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BajaNews
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jul/11/rescuers-reco...
By Ed Zieralski
July 11, 2011
The allure and adventure of fishing on a Mexican sport boat in bountiful waters teeming with game fish in the Sea of Cortez has drawn American anglers
for more many years, but there have always been risks.
The sinking in a freak summer storm of the Mexican-owned sportfishing boat Erik drove that message home over the Fourth of July weekend. It also gave
pause to a couple of Americans who have fished aboard the Erik.
“Yes, it definitely could have been us,” said Ted Heckman, 64, a Scripps Ranch resident who led charters on the Erik for five years in the late 2000s
and fished on it as recently as three years ago. “I can’t imagine what went through their minds to wake up at 2:30 in the morning like that and have
to get into the water. Some of them were in the water 10 to 12 hours fighting for their lives. It really could have been a lot worse. It was bad
enough, but from what I saw a lot of the passengers were older and not in that good a shape.”
Heckman described the Erik as a “rust bucket,” a boat that sometimes felt unsafe.
“Sometimes the hot water went out, or the air conditioning would quit, or the toilets would back up,” he said. “It was infested with c-ckroaches.
Once, a mechanic, who looked to be in his 70s, had to be boated in from San Felipe to fix the boat’s engine. That took two days.”
Baja Sportfishing Inc., which charters the Erik out of San Felipe, could not be reached for comment.
Despite the problems, Heckman said a fishing trip on the Erik was the best angling value in the industry. Long-range trips out of San Diego cost about
$300 a day, but he said a six-day trip on the Erik ran less than $200 a day and was always exceptional. Anglers would leave the ship twice each day on
smaller boats called pangas to fish in secluded bays or coves.
George Ruble of Fallbrook led a group of 26 Oceanside Senior anglers on a trip aboard the Erik last month. He said he has led charters on the Erik and
its sister ship the Andrea Lynn for the past 10 years.
“I’ve fished from Alaska to New Zealand, and there isn’t a better value or better fishing for the money than these trips out of San Felipe,” Ruble
said. “I took them $25,000 worth of business this year. If you fish three to a panga, it’s $995. And if you fish two to a panga, it’s $1,395. You get
4½ days of really good fishing.”
Ruble said he never saw a life vest on the boat but did see a life raft in the upper deck this year for the first time. He said some of the anglers
brought their own personal flotation devices, but he never did. He also doesn’t remember any talk of safety or what measures would be taken in case of
a sinking or even a man overboard.
“I can’t even swim, so I guess I pushed my luck not taking a life preserver,” Ruble said.
Heckman said he remembered the boat being “wobbly” but couldn’t understand how it could have capsized off the Baja California coast.
The Erik, a 115-foot converted shrimp boat, sank early Sunday morning with 43 people aboard. There has been one confirmed fatality with seven U.S.
citizens still missing.
“I find it interesting that all the Mexican crewmen got off and the passengers are the only ones missing or dead,” Heckman said. “I know they tended
to pile a lot of stuff on the upper deck, and it looked top-heavy to begin with. But they’d add dozens of coolers and then stack the eight pangas up
there. That’s a lot of weight.”
Heckman said his past experiences on the Sea of Cortez taught him the water can come up quickly in a storm.
“You learn to watch the distant haze and stay ready,” he said.
Heckman said he never remembered any safety talk at the beginning of his trips.
“I never heard any mention of life jackets and certainly never saw any,” Heckman said. “We got to the point where some of us brought our own life
jackets.”
...Heckman said a typical day on the Erik began with a hearty breakfast followed by a morning of fishing from a panga. They’d break for lunch at
around 11:30 a.m. and return to the mother ship. They’d eat, take a nap and then go back out around 3:30 p.m. and fish until dark. At night the
captain would move the boat to another of the Sea of Cortez’s Midriff Islands for another day of fishing.
Heckman said two years ago he and his group left the Erik and switched to the Tony Reyes Sportfishing operation out of the Longfin Tackle Shop in
Orange. He said that operation is much better and that he hasn’t experienced any problems.
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monoloco
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It wasn't such a great of a bargain for the ones on the final voyage, a good reminder that price isn't everything.
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mtgoat666
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaNews
“Sometimes the hot water went out, or the air conditioning would quit, or the toilets would back up,” he said. “It was infested with c-ckroaches."
...fishing trip on the Erik was the best angling value in the industry. Long-range trips out of San Diego cost about $300 a day, but he said a six-day
trip on the Erik ran less than $200 a day |
I have not done the SOC mother ship sport fishing trips, but done a few long trips out of pt loma.
I am happy that on trips out of pt loma i had working toilets and AC, and the boats weren't infested with c-ckroaches. that alone is worth an extra
$100/day 
| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaNews
"Once, a mechanic, who looked to be in his 70s, had to be boated in from San Felipe to fix the boat’s engine. That took two days.”
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Nothing wrong with old mechanics - I have met a few young ones that were too foolish to know they didn't know everything.
When hiring a tradesman or professional, always hire the gray hair 
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doradodan
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bed bugs
i went on that boat, killed the jurel. My bed was full of fleas. sprayed my bed and my bunk mate got em. great boat to put you on the fish and
great food, bad luck, it was an accident. get what you pay for
\"The time spent off the water, I\'m thinking of ways to get back in\"
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freediverbrian
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eric
I have a place in Gonzaga, heard from some friends via email in Gonzaga that helped in the search and recovery . the Eric went down off isla wilard
about 1-2 miles off cactus point . One theory is the boat was trying to get into Gonzaga Bar to hide from the wind . If the boat was heading south
southeast with a wind coming from the east and tried to turn and enter Gonzaga Bay the boat would have been broad side to the wind and swell . A very
bad move with the deck loaded pangas
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by doradodan
My bed was full of fleas. |
Jeeezo...fleas in the bed??? Sounds as though these scows would all benefit from a good sinking.
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MrBillM
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It's ALL relative
On a different scale.
Erik.
Titanic.
Different Time.
Different Place.
Same Result.
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DutchmanAZ
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Here's a link with first hand accounts of the survivors...
http://www.wonews.com/Blog.aspx?id=1396&AuthorID=59052&a...
[Edited on 7-12-2011 by BajaNomad]
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Martyman
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The divers were supposed to start checking out the ship yesterday. Any word on their progress?
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MexicoTed
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Latest I heard on Monday afternoon was that the divers were in Baja (San Felipe?), but had not received official approval from the Dept. of Defense to
dive the site yet due to the technical difficulties of a 200-300 ft dive.
Anyone down in San Felipe, the campos or Gonzaga Bay seen any divers??
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bajaday
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No Divers Yet
According to the following article, no divers have been requested yet. Today is another very quiet day, no air traffic heading to or from the area.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/bay-area-news/ci_18456907?nc...
Search for missing Northern California fisherman, wait for news, continues
Navy divers expected to arrive on scene have yet to be officially requested.
By Gary Peterson
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 07/11/2011 03:51:09 PM PDT
Updated: 07/12/2011 06:19:20 AM PDT
The search continued Monday for seven fishermen missing since their chartered boat capsized and sank July 3 in the stormy Sea of Cortez. So did the
wait for news.
"The only report I have is that the search has continued by land, by coastline and by air," said Juan Tintos Funcke, secretary for tourism for the
state of Baja California. "It continues to be extended to the state of Sonora and the islands close to Sonora."
Sonora is across the Sea of Cortez from the Baja California town of San Felipe, from which the Erik, a 105-foot fishing boat, departed on what was
supposed to be a six-day fishing excursion.
Hawaii-based U.S. Navy divers, said by a Baja California official to have been headed to the area, had not been deployed as of Monday afternoon, a
Navy spokesman said.
"There has been no official request for the Navy to participate in any part of a recovery action," said the spokesman, Brian O'Rourke. "We have no
divers coming in for this operation."
It is possible, O'Rourke said, that such a request is currently wending its way through official channels. One woman, whose husband is among the
missing, said family members were told such an operation was in the works.
Joelle Bautista of Penngrove, whose husband Russell has yet to be found, said family members participated on a conference call Sunday with
congresswomen Lynn Woolsey, Jackie Speier, Barbara Lee and officials from the Navy and Coast Guard.
"They said they were getting a dive team together to search below the water," Bautista said.
For the seventh consecutive day, a Coast Guard plane participated in an aerial search. The plane covered 1,700 square miles, according to Petty
Officer Pamela Boehland, and plans to resume operations Tuesday.
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Jim/Liisa
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Why is it that the Mexican goverment always think Bass Akwards??? This delay and red tape stinks. This is typical for any thing done in Mexico.
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Hook
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MrBillM
On a different scale.
Erik.
Titanic.
Different Time.
Different Place.
Same Result. |
Well, we might have learned a little bit more about piloting vessels in the last hundred years. Especially about icebergs.
Hey, I think the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking will be next year, no?
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Dianamo
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Coast Guard concludes search in the Sea of Cortez
https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/823/1135387/
Minds are like parachutes...they only function when open!
\"The price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men.\" - Plato
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Dianamo
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Mood: ...still in Baja
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http://www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_18464766?ncli...
Search for missing Baja fishermen suspended
By Gary Peterson and Jeanine Benca
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 07/12/2011 06:19:14 PM PDT
Updated: 07/12/2011 07:36:09 PM PDT
The search for seven Northern California men missing since their chartered fishing boat sank in the Sea of Cortez on July 3 has officially ended,
their families were told Tuesday afternoon by representatives of the Coast Guard and U.S. State Department.
The Mexican navy called off operations after nine days of combined searching with the Coast Guard, which covered 7,303 square miles of aerial
reconnaissance.
The families are angry, said Frederick Han, son-in-law of one of the missing men, Don Lee of San Ramon.
Of the 43 men on board the Erik when it sank in stormy seas, 35 made it safely to shore. Seven men remain missing, including three from the Bay Area
-- Lee, Gene Leong of Dublin and Brian Wong of Berkeley. One man, Leslie Yee, has been confirmed dead. A memorial for him will be held at 11 a.m.
Wednesday at Glad Tidings Church in San Francisco.
Though the Erik was located 200 feet below the surface, no victims or survivors were found. It was reported Sunday that U.S. Navy divers were being
dispatched to explore the wreck, but no such deployment was authorized.
Han said families of the missing were told the Department of Defense rejected the Mexican request for dive assistance because the resources were not
available.
That decision didn't sit will with Michael Leong, whose father served in the Army during the Vietnam War.
"You don't leave a brother behind," Michael Leong said. "He is a decorated veteran of this
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country. You can't leave him at the bottom of the ocean."
An emotional Elsie Wong, Brian Wong's wife, declined to comment.
Reach Gary Peterson at gpeterson@bayareanewsgroup.com, Jeanine Benca at jbenca@bayareanewsgroup.com. Staff writer Sophia Kazmi contributed to this
report.
Minds are like parachutes...they only function when open!
\"The price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men.\" - Plato
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Pablito1
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All of this time I have been thinking that the boat went down near to or south of Punta Cardon.
I was just communicating with one of the women in the Papa Fernandez camp using messenger. For sure my written Spanish isn't perfect but it's
mas-o-menos. She told me that the boat is 2 miles to sea from the faro. Now that I think of it she must have meant the faro on Willard Island. At
first I was thinking that she meant the faro at Mario's camp but I suppose not.
Not trying to confuse anyone, just repeating what I was just told.
Regards, Pablito
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David K
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The faro north of Papa's perhaps? I understood them to be between Punta Bufeo and Isla San Luis... If they were close to an island, wouldn't they swim
to the island (if they saw it) and not to the beach naer Punta Bufeo?
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Pablito1
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David,
What she said was "entre los faros y dentro el mar 2 millas". But if you check on page 1 of this thread Bonanza Bucko plainly states on the south
east end of Willard Island. I suppose that means the faro on Willard. Anyway I will try to communicate with her tomorrow. She said that they hadn't
had an internet signal for 3 days.
Regards, Pablito
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GrOUper-GAr
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
One factor that greatly increases the size of the waves in the upper Cortez is current. When the current is flowing in a direction opposite to the
wind large seas are generated. The size of these waves is in direct proportion to the two opposing forces.
I used to think that these waves built up locally over submerged reefs but in fact they occur in the deep main channels as well. We watched them
appear and diminish every day.
So when the question is asked how a 50' wave was created in the cortez with a short fetch - that could account for some of it.
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Good point Skipjack.
For people not so familiar with the Sea of Cortez' currents, here is some more inFo.
------"Jumping Water" In The Midriff-------------- from page 219 in the BAJA CATCH
When high tide comes into the Sea of Cortez, the water level rises most at the northern end. In fact, the maximum tidal range at the mouth of the
Colorado river near San Felipe is in excess of 20 feet.
Down at Cabo San Lucas, tides are similar to Southern California's, with a range of about 6 feet, but as you go north up the sea of Cortez, the
range increases quickly. By the time you get to the Midriff Area at Bahia de Los Angeles, the daily change in water level averages about 12 feet
during periods of the new or full moon.
In the Midriff Area, there also exists a geographical anomaly that makes tidal flow important to sport anglers, sailors, and anyone else out on
the water: The Sea of Cortez becomes very narrow here. Assuming an elongated hourglass shape, the Cortez averages about 80 miles nautical wide in the
north and south, but in the Midriff Area, it P-nches down to 48 miles wide at Punta San Francisquito.
In addition, this 48 mile-wide "channel" is blocked by a series of islands, farther reducing the available watercourse to a net width of only 26
nautical miles. During periods of high tidal range, seawater rushes in and out of these narrow channels four times per day in order to raise and
lower the level in the northern Sea of Cortez.
Tidal currents through these channels is very swift, to say the least, and they are compounded by the fact that the underwater topographyon the
Baja side is spectacularly steep. There is a spot on the standard charts showing 5000 feet of water only two miles west of Isla Las Animas in Canal
Salsipuedes. Since Canal Salsipuedesis only 11 miles wide at this point, the effect is as though someone has filled the Grand Canyon with sea water
and is gently rocking it back and forth.
During new and full moon periods, the outer channels of the Midriff Area are filled with strange and wonderful sights, such as offshore
waterfalls, whirlpools, and the famous "jumping water" off Punta Que Malo, which can be translated as "What A Bad Point". (This place is also called
Punta Quemado, or "Burned Point" because of the dark rocks there.) These effects occur when abrupt changes in underwater topography disrupt the
smooth laminar flow of the tidal currents, causing eddies and reverse currents to form. The currents can become deflected to such an extent that they
flow up and down as much as sideways, causing high spots and low spots in the offshore water that is usually thought of as basically "flat".
Even experienced Baja skippers in larger trailer boats will be tested to the limit when the Midriff's infamous winds and these strong tidal
currents decide to bump heads on the outer channels.
Fish these outerchannels early in the morning, and only when it is dead calm. There is always an afternoon breeze here, and you have to come home
against it. We never go farther than Punta Soledad and nearby Isla Rocallosa, which is about four miles south. This gives us a short, 15-minute,
full-power run to reach the inner bay sh2ould the wind kick up.
------
(of note: in the BAJA CATCH they are generally addressing small aluminum beach launched boats)
------
I was in these "jumping waters" off of San Francisquito once.
It was then I realized:
There is 'Boating Experience',
then there is 'SEA of CORTeZ Boating Experience'.
For those unfamiliar with the Sea of Cortez, following this story, and wondering HOW?
Dont equate the small size of this Sea, to a lack of PoWer.
-GrOUper
! PrEFeRiR!A eSTaR eN baJa !
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Pablito1
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Grouper,
Your points are well taken about the currents at the midriff. That water really gets moving. I have always thought of the midriff's effect as to
being simular to the venture of a carburator the way that it speeds up the water. The area around San Luis Gongaza also has very strong currents. At
tide change I have been anchored with the motor not running and in nuteral. With the effect of the current the prop is turning like the motor is
running.
That little channel between Isla San Luis and Pomo the currents rip through there like a mountain trout stream.
The more that I read and hear about this sinking the more I am amazed that anyone got out alive.
Regards, Pablito
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