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Subscribe to RSSCoast Guard officials are scratching their heads after ending a two-day search of the Northern California coast for a reportedly capsized boat that, so far, they are not sure ever existed.
The two-day search for the boat off the Monterey coast near San Francisco was suspended on Tuesday with no signs of debris or any indication that an incident occurred, according to a Coast Guard spokesman.
An air and sea search over a 20,000-mile area of the Pacific Ocean began Sunday evening when a man placed a distress call around 4:20 p.m. saying his 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and having problems with its electronics. Also on board were the man’s wife, 4-year-old son and a young cousin, according to the caller.
About one hour after the initial call, the family of four declared they were abandoning ship.
On Tuesday the Coast Guard released audio of the calls in hopes that a member of the public could identify the man’s voice. The gargled audio is difficult to make out, but officials believe the name of the boat is Charmblow.
"Coast Guard, Coast Guard, we are abandoning ship. This is the (Charmblow), we are abandoning ship," the ship’s operator said in the faint audio.
Problem is, there is no registered owner to a boat by that name, the family has yet to be identified and no one in the area has been reported missing. Officials are not ruling out that the incident may have been a hoax.
And as the Coast Guard called back the patrol boats, planes and helicopters participating in the 42-hour search, officials were turning to the public for help.
“If anyone knows someone who owns a vessel with a similar sounding name, please let us know that,” Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Mike Lutz told NBC BayArea.
Lutz said the family did not have life rafts, but were trying to use coolers and other materials on the boat to use as a makeshift raft.
“Right now we’re asking the public if they know anyone, a friend a relative a neighbor who went out and hasn’t come back that they please call the Coast Guard,” said Lutz.
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'Charmblow?' Sounds made-up
Isn't that a type of lollipop?
Some of us remember them from our childhood. Charms Blow Pops, just like a tootsie pop but with gum in the center instead of a tootsie rool.
they still sell Blow Pops
I'll bet they would have traded a years supply of Charms Blow Pops for a small life raft.
Thanx guys. It's a comfort to know that I don't have old timers disease like they all say I do. %-)
Well, if this was for real, lesson to be learned: When you call the coast guard, IDENTIFY yourself and say the name of your boat CLEARLY.
I was always told that it is bad luck not to name your boat now I see how important it is, I hope this was a hoax and that this family did not go down with the ship.
When i learned deep water sailing, the protocol for radio communicaton was to speak loud (clear), slow and repeat the name of your vessel 3 times and your state your port of origin, then state your message.
Mayday...mayday...mayday...
I am sick of pranksters if this is the case and they should be ashamed of themselves if they are. What a waste of time and resources used and spent to help someone that possibly IS not there. Really, what idiots ... taking away from someone who may REALLY NEED HELP and WHO are DENIED the help they need because of them. Find out who they are and throw the book at them ... NOW, HOW DO THEY FEEL ... JAIL TIME AND A LARGE FINE and DENIAL OF ABILITY TO GET A BOAT, WHATEVER!
I would like to volunteer to kick their a$$es. Where do I sign up?
If California didn't tax their residents damn near to bankruptcy, maybe the kids could afford to go a movie and not resort to calling in hoaxes to LAPD or the US Coast Guard for entertainment...
Uh.. I live in California and they sure don't pay ME damn near to bankruptcy. Not all of us Californian's are rich.
As a long time boater, I can say that you never go out in the open ocean 1) in a 29' sailboat in rough seas, 2) without sufficient life preserving equipment, 3) without a gps location signaling device, 4) with small children on board. If this is an actual event, the guy died of the worst disease - stupidity. The unfortunate thing is, he took his family with him.
I agree if this is a hoax and they are caught They are made an example of.
I remember a case where we were called out on an "overdue". A man had gone fishing one morning. His wife became worried, naturally, when he didn't return home that night. The next day we initiated a search with our CG helo plus a CG small boat crew. 8 men plus machinery searched for hours. Finally, we were recalled when the guy was found shacked up with his girlfriend in a motel. I doubt that anything was done to the guy(other than what his wife did to him)but the fiasco cost the taxpayers a pretty penny.
Sounds possibly like a distraction so that smugglers would have better odds of making landfall with their goods!!!
Bingo
If this was a hoax and if the person is caught, they should be charged with the entire expense of the "rescue" operation as well as fined additionally and sent to jail for making a fake distress call.
Good Point!
65 miles offshore with no gps or appropriate life saving equipment. Looking at either of the 2 possible scenarios, the guy is an idiot!
Anyone that sails on blue water without an EPIRB and a good 6-8 person life raft is just asking for what they get. I dont care if I am not going out of sight of land the EPIRB gets tested and I check the raft latches to make sure they are not stuck and operate easily.
Yeah, it's the life raft thing that gets me. If you can afford a boat like this then you can afford a raft. An absolute necessity even if you're just coasting. I would think that the CG must have a point of origin for the signal. This smells like the bilge in a tramper.
I was thinking the same exact thing Khan....
If this is a hoex they need to be Jailed sick of bull @!$%# like this--
We all have to pay for the morons
OK....4:20 on a Sunday....a boat named Charmblow....
I think some smarta** was smokin some weed and was like - Hey, lets F with the Coast Guard...
Just listened to the supposed emergency call. No sound of urgency in caller's voice. I think it's a hoak. Hoping I'm correct because that means there's no deaths involved.
If this turns out to be a hoak I hope the USCG finds out who this guy is and fines him appropiately. If it's factual ... all my prayers to those involved.
What's a hoak??
it's the non-x rated version of a hoax
Sorry people about the spelling error .. but the points regarding my post are still valid.
Or as the judge said in My Cousin Vinnie....."What's a yute?"
Part of a pipe?
I have been in a tight one before on a vessel in the south pacific, it sounds like phony baloney. The CG would have found something, life preservers, coolers, cushions something would have popped up.
As someone who lives in this area, I am very upset if this is a hoax. Any time a first responder is dispatched to a call, they risk their lives, whether it be a pilot, ambulance driver, coast guard crew or tow truck driver. The ocean is very cold here year round, it difficult to believe someone would go out with a 4yr old and not have an inflatable raft or something.
Ah, yes. The good ship Charmblow. And its very capable captain, Amanda Huggenkiss.
I was a SAR radioman for 10 years with the Coast Guard. There is no excuse for not having life jackets on board - especially with children. There is no excuse for not having back up communications systems on board. I worked many a rescue where all they had was a cell phone and of course the battery would always run out.
If you get in distress - make your SOS call and always state your position first. That way the rescuers will know where to look for you. Vessel name, etc. is only if you have time.
Unfortunately, we dealt with a lot of hoaxes which are a federal crime if the perp is caught.
No exuse?Isn't that a law?
Lesson number one. Always carry flotation devices WHENEVER children are on board. So many boats on the water , so many dummies operating them.
And adults!
it is a law that ALL watercraft have enough lifejackets for every passenger on board. this includes every thing that moves on ANY waters right down to canoes and even rubber rafts
The law requires you to carry one PFD for every person on board. For children under 12, that PFD must fit, and be worn whenever the child is above decks. This means you can't put an adult-sized PFD on a child, unless that child weighs more than 90 pounds.
The United States Power Squadrons (www.usps.org) and the US Coast Guard Auxiliary (www.uscg.mil) teach an excellent boating-safety course, The ABCs of Boating Safety. The cost is reasonable, and there's a squadron or a flotilla near where you live, wherever you live, that will be glad to have you as a student. The USPS even offers that course on-line.
If you are a boater, having passed a boating safety course can also reduce the insurance premium for your boat. Not knowing the law is no excuse, as they say, and as skipper, you are responsible for the boat, your safety equipment, passengers, and crew, even if you rent or borrow the boat from someone else.
Learn more at www.safetyseal.net, as well.
What moron would take his family out in the ocean with no life jackets on board. Just how do you get a 4 year old to hang onto a cooler? What no distress beacon either (I don't know what you call those things). Just plain stupid.
Maybe they rented the boat without much experience and were told it had everything but then didn't? What if they were told it was safe to go out of SF bay with rough seas in a sailboat? Maybe they were inexperienced foreigners and got the name of the boat wrong, and if they were from another country, their relatives have no idea they are missing? IDK...just thinking of all the possibilities including it could have been a hoax.
Wouldn't the "cousins" family or parents be wondering where their child was? Maybe this family was trying to disappear or covering up a crime they committed? Not sure....it's strange they didn't find anything?
Wow, so you mean to tell me the USA, the greatest country in the world can't trace that call? This whole story sounds very fishy to me? A relative or friend would have more then likely called hysterical by now. The US Coast Guard got snookered. What a shame. These guys go out and risk their lives. Funny, whatever Jackass called and did this is going to get his Karma. One day, he is going to need the Coast Guard or some other service to save his life and strange circumstances will prevent them from helping him! What a douchelord!
Sounds like a 15 year old kid playing games.
Better a hoax than 2 small children in that water.
I thought having two young kids 65 miles out on a friggen sailboat was stupid when I first read it.
Perhaps no one at the Coast Guard recognized that the call came in "about 4:20" and the name of the boat was the "Charm-blow". Just seems to be a large hint it was a prank, and a stupid on at that; really, really, really, stupid.
If this IS a hoax- shame on whomever called it in. Just a couple of days ago MIT in Cambridge, Mass. received a TTY (type of phone where deaf and/or speech-impaired callers can make phone calls) call stating a man with protective gear on and with rifles was on campus. Police locked down the campus for hours. Turned out--HOAX. The cost to the taxpayers was enormous.
if this is a hoax, and the moron is located, he should be made to pay the entire cost of the search, and then be flogged in public!!!!!