THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250425
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY AND ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
A Coast Guard rescue-swimmer who saved three people from a floundering sailboat became a victim himself Tuesday when a helicopter hoist cable unraveled, stranding him in the stormy Atlantic for nearly five hours.
Petty Officer 1st Class Mike Odom, 30, assigned to the Coast Guard Air Station at Elizabeth City, N.C., was rescued about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday by another helicopter crew. He was flown to the Norfolk-based guided missile cruiser Ticonderoga, 100 miles away, and treated for exhaustion and hypothermia.
In an unrelated case blamed on the same storm, a Canadian navy ship rescued three people from their sinking fishing vessel Tuesday afternoon about 65 miles east of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, the Coast Guard said.
The crew members, who were all reported unharmed, were from Lowland, N.C. They were to be transferred to the Coast Guard cutter Point Huron and returned to shore.
Odom, an aviation survivalman from Houston, remains aboard the Ticonderoga in good condition. He was scheduled to be flown ashore, possibly today.
Never in Coast Guard history has a helicopter-rescue swimmer been left to fend on his own for so long, Coast Guard officials said. A dozen times before, rescue-swimmers were left behind, but rarely for more than an hour and usually because of weight limits in the aircraft, said Lt. Dan Taylor, a spokesman for the Elizabeth City air station.
Odom was left in the open ocean off Georgia with only a survival raft and a radio-signaling device. He was wearing an exposure suit designed for cold weather operations. The water temperature was not immediately known but it was cold enough to drop his body temperature to 92.5 degrees. Normal temperature is 98.6.
``I think you'll see a mob of Coast Guard folks welcoming him back,'' said Coast Guard spokesman Joe Dye of the 5th District in Portsmouth.
One of the two remaining passengers aboard the 42-foot sailboat Mirage also was rescued early Tuesday and flown to Wilmington, N.C.
But the vessel's master, identified as Allen Brugger, 42, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, refused to leave and continues to sail the vessel alone. The Mirage is a charter boat that left St. Augustine, Fla., bound for St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
``He said he had 25 years of sailing experience and wants to stay with the boat,'' Taylor said, ``so I guess he is currently out still sailing.''
The dramatic rescue took place during severe weather that produced high seas off the Atlantic coast, according to Coast Guard officials in Miami and Portsmouth.
A ``Mayday'' call from the Mirage was received by the Coast Guard about 9 p.m. Monday, indicating that the sailboat was taking on water in high seas about 360 miles off the coast of Savannah, Ga.
The Coast Guard dispatched a C-130 aircraft from Elizabeth City. The plane found the boat about 10:30 p.m. in 20-foot seas and 35-knot winds.
The crew of the Mirage reported that the flooding had slowed but that they still wanted to abandon the vessel, the Coast Guard said.
The closest helicopter that could reach the distant scene, a Coast Guard HH-60 from Elizabeth City, was sent to rescue the crew shortly after 10 p.m. but didn't arrive until nearly 2 a.m. Because of the long distance, it had to fly to Wilmington first and refuel.
As the rescue began, Odom jumped into the water with a six-man raft. He used the raft to get the passengers into a rescue basket that had been lowered from the helicopter by cable. Three of the five passengers were safely aboard the helicopter when the hoist cable unraveled, stranding Odom and the other passengers.
Running low on fuel, the helicopter crew headed to shore.
A second helicopter from Elizabeth City was launched at 3:30 a.m. to continue the rescue, but it, too, had a long trip, requiring refueling at Wilmington.
At the same time, two other C-130 aircraft were dispatched - one from Elizabeth City and the other from Clearwater, Fla. They circled overhead throughout the night, keeping track of the Mirage.
The second rescue helicopter arrived about 6:30 a.m. and hoisted Odom aboard. It then flew 100 miles to the Ticonderoga, refueled and returned to the Mirage to pick up the fourth crew member.
The Coast Guard identified the first three crew members as Mark Cole, 38, and Thomas Steier, 37, both of Richmond, Ky., and Dave Denman, 41, of Columbus, Ohio. They spent Tuesday at a Wilmington motel and reportedly flew to their homes. The fourth crew member was not immediately identified.
KEYWORDS: RESCUES AT SEA ACCIDENT BOAT by CNB