THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411190406
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Hours after the Coast Guard rescued a family from tumultuous Atlantic waters, another helicopter crew early Friday saved a second group from the waves created by Hurricane Gordon.
The HH-60J Jayhawk crew battled 40-foot seas and 50 mph winds to pluck three men from the Pilgrim, a 49-foot sailboat that left Bermuda Monday en route to its home port of Oxford, Md.
The sailboat's master, Mike Auth, 55, of Chestertown, Md., and crew mates Ron Frey, 44, of Baltimore and Mike Browne, 23 of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, spent Friday resting at an Elizabeth City hotel.
They told the Coast Guard that a professional weather service had advised them the seas were safe. At that time, Gordon was a tropical storm expected to head for the Gulf of Mexico.
``So it was a complete shock to them that they were suddenly in the path of the storm,'' said Coast Guard Lt. Jack Newby, who piloted the helicopter in Friday's mission.
On Thursday, a 65-foot Colombia-based sailboat carrying a family of four ran into trouble on a trip to Bermuda.
The Coast Guard rescued the family, including a 4-month-old baby, from heavy seas about eight hours before being called out again to help the Pilgrim.
Both parties hit turbulent weather late Wednesday but planned to ride out the storm. No one from either boat was seriously hurt.
The Pilgrim was about 100 miles from Norfolk when it lost power and its crew lost control of the boat. The crew sent out a mayday call about midnight which was relayed to Air Station Elizabeth City through the carrier America.
``The vessel had one of its masts ripped out of the support,'' Newby said Friday. ``The seas were just beating them, so that's when they decided to get off.''
Finding the sailboat also proved difficult, since various sources gave three locations, Newby said.
The chopper crew arrived about 1:20 a.m. and sent rescue swimmer Mike Thomas into the massive waves to collect the three men, who floated freely among swirling seas until Thomas could reach each with a rescue basket.
From there flight mechanic Matt Moyer hoisted each man into the helicopter's cabin while co-pilot Mike Brady helped Newby keep control of the aircraft.
Newby said that, at one point, he was so focused on the rescue that he didn't notice the chopper lose altitude. Just as a huge wave was about to smack into the aircraft, Brady pulled a lever that lifted the aircraft above the swell. MEMO: Related stories on pages A1, A8 and A9.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE GORDON RESCUE AT SEA U.S. COAST GUARD by CNB