses the case of two Southern California fishermen and their San Felipe guide who were “marooned” on Guardian Angel Island in
October 2000.
Many of you will recall the story -- the three were on one of several pangas fishing from a mothership, the Celia Angelina, when they were blown onto
the island and then wandered along its west coast for 13 days. In spite of an extensive search, one died (Lorenzo Madrid) and the other two (Joseph
Rangel and Jose Luis Ramos Garcia) barely made it. Rangel's wife had already signed up for grief counseling when she heard of his rescue.
It was one of the life-and-death Guardian Angel Island stories discussed in my 2008 book – Marooned With Very Little Beer. I was interviewed for the
program and gave my opinion about some of the survival issues involved.
The show will repeat several times over the coming week. For more details see Investigation Discovery website: http://investigation.discovery.com
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GregN
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 01:25 AM
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Sounds good, Graham. I'll try to catch it.
www.gregniemann.com
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noproblemo2
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 01:50 AM
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We'd love to watch it. Do you happen to know if DirectTV has the channel available? We've never heard of it before. Thanks for the heads up...
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Graham
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 02:58 AM
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Wikipedia has a little background on Investigation Discovery. Mentions access channels for DirectTV and Dish 285 and 192 ??
Not sure if that's still current!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigation_Discovery
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BAJACAT
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 04:03 AM
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THANKS for the tip graham,I will try to watch it.
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BornFisher
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 04:26 AM
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Graham-- thanks for the info, I`ll be sure to watch. I have so many questions. They ran to the island, knowing they were short of fuel. I would have
too. But now you are there, you have a boat, a lighter, fishing gear, fish to eat from the afternoon session. I wonder if they burned the boat for a
signal, what happened to their fishing gear, how were they missed in the search, how did the two survive so long. You`re with a Mexican fishing guide
and you have lots of fishing gear I assume. That should take care of food. I remember the guide tried to swim to L.A. Bay, but got turned around when
he felt a shark.He was a hero in my book and wandered the shore for discarded water bottles and soda. I think that was a charter from a Los Angeles
fishing club. So sad, and it seems so unreal, like they were there but weren`t and couldn`t be seen.
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Graham
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 05:31 AM
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BornFisher, there are many interesting questions about what happened on the island, and you touch on several of them. I'm sure the program will give
some fascinating perspective.
Having spent two months kayaking along the shores of Guardian Angel, I have to question the wisdom of trying to swim from there to LA Bay. At least 15
miles from their position. Given the winds and currents and water temps in the Canal de las Ballenas, not to mention sharks, squid, thirst, jellyfish,
etc, I think if the whole population of the earth tried to make that swim, probably a hand full of people might make it!
This is the basic story recounted in my book. (formatting a little messed up)
From Chapter 5 - "The Blood Red Sea." pp43-45
Most tragedies in the region excite limited media comment. Another that
reached a wider audience occurred in the fall of 2000. Two men “lost at sea” for 13 days were found weak but alive by local panga fishermen on
Guardian Angel Island; a third man was found dead.
The three had set off October 4th in a panga from a “mother ship,” the 90-
foot Celia Angelina, anchored in the protected waters of Puerto Refugio, at the north end of Guardian Angel; up to six pangas would depart from her
every fishing day.
Both Joseph Rangel, 50, of Riverside and Lorenzo Madrid, also 50, from
Malibu, embarked at San Felipe expecting a great adventure fishing the
bountiful Midriff region of the Sea of Cortez. Their panga skipper and guide
was Jose Luis Ramos Garcia, who was also the ship’s cook.
The day started like so many others, with everyone in T-shirts enjoying the
calm conditions. Garcia took the 22-foot panga down the west coast of
Guardian Angel Island. Madrid caught pargo and dorado and a 25-pound
yellowtail; his companion and longtime fishing buddy Rangel caught
snapper and yellowtail.
With the sun sinking about 6 P.M., it was time to head back to the mother
ship. However, a strong westerly wind kicked up and caught the fishermen
by surprise.
The winds drove them against the shore of the island. As darkness fell,
they were in danger of running out of gas, and were compelled to risk a
hazardous landing and spend the night ashore.
They lost all their fish when the panga swamped in the surf, but they were
able to rescue four 15-ounce bottles of water, three cans of beer and a can of Dr. Pepper. The trio built a small shelter, lit a fire with their lone
cigarette lighter and spent an anxious night hoping for an easy morning run towards the mother ship which they assumed was still stationed at Puerto
Refugio.
Next day, however, the outboard wouldn’t start and they found
themselves stuck on the island. Garcia told them help may not be arriving as they were supposed to be fishing on the island’s eastern shore. And that
is where search efforts would be concentrating.
Hoping to be more visible to passing boats, they tried to launch the panga
and head out to sea using improvised oars that Garcia knocked together, but the winds drove them back to shore where the boat was battered on the
rocks and they were “all scraped up in the process.” They were now in even worse shape, losing most everything and with no means to start a fire, the
lighter washing away in the rough landing.
The three men spent several days working their way north along the west
coast towards Puerto Refugio, walking and wading, pushing and pulling a
small raft they used to get around the many steep cliff-lined sections of the
island. Garcia was mostly leading the way, pulling the two fishermen on the
raft as he waded through the rocky tide pools. Like many Mexican fishing
guides, he was not wearing shoes, so Rangel, who did not swim well,
eventually loaned the guide his. “I did find a size-11 shoe and… a size-12
thong on the island, but I wasn’t comfortable in those so I went shoeless after a while,” Rangel said.
Garcia was the main provider, locating a cave each night and gathering
capped soda bottles that had washed ashore with a few mouthfuls of lifegiving liquid inside.
“We made slow progress and being in the water during the day kept us
cool,” Rangel said. “We caught some live crabs and some sea snails and sea cucumbers—I’ve had better.”
Madrid, was a close friend and fishing buddy of Rangel, and had been
enjoying “the best fishing trip of his life” in the days before their ordeal. He
was considerably overweight and started to weaken after three days on the island. The last moments for Madrid came after another session wading
through the shallows and clinging to the raft.
“For some reason, that day he said he wanted to be in the back of the raft
so we let him, and when I turned around his face was in the water,” Rangel
said. “He was breathing water.”
Rangel and Garcia helped Madrid out of the water, where he collapsed.
Madrid drifted in and out of delirium, Rangel holding his hand and
comforting him.
“I knew what was happening,” Rangel said, “I looked at the palm of his
hands and they were blue. So were his feet, and his eyes were…all glazed… We watched the life just go out of his body.”
Rangel and Garcia carried on heading north with Madrid’s body, trying to keep it on the raft.
Being in a survival situation was not totally unfamiliar to Rangel. He had
served with the 101st Airborne in Vietnam as a gunner on a helicopter
gunship. He was shot down, and for 11 days was listed as missing in action.
In spite of his survival training and experience, Rangel felt his strength
waning too. Fortunately, less than two days later, Rangel and Garcia were
discovered by sea cucumber fishermen and brought aboard their panga. The Celia Angelina was not far away. Madrid’s body was retrieved and the Celia
Angelina eventually began the trip back towards San Felipe.
“On that boat ride home,” Rangel said, “I didn’t want to sleep or even nap
because I didn’t want to wake up and be in a cave again—and have it all be
just a dream.”
Garcia, who ran a taco stand in San Felipe, was questioned about his
qualifications to be a guide; and claimed to have acted as one on 10 previous occasions. While an investigation into his decisions and his suitability
to be a guide was underway, Rangel credited his fellow survivor for his tireless efforts during the ordeal.
Rangel’s wife, Margaret, believed she would never see her husband again.
“I had already signed up for grief-counseling courses… I had pretty well
accepted that he was dead. This is just so unbelievable. I’m just ecstatic.” She said.
Asked if he’ll ever make another fishing trip out on the Sea of Cortez,
Rangel thought about it and said, “Probably not… but don’t hold me to that.”
...............
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David K
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 10:58 PM
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Thanks Graham!
The show repeats FIVE times after tonight... the 10th and 14th being the family hour times it is shown.... IF these are local times!
Jun 08, 10:00 pm
(60 minutes) Escaped
Marooned in Mexico
TV-14 (DLSV), CC
Rangel and Lorenzo Madrid had been fishing in the Sea of Cortez when they noticed the light was fading and the winds were picking up. What came next
landed them on a barren, inhospitable island, stranded, for two weeks.
Jun 09, 1:00 am
Jun 10, 8:00 pm
Jun 10, 11:00 pm
Jun 13, 2:00 pm
Jun 14, 7:00 pm
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BajaGringo
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 10:59 PM
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Thanks Graham for the tip and David K for the times - will be sure to watch it...
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fishbuck
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 11:00 PM
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This story is why I always drop a beer on every island I fly over. I make little parachutes for them.
SAVE THE ROOSTERFISH!
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
--- Mark Twain
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BajaGringo
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posted on 6-8-2009 at 11:17 PM
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BajaNuts
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posted on 6-9-2009 at 01:28 AM
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thanks for the times,
and fishbuck, I hope I never find one of your beers!  l:
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Graham
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posted on 6-9-2009 at 01:50 AM
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Looks like I won't be able to see the first showing. I'll be interested in any opinions.
I understand that most of the reenactment was filmed in the Nopolo area in case you're wondering.
Fishbuck, make those cans at least the gallon size minikegs, and the parachutes golf umbrellas ... and I'll be out there searching for them. 
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BajaWarrior
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posted on 6-9-2009 at 02:31 AM
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Pretty good show so far! Interesting story and beautiful views of the Island. Graham, great job!
Haven't had a bad trip yet....
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John M
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posted on 6-9-2009 at 03:09 AM
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We just finished watching this program. It was great.
Thanks Graham for the information.
John M
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Von
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posted on 6-9-2009 at 03:30 AM
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MAn i missed it will check it out other times thanx David..
READY SET.....................
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BAJACAT
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posted on 6-9-2009 at 03:39 AM
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Von they are going to show it today at 10:00pm discovery ch..
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CortezBlue
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posted on 6-9-2009 at 05:10 AM
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Hey, it may be a coinkydink, but there is a guy on the Discovery show that has the same name as you. However, he has a bit of a funny accent, must
not be you.
| Quote: | Originally posted by Graham
“Marooned in Mexico”
Check out Investigation Discovery channel tomorrow, Monday June 8. (10 PM Eastern & 7PM Pacific). The latest episode in the “Escaped” series
reenacts and discusses the case of two Southern California fishermen and their San Felipe guide who were “marooned” on Guardian Angel Island in
October 2000.
Many of you will recall the story -- the three were on one of several pangas fishing from a mothership, the Celia Angelina, when they were blown onto
the island and then wandered along its west coast for 13 days. In spite of an extensive search, one died (Lorenzo Madrid) and the other two (Joseph
Rangel and Jose Luis Ramos Garcia) barely made it. Rangel's wife had already signed up for grief counseling when she heard of his rescue.
It was one of the life-and-death Guardian Angel Island stories discussed in my 2008 book – Marooned With Very Little Beer. I was interviewed for the
program and gave my opinion about some of the survival issues involved.
The show will repeat several times over the coming week. For more details see Investigation Discovery website: http://investigation.discovery.com |
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Graham
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posted on 6-9-2009 at 05:52 AM
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A shame I missed it. But looking forward to catching one of the repeats.
Thanks for the feedback. I guess I didn't entirely end up on the cutting room floor... but now I'm wondering about that imposter with the funny
accent!
Eager to see those aerial views of the island, and see how it was all edited together.
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David K
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posted on 6-9-2009 at 04:23 PM
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I still enjoy seeing Graham in TITANIC... He played the part of the drunk with so much realism... he must have studied his character very well! 
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