Slush Pile: The Knucklehead

2007 Slush Pile

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The Knucklehead

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/top_story/story/7520033p-7419830c.html

Sunken vessel lacked a pump By THOMAS BARLAS Staff Writer, 609-272-7201 Published: Saturday, December 1, 2007

The owner of TowBoatU.S. said Friday that the boat that capsized Wednesday off Atlan-tic City, killing all three fishermen on board, had no working bilge pump and no hole in the hull through which water could be pumped.

John Ryan, whose company towed the 25-foot pleasure boat Knucklehead to the Shamrock Towing Yard in Somers Point on Thursday, said the vessel "generally looks in good shape" and has no apparent hull damage. However, he said the only bilge pump he could find on board was disconnected and found in the boat's cabin.

The bilge pump, which helps remove water that collects in the bottom of a boat, appears to have been a factor in another fatal accident this week as well, this one in the Delaware Bay.

The Knucklehead left Oyster Creek in Galloway Township at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and was reported overdue by friends at about 5:45 p.m. that evening.

A Coast Guard search found the capsized boat at about 1:10 a.m. Thursday about five miles off Atlantic City, with the bodies of 63-year-old Galloway Township resident Danny Pavic and Mark Stroud, 45, of Philadelphia, floating nearby. The body of Philadelphia resident Jerry Berwick, 64, of Philadelphia, was found inside the boat's cabin when it was righted at about 1 p.m. Thursday.

Authorities on Friday continued to investigate the Knucklehead's capsizing and the resulting deaths. But with no witnesses or survivors, officials with the U.S. Coast Guard said they may never know for sure why the Knucklehead flipped.

"We just don't know," Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Nyx Cangemi said. "They could have been in an inlet and beaten by heavy waters."

The results of autopsies performed on the three dead men were not available Friday.

While State Police normally handle these types of incidents, Coast Guard officials said they are in charge of this investigation. They also said it could be some time before they are able to release the findings of the investigation because it has to go through several layers of Coast Guard bureaucracy.

The Knucklehead was powered by a single outboard engine. Ryan said the transom where the engine is mounted is "very low," with the top only about 8 inches or 9 inches above the water line. Coupled with the apparent lack of a working bilge pump, it's possible the Knucklehead capsized after taking on water over the stern, he said.

The Knucklehead left Oyster Creek and was apparently heading for Little Egg Inlet, about 10 miles north of where the boat was found.

Coast Guard officials said helicopters were dispatched Wednesday morning after two boats reported hearing a distress call of, "May Day, May Day, May Day, we're going down." They said the alleged distress call was broadcast on a channel the Coast Guard does not monitor and mentioned no location. The search turned up nothing.

Cangemi said Friday that the Coast Guard "still hasn't made the correlation" between the distress call and the Knucklehead and its crew.

Coast Guard officials said Pavic, Stroud and Berwick were not wearing life jackets but that life jackets were found in the cabin of the Knucklehead.

Cangemi said Friday the boat also did not have an electronic position-indicating radio beacon, or EPIRB, a device that sends out a signal to help rescuers find disabled boats. EPIRBs are required only on commercial vessels, he said.

Activation of the device could have alerted the Coast Guard of the Knucklehead's location "within minutes" of the incident, he said, and allowed rescuers to get to the scene quickly.

"It takes the search out of search and rescue," he said.

While investigators try to determine what happened with the Knucklehead and its crew, State Police have formally determined what caused a boat to capsize Thursday in the Maurice River Cove section of the Delaware Bay off Cumberland County.

State Police said Friday that a large wave crashed over the bow of the 22-foot Chris Craft, overwhelming the bilge pump and capsizing the boat. An autopsy showed that 72-year-old Buena Borough resident Marcial Ramos drowned as a result of the capsizing, State Police Capt. Al Della Fave said.

"There is no evidence of trauma to the body," Della Fave said. "Nothing suspicious."

Two other men in the boat - Ramos' son-in-law William Pabon, 60, and nephew Alex Centeno, 33, both of Millville - were rescued.

Police said Friday the boat that capsized in the bay was in "pretty good condition," with no holes or any significant damage to it.

State Police Trooper Rich Ernst attributed the problems to rough conditions on the Delaware Bay. At most parts, the bay is only about 10 feet deep, and difficult tides and winds can cause trouble for boaters there.

"It's pretty common," said Ernst, who works for the State Police's Marine Unit in the Bivalve section of Commercial Township, Cumberland County. "It gets really rough out there."

State Police Sgt. Steve Jones, who works in the press office, said the boat, which was anchored, was hit by a large wave that came over the bow, filling the boat quickly, and that the bilge pump could not get all the water out fast enough. He said such incidents are not uncommon in the Delaware Bay.

"(Waves) are always very dangerous," Jones said. "(Capsizings) are not all that uncommon, especially when you have a boat anchored, and changing tides and changing winds." He added that a bilge pump has a pretty small hole to pump water through, and it can't always handle a lot of water.

Ramos died after he was trapped for an hour under the capsized boat. He was pulled from beneath the boat by Fortescue Fire and Rescue Chief Cliff Higbee, who found Ramos tangled in fishing line.

Della Fave said an autopsy showed that Ramos drowned.

Submitted on 12/02/2007

Submitted by: Don Koury
Reference: Atlantic City Press, 12/02/07

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Other
Unless all the victims were aware of the disabled bilge pump I'd call them innocent bystanders in this tragic accident. Even with a working bilge pump there's no guarantee that it could have prevented the capsize that ultimately led to these deaths. If, as the USCG stated, they were unexpectedly caught in heavy seas, then they could have been overwhelmed and flipped within a matter of seconds and no pump would prevent that. This is just another unfortunate example of why fishing is considered one of the most dangerous jobs there is. Thanks just the same, Don.

Chip said:
Definitely Toss: Other
Hard to pump water out of an upside down boat and as Bruce said we do not know whether any of these were innocent bystanders. Thanks for the submission though, Don.

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2007 Slush Pile

The Knucklehead

2007 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance