THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 2, 1996 TAG: 9601020053
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Two fishermen rang in the new year on a Chesapeake Bay buoy after their small boat became lost in heavy fog.
Charles Moore of Chesapeake and John Mormon of Stafford were rescued about 10:45 a.m. Monday by two fellow boaters.
``They were on the buoy, waving,'' said Jim Boyd, 36, a Norfolk lawyer who had gone fishing with his brother David Monday morning.
``They were really lucky. Fortunately, they were dressed for the weather.''
Moore and Mormon, who could not be reached Monday, told Boyd they set out on a six-hour fishing trip from Bubba's Marina on Shore Drive about 6 p.m. Sunday.
About the same time, a heavy fog settled in, reducing visibility to a few hundred feet - less in some places.
Motorists were forced to slow on highways, and airlines canceled and rerouted flights slated to go through Norfolk International Airport. On the water, boaters could see little more than the waves hitting their hulls once they had moved away from land.
Not long after they set out, Moore and Mormon realized the fog was getting thick and they tried to return to Lynnhaven Inlet. But landmarks were masked in fog and no light from shore, bridges, buoys or passing ships penetrated the fog.
They told Boyd they soon realized they were lost.
``Then they started to run out of gas,'' Boyd said. ``So one of them turned the engine off to save fuel.'' In the fog-shrouded silence, they heard a buoy bell in the distance.
``They turned the engine back on and headed for it,'' Boyd said. Finally, the buoy emerged from the fog.
``They tied up to it and climbed in it,'' Boyd said, ``and they started burning odd things from the boat, trying to stay warm.''
The pair told Boyd that they hoped a passing boat would spot them. Vessels did pass, some very close. ``They said they could hear ships coming by, sounding fog horns. But nobody spotted them,'' Boyd said.
About 6 a.m., the line attaching the small boat to the buoy snapped, and their vessel floated away.
Meanwhile, on shore, people were beginning to worry about the pair.
At Bubba's Marina, employees found the men's vehicle and boat hitch in the parking lot. They knew the men had planned to return by midnight, so they called the Coast Guard. Relatives, too, were concerned and called authorities.
The Coast Guard sent a boat to look for the men and, about 10:45 a.m., their boat was spotted drifting.
``With no one in it, we assumed they were in the water,'' said Coast Guard Petty Officer Ronald Mills.
About the same time, Boyd and his brother, who works with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, steered toward a buoy near Cape Henry at the south entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. They spotted the men and took them aboard.
Just before noon, they tied up at a pier and Moore and Mormon found themselves safe on land.
``Those guys really had quite a night,'' Boyd said. ``They were kissing the dock when they got back.''
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT BOAT FISHERMEN FOG by CNB