Jim Perez - 2-28-2005 at 11:14 AM
I posted this on Fred Metcalfs site and thought I should also post here.
I am sorry I didnt save my original post but I will retry with a shorter version.
On 2/19 we left Morgan Hill ca. at 2am and arrived in San Quintin that afternoon.
The next day we were off to Gurrero Negro. When we arrived we made reservations for Monday 2/21 11am whale watching.
Overall the trip was great, many whales and we all were able to pet one. My group consisted of me, my wife, my two sons (9 & 11) and my mom. There
were also two other men and three other ladies.
Here is where it gets bad. While heading in at full speed the boat makes a hard right turn, as hard a turn as is physically possible. I was sitting on
the left side middle and the instant this happened I thought the captain was just giving us a thrill but it didnt stop.
I think I was the first one in the water as it all happened in slow motion. I saw my family near me as the boat capsized. I counted heads and knew no
one was under the boat. As you can imagine there was some panic as my wife and older son didnt take it too well.
At this point the captain climbed on to the capsized boat then helped my wife and youger son up. My other son and mom were in the water holding the
side. We all had life jackets on and the rest of us seemed ok in the water.
As most of us were calm we were able to take account of the situation and see that we were all fine. All we could do now was wait as the captain had
lost his radio. While in the water I talked to another man as to what had happened. He thought the same as I did that the captain was playing around.
It seemed like around 15 minutes went by when we finally saw the last panga come in behind us. They almost passed us as it had started to rain and
they were all looking down or were behind umbrellas and didnt see us waving till the last minute.
As they came up they asked if we were ok. They had no room to pick us up so they had to drop the passengers off on shore then the captain returned
with a male passenger.
About now I was worried that my mom and the other ladies were in the water too long. The boat picked up my kids, my wife then the rest of the people.
I was still in the water holding the rescue panga to the capsized one. They had trouble with my mom as she has no arm strength and they couldnt get
her in. They decided to tow her to shore (250yds) so she could stand the get in. She and I were in the water the longest and I didnt want them to
waste any time on me. I stayed with the captain and climbed on the capsized panga.
Another boat came out and picked us up. As this boat boat picked me up the one with my group passed us going in. I gave my kids the thumbs up. Later I
was told after they were rescued they were all worried about me but they could see I was fine as they passed.W e then made it over to pickup the
passengers on shore. They were all very concerned and asked if anyone was hurt. I let them know we were all fine.
When I returned to the dock it was a quiet mood. We all thanked God it didnt turn out worse. While riding the bus back to town (wet and cold) my
younger son asked out loud "Do we still get lunch?" we all laughed and I know this uplifted us all.
Of course the tour company was very concerned and took our statements as to what we thought happened. One passenger was seated near the captain on the
way in and she said the instant the accident occured she heard him cry out like he slipped or something. They refunded all aour money and looked to be
closed the next day. We heard the harbor master was doing an investigation.
In my opinion this was just a freak accident and has nothing to do with Mexico. Like Sculpin says Baja isnt for everyone and I can see where someone
would see this as a negative thing against Mexico (non Baja travellers).
It turns out all cameras were lost or damaged except mine(water proof). I picked up the pictures last night and they came out excellent.
After returning to our room for hot showers I had time to think about what happened. I had to go out side so my family wouldnt see me tear up because
I was dwelling to much on what could have happened. I wasnt sure how they felt emotionally so I asked them all if they just wanted to pack it up and
go home now? All I heard was a unanimous "No".
We had dinner and of course people would ask us how we were doing. I would just listen to my family tell the tale. I think they were feeling good when
my kids would say "We are the only ones to swimm with whales".
The next day off to LA Bay for more site seeing and eating too much. While down at the ramp watching boats come in I was really surprised to have my
wife ask if I wanted to get a boat for us to fish. I just answered no. thats ok.
The next day we left for San Quintin again and on the road out I saw the sign for Mission San Borja. I told my wife I had allways wanted to go there.
We were in her Honda Accord and she says "lets go" unfortunatly we only made it 12 miles in before we came to a low spot with too much water and mud
for our car.
The rest of the trip we would talk about the incident but the conversation would become less and less about the capsizing and more and more about how
much fun we were having.
While driving thru Ensenada I was really surprised to hear the talk about when we come back. And if you believe this, last night when I picked up my
pictures my wife says "I know all the pictures that I took were good, We will have to whale watching againg so I can take more" (her camera was
damaged by the salt water)
I have a great wife and family.
Life is good,
Jim
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Follow Ups:
Re: Trip/accident report repost richnlinda 14:23:26 02/26/05 (0)
MIKEMCCARTY - 2-28-2005 at 02:07 PM
GREAT STORY! I AM GLAD IT HAD A HAPPY ENDING
Jim, glad everything turned out all right.
bajapablo - 2-28-2005 at 02:08 PM
Sounds like you have an awesome family.
When Whale watching becomes boring
jrbaja - 2-28-2005 at 06:53 PM
That is the best whale watching story I have ever heard!!!
Although everyone
will always remember their experiences with the whales, you will have more memories than they ever will.
And, since your family are all Troopers, and a miraculous amount of luck was with you in an accident like that, good on ya!!
Now that you've taken the first 'dip'....
Mexray - 2-28-2005 at 07:45 PM
...we need to have a meeting of the minds and get a Mexican concession to start the 'Swimming with the Whales' tourist attraction!
First, we'll get one of those navy landing type crafts, the ones with a ramp in the bow to flop down to retrieve the weaker swimmers. They will then
be able to 'walk' back aboard. We'll name the vessel "Jonah".
We'll sell lots of waterproof disposal cameras because there will be a 'security check' before boarding so customer's cameras will be left ashore.
Of course we'll have a wet suited swimmer with a video cam to take lots of shots of our 'swimmers' as they attempt to cozy up the to a 10 ton,
barnacle shrouded jealous mama trying to protect her new offspring!
We'll also have a pressure washer aboard to wash down the swimmers of any left-over whale snot as they emerge from the crystal clear, sunny waters of
Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's Lagoon)!
I think we'll have to give your sons the majority interest in the operation as it was actually their idea to go 'Swimming with the whales'!
On a more serious note...thank goodness no one was hurt and only had their spirits 'dampened'! We drove out there last year and took a panga tour out
to 'pet' the whales. It was a cool and foggy day, and I'm sure glad we didn't have any 'Navigation malfunctions' on our trip...that water is NOT that
inviting! Glad you all made it back, OK! Thanks for relating your tale to us here.
Thank you all for the kind words.
Jim Perez - 3-1-2005 at 09:08 AM
My kids couldnt wait to get to school this week to tell their teachers and classmates about their adventure. This past weekend I started testing the
waters again by letting my family know " There are whale sharks in the fall at LA Bay that we could go see".
Jim
What a story!
fongster - 3-2-2005 at 10:44 PM
Thanks for sharing it and I am glad God protected you all. I read that you all had PFDs on--good for you!!! We were fishing in San Quintin the same
weekend you were down there. We brought our own and wore them the entire time on the water (well, I did--my buddy is too macho or stupid--he only wore
his on the trip to and from the fishing grounds but took it off once we stopped to fish). I also brought a handheld VHF and a GPS just in case. Some
might call me a wuss for wearing a PFD but if I am going overboard, I am going to float!
wilderone - 3-3-2005 at 05:23 PM
The pangeros supply them and make you wear them.
JESSE - 3-3-2005 at 05:28 PM
Why did the captain turn at full speed?
terrybird - 3-3-2005 at 05:53 PM
Whale snot??
lizard lips - 3-12-2005 at 01:45 PM
Jim,
Im so glad you and your family came out of this experience with such a good positive feeling. It sure could have turned bad very fast.
Glad to hear everybody came out okay..
Debra - 3-12-2005 at 05:20 PM
Sounds like you have a real "Baja" family there GOOD FOR THEM! (and you)
Jim Perez - 6-20-2005 at 08:28 AM
This past weekend I was out on my first fishing/boating trip since the Baja boat accident. I must say it affected me more than I thought it would. It
didnt help that it wasnt my boat and there was a lumpy swell. And did I mention that my friend drives to darn fast (new boat owner). We left the
harbor (Santa Cruz Ca.) before sun up in low light. I started to think back on what had happened and got this uneasy feeling. It stayed with me awhile
but by the end of the day I felt better. Catching two salmon also helped.
My kids have been asking about going back to Baja. We will shoot for July.
Jim
Debra - 6-20-2005 at 08:53 AM
Jim, you are bound to be un-easy...that is normal I would think. I'm thinking your un-easyness will be so much worse when you have the family in the
water.....................so, a suggestion,
When you take the family to Bahia, go out to La Gringa to swim with the Whale Sharks, lots of them there at times and not a ripple in sight.