COOS BAY, Ore. — Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a pair of fisherman on Sunday after their vessel lost power amid a storm far off the coast of Coos Bay.
Watchstanders at a Coast Guard command center in Seattle received a report shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Friday that a 66-foot fishing vessel, the Lodestar, had lost engine power about 180 miles offshore and was stranded while enduring 8- to 12-foot waves and 40-knot winds.
The command center diverted the crew of USCG cutter Stratton to rescue the fisherman. The ship got to the Lodestar around 1 p.m. on Saturday and attached a line to begin towing the fishing vessel toward shore.
“I’m extremely proud of this crew,” said Capt. Stephen Adler, the commanding officer of Stratton. “They showcased remarkable proficiency and seamanship rescuing these two fishermen, who were subject to the perils of the sea, far from land. Yesterday, the crew certainly lived up to her ship’s motto of ‘We Can’t Afford Not To.’”
Once about 45 miles offshore, the crew of a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Coos Bay arrived and took over the tow and care of the fisherman.
According to the USCG crew from Coos Bay, the tow back to base also offered them a special sighting — a pod of between 40 and 50 humpback whales migrating south about 12 miles offshore.
"Talk about perfect timing to see something so spectacular," U.S. Coast Guard Station Coos Bay said in a post. "No one on the crew had ever seen a this type of whale, so it’s safe to say they’ll remember this forever!"
The fisherman were brought back to shore on Sunday and the Coast Guard moored their vessel at the marina in Charleston. USCG did not report any injuries in the ordeal.
