THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 24, 1994 TAG: 9406240522
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: LANE DeGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940624 LENGTH: HATTERAS VILLAGE
Charter boat captains from Ocean City, Md., to Palm Beach, Fla., knew and respected 29-year-old Chris Bowie.
{REST} Now, they're fishing for ways to help his wife and unborn child.
They've collected almost $70,000 for the Chris Bowie Memorial Fund. They have given his wife, Laurie, more than $1,500 cash. And they're setting up trust funds for Bowie's first child, due in August.
``When it comes to fishermen, you don't find any better camaraderie. They really support each other - and one another's families,'' said John Coleman, owner of Hatteras Harbor Marina on the Outer Banks. ``This fella was a captain and mate and very well respected angler. We want to make sure his wife is taken care of. We want to make sure his child has enough money to be educated and supported until it can be on its own.''
Bowie was a mate on a charter boat at the 36th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament June 16 when a contestant hooked a 175-pound billfish about 60 miles off shore.
Trying to pull the fish close to the boat so it could be released, Bowie wrapped the wire leader attached to the hook around his wrist. Within seconds, the marlin made a run for freedom and yanked Bowie out of the boat. Another crew member jumped in the ocean trying to rescue Bowie. But by the time he spotted his friend, Bowie was 30 feet under water - and was being dragged down by the fish.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search for Bowie's body late the next day.
Within an hour after news reached the docks, participants on the 200 boats in the Big Rock tournament had collected more than $48,000 for Bowie's widow, said Hatteras Charter Capt. Joe Riley, who had fished with Bowie since 1983. Tournament sponsors contributed another $10,000 to the fund.
On the Outer Banks, where Bowie was a mate during the mid-1980s, watermen also came to his family's aid. Coleman pledged 10 percent of the entry fees from his marina's upcoming Hatteras Harbor Blue Water Tournament - which begins Tuesday - to a memorial fund. Entry fees are $650 per boat, and Coleman expects at least 20 boats will participate.
``This isn't just a one-time thing, either,'' Coleman said Thursday. ``We're considering doing it for the next 20 years. We want a fund that will be self-perpetuating so Laurie and her child don't have to worry.''
David Wilson, a Hatteras charter boat captain who knew Bowie for more than a decade, has walked the docks each day since the accident carrying a bucket and collecting change for Bowie's wife. At a memorial service in Ocean City on Tuesday, Wilson gave Laurie Bowie $1,500 cash. On Thursday, he collected another $500 for the fund.
``It's been a real touching experience for me,'' Wilson said. ``These guys don't have a lot to give. But they're really trying to support Chris' family. We even had a tourist from Georgia come up in church and give money last weekend. It was a terrible tragedy. But sometimes it takes something like this to bring everybody together.''
Captains from Pirate's Cove and Oregon Inlet Fishing Center also have promised to take up collections for Bowie's wife. An Ocean City, Md., bank in the town where she lives set up a trust fund. And the family's church has started a memorial account in Bowie's name.
``Everybody Chris came in contact with liked him,'' said Riley. ``He was a very, very special person. There were more than 300 people from all over the coast at his memorial service - and many of them were handing Laurie envelopes.
``We just want to make sure she and the baby are taken care of now that Chris can't.''
{KEYWORDS} MAN OVERBOARD DROWNING
by CNB