Cost Guard rescues 13 from capsized charter boat
e-mail print By Erin Richards of the Journal Sentinel
Updated: Aug. 27, 2011 5:42 p.m. |(7) Comments
A vessel carrying a group of scuba divers in Lake Michigan capsized two miles east of Whitefish Bay Saturday and had to be assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The three-person crew and all 10 passengers aboard Diver's Delight Scuba Charter were returned to shore at McKinley Marina, checked by medical staff and determined to be safe with no injuries, the Coast Guard said in a news release Saturday.
Diver's Delight is owned by Ralph Ripple and operates out of a West Bend address, according to the company's website.
Tracy Ripple, said the group had planned to do a couple of 100-foot dives to a shipwreck Saturday and set off from McKinley Marina.
She received a call from her husband while she was driving to work in Port Washington Saturday morning.
"Call the Coast Guard," she heard her husband say. "The boat flipped over."
Tracy Ripple said she looked up the Coast Guard's Milwaukee number and called them. She worried about her husband in the cold Lake Michigan water because he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. The divers would be wearing wet suits, she said.
Meanwhile, the boat's Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, a hand-held device, sent out a distress alert at 10:38 a.m. that alerted the Coast Guard's 9th District command center in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Coast Guard contacted Ralph Ripple by cell phone, who confirmed that all 13 people were sitting on top of the capsized vessel with their life jackets on.
A Coast Guard rescue team that arrived at the scene transported the boaters back to McKinley Marina, where they were inspected by medical personnel.
Tracy Ripple said Saturday afternoon that she hadn't heard from her husband about why the approximate 28-foot boat had capsized. Ralph Ripple didn't answer a reporter's calls to his cell phone.
"My guess was that the boat was anchored and the wind blew or something, or maybe it got twisted and brushed by a wave," she said.
A Coast Guard official in Cleveland said that four to six foot waves were reported in the vicinity of the capsized boat.
"We will be doing an investigation since it was a charter vessel," Petty Officer First Class Lauren Jorgenson said. "Weather might have been a factor but we won't know until the investigation is complete."
Tracy Ripple said her husband did manage to call her back briefly to let her know that all the divers were fine.
"I told him, 'I suppose they'll want their money back?'
"And he said, 'Yeah.' "
Small craft advisory was posted and is still in effect
e-mail print By Erin Richards of the Journal Sentinel
Updated: Aug. 27, 2011 5:42 p.m. |(7) Comments
A vessel carrying a group of scuba divers in Lake Michigan capsized two miles east of Whitefish Bay Saturday and had to be assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The three-person crew and all 10 passengers aboard Diver's Delight Scuba Charter were returned to shore at McKinley Marina, checked by medical staff and determined to be safe with no injuries, the Coast Guard said in a news release Saturday.
Diver's Delight is owned by Ralph Ripple and operates out of a West Bend address, according to the company's website.
Tracy Ripple, said the group had planned to do a couple of 100-foot dives to a shipwreck Saturday and set off from McKinley Marina.
She received a call from her husband while she was driving to work in Port Washington Saturday morning.
"Call the Coast Guard," she heard her husband say. "The boat flipped over."
Tracy Ripple said she looked up the Coast Guard's Milwaukee number and called them. She worried about her husband in the cold Lake Michigan water because he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. The divers would be wearing wet suits, she said.
Meanwhile, the boat's Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, a hand-held device, sent out a distress alert at 10:38 a.m. that alerted the Coast Guard's 9th District command center in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Coast Guard contacted Ralph Ripple by cell phone, who confirmed that all 13 people were sitting on top of the capsized vessel with their life jackets on.
A Coast Guard rescue team that arrived at the scene transported the boaters back to McKinley Marina, where they were inspected by medical personnel.
Tracy Ripple said Saturday afternoon that she hadn't heard from her husband about why the approximate 28-foot boat had capsized. Ralph Ripple didn't answer a reporter's calls to his cell phone.
"My guess was that the boat was anchored and the wind blew or something, or maybe it got twisted and brushed by a wave," she said.
A Coast Guard official in Cleveland said that four to six foot waves were reported in the vicinity of the capsized boat.
"We will be doing an investigation since it was a charter vessel," Petty Officer First Class Lauren Jorgenson said. "Weather might have been a factor but we won't know until the investigation is complete."
Tracy Ripple said her husband did manage to call her back briefly to let her know that all the divers were fine.
"I told him, 'I suppose they'll want their money back?'
"And he said, 'Yeah.' "
Small craft advisory was posted and is still in effect
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