Those of you in Oregon will likely be hearing about this incident on the news soon. There was an emergency rescue that unfolded near the Coquille River Bar this afternoon, just a few hours ago. A bicyclist, my wife and myself were the first witnesses to it.
4 kids (teens/early 20's), riding in 3 different, pedal powered, open topped rental kayaks, rode out over the crashing waves of the bar and out into the Pacific Ocean. This was an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. The Coquille River Bar is one of the most dangerous on the entire west coast of the United States.
We had just pulled up to the South Jetty as the kayaks were passing by us on the river, heading towards the bar. The bicyclist tried yelling and waving at the kayakers to stop but they did not see him and likely could not hear him over the pounding surf. The whole thing was like watching a train wreck, one that we were powerless to do anything about stopping. I tried calling out a series of Mayday calls on my VHF marine radio (a handheld) but nobody responded...
Shortly, all of the kayaks had capsized in the high surf numerous times. 2 people were able to hang onto their kayak, which eventually smashed into the rocks of the North Jetty. Those two occupants crawled up onto the rocks and collapsed. The other two got slammed by the waves so much that they got separated from their overturned kayaks and each other, and got repeatedly pounded in those huge waves. Over and over and over again. I don't know how they stayed afloat through it all, even wearing life jackets. Then they gradually drifted out to sea.
This was a replay of the incident that took a Bandon officer's life here about 5 years ago, when he tried to rescue a kid that got out into some heavy surf, and drowned.
And where was the Coast Guard and the police during all this? Many people were calling 911 on their cell phones. But somehow, the information 911 was getting was that there were only 2 people who had washed up on the North Jetty and that they were otherwise safe. We heard the whole thing unfold on our scanner.
And the Coast Guard, who keeps a motor life boat stationed in Bandon until after Labor Day (and is supposed to have lookouts from their base watching the river bar), were delayed because apparently, they had already seen the kayaks in a different part of the river (earlier) and thought they were okay(??). So nobody responded at first.
It took a good 30-40 minutes for anybody (!) to show up, except for an ever larger crowd of onlookers.
And the bicyclist who saw all this begin with us, he even rode his bike all the way back into town to seek help! Because the 911 calls people were making were apparently going unheeded. The bicyclist rode all the way to the guy who rents the kayaks at the Bandon Boat Basin and told him in very blunt terms what was going on. And it was only then that things finally seemed to get started happening in terms of a rescue response.
Back at the South Jetty, a man wearing a wetsuit and carrying a surfboard quietly made his way through the crowd of onlookers and climbed down the rocks of the South Jetty, and into the water. People were yelling at him to stop but he paid no attention to them. He paddled out into the rough surf and eventually, disappeared from view completely.
And before much longer, the two other people left in the swells vanished from view as well (I was watching everything through binoculars). Is was as if all three of them had disappeared. Finally, the surfer reappeared in the swells very far off shore, hundreds of yards from the end of the North Jetty. And I could see that he had another person with him!! The swells made it very difficult to see, but after a time a second person appeared with the surfer, too! He had reached both of the the kids in the water! And they were now waving towards shore for help. The surfer kept far away from the river bar and it's pounding surf while awaiting rescue. That guy knew what he was doing!
The police and the Coast Guard arrived in their vehicles, and finally got some accurate information from witnesses on the scene (including me). After about another 15 minutes or so, a Coast Guard motor lifeboat arrived from the Bandon boat basin nearby, crossed the bar (to the 'oohs" and "aahs" of the crowd, as the boat got tossed around pretty good in the heavy surf), rescued the kayakers and the surfer, and returned to waiting EMS crews at the boat basin dock. As the rescue was still in progress, a Coast Guard Jayhawk helo arrived on the scene from the North Bend Air Station to assist.
The kids riding in the kayaks were out-of-towners from the mountains somewhere and had zero experience in kayaking or being on the water. There were only minor injuries among all of them. Most of the people watching this unfold that I talked to said they thought somebody was going to die out there today. And I could only agree with them. It looked pretty bad.
Later, the surfer, a man in his 40's, returned to a hero's welcome when he came back to pick up his truck parked at the South Jetty. A very unassuming fellow, he told me that he was just glad to help and hoped that somebody would do the same for him someday if he ever needed it.
What a time not to have my camera with me!!
Now, back to the usual boredom of Coos County...
4 kids (teens/early 20's), riding in 3 different, pedal powered, open topped rental kayaks, rode out over the crashing waves of the bar and out into the Pacific Ocean. This was an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. The Coquille River Bar is one of the most dangerous on the entire west coast of the United States.
We had just pulled up to the South Jetty as the kayaks were passing by us on the river, heading towards the bar. The bicyclist tried yelling and waving at the kayakers to stop but they did not see him and likely could not hear him over the pounding surf. The whole thing was like watching a train wreck, one that we were powerless to do anything about stopping. I tried calling out a series of Mayday calls on my VHF marine radio (a handheld) but nobody responded...
Shortly, all of the kayaks had capsized in the high surf numerous times. 2 people were able to hang onto their kayak, which eventually smashed into the rocks of the North Jetty. Those two occupants crawled up onto the rocks and collapsed. The other two got slammed by the waves so much that they got separated from their overturned kayaks and each other, and got repeatedly pounded in those huge waves. Over and over and over again. I don't know how they stayed afloat through it all, even wearing life jackets. Then they gradually drifted out to sea.
This was a replay of the incident that took a Bandon officer's life here about 5 years ago, when he tried to rescue a kid that got out into some heavy surf, and drowned.
And where was the Coast Guard and the police during all this? Many people were calling 911 on their cell phones. But somehow, the information 911 was getting was that there were only 2 people who had washed up on the North Jetty and that they were otherwise safe. We heard the whole thing unfold on our scanner.
And the Coast Guard, who keeps a motor life boat stationed in Bandon until after Labor Day (and is supposed to have lookouts from their base watching the river bar), were delayed because apparently, they had already seen the kayaks in a different part of the river (earlier) and thought they were okay(??). So nobody responded at first.
It took a good 30-40 minutes for anybody (!) to show up, except for an ever larger crowd of onlookers.
And the bicyclist who saw all this begin with us, he even rode his bike all the way back into town to seek help! Because the 911 calls people were making were apparently going unheeded. The bicyclist rode all the way to the guy who rents the kayaks at the Bandon Boat Basin and told him in very blunt terms what was going on. And it was only then that things finally seemed to get started happening in terms of a rescue response.
Back at the South Jetty, a man wearing a wetsuit and carrying a surfboard quietly made his way through the crowd of onlookers and climbed down the rocks of the South Jetty, and into the water. People were yelling at him to stop but he paid no attention to them. He paddled out into the rough surf and eventually, disappeared from view completely.
And before much longer, the two other people left in the swells vanished from view as well (I was watching everything through binoculars). Is was as if all three of them had disappeared. Finally, the surfer reappeared in the swells very far off shore, hundreds of yards from the end of the North Jetty. And I could see that he had another person with him!! The swells made it very difficult to see, but after a time a second person appeared with the surfer, too! He had reached both of the the kids in the water! And they were now waving towards shore for help. The surfer kept far away from the river bar and it's pounding surf while awaiting rescue. That guy knew what he was doing!
The police and the Coast Guard arrived in their vehicles, and finally got some accurate information from witnesses on the scene (including me). After about another 15 minutes or so, a Coast Guard motor lifeboat arrived from the Bandon boat basin nearby, crossed the bar (to the 'oohs" and "aahs" of the crowd, as the boat got tossed around pretty good in the heavy surf), rescued the kayakers and the surfer, and returned to waiting EMS crews at the boat basin dock. As the rescue was still in progress, a Coast Guard Jayhawk helo arrived on the scene from the North Bend Air Station to assist.
The kids riding in the kayaks were out-of-towners from the mountains somewhere and had zero experience in kayaking or being on the water. There were only minor injuries among all of them. Most of the people watching this unfold that I talked to said they thought somebody was going to die out there today. And I could only agree with them. It looked pretty bad.
Later, the surfer, a man in his 40's, returned to a hero's welcome when he came back to pick up his truck parked at the South Jetty. A very unassuming fellow, he told me that he was just glad to help and hoped that somebody would do the same for him someday if he ever needed it.
What a time not to have my camera with me!!
Now, back to the usual boredom of Coos County...
