The Chief - Indian River, DE

[TOO EZ]

Figured I would continue to spread the word. I've posted this on several forums this morning.

Guys-
Just got a phone call from Tommy and THE CHIEF out of Indian River has NOT returned.

Left Fri. afternoon - headed towards the Wilmington (maybe East Wall) and has NOT Returned.

I understand there are several boats looking for him and Frannie.


Boat is a 51 andy mortenson
white w/ Hardtop and short 3 side enclosure.



-------------
PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The Coast Guard searched through the night for seven men on a fishing boat that left out of Indian River Inlet, Del., on Friday.
There are conflicting reports of whether the 50-foot charter boat Chief was due back on Saturday or Sunday, but they were reported missing at about noon Sunday. They were last heard from by other boaters over radio at 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The Coast Guard is searching a 10,000 square mile area. The 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma is currently on scene, and a C-130 search and rescue crew is preparing to join the search.
Another C-130 crew searched through the night with the Tahoma until 5 a.m. today.
A helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City is also planned to join the search efforts this morning.

[Charkbait]

Man I hope they ran out of gas or electric, I would think it is good that they were heard from on Sunday morning but it was snotty out there this weekend.

Thoughts and prayers.

[Sam]

I hope they find them soon.

[TOO EZ]

GOOD STUFF GUYS!!!!!


Local Boat Lost At Sea

Coast Guard Spots People In Raft


POSTED: 9:00 am EDT September 25, 2006
UPDATED: 10:30 am EDT September 25, 2006

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A Coast Guard helicopter out of Atlantic City spotted six or seven people on a raft south or east of Indian River Inlet in Delaware Monday morning.
Seven fishermen from the Philadelphia area were reported missing yesterday when their charter boat did not return as scheduled.
The people in the lifeboat will most likely be taken to a Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma, which is about 30 miles from the scene, according to a Coast Guard representative.




The United States Coast Guard has been searching for the charter boat fishermen that were reported missing Sunday.
Colleen Redmiles, of Philadelphia, said her husband boarded his 51-foot charter boat Friday with six others, but did not return Sunday like he always did on previous trips.
They were last heard from over radio by other boaters 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The Coast Guard has been searching a 10,000 square mile area. The 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma is currently on scene, and a C-130 search and rescue crew is preparing to join the search.
Another C-130 crew searched through the night with the Tahoma until 5 a.m. today.
Colleen Redmiles said her missing husband, Frank, is a plumber working at the Symphony House construction site in Center City.
He and a few steel workers left the Indian Marina Boathouse from the Indian River Inlet in Delaware Friday for a two-day, deep-fishing trip, according to the missing man’s wife.
Paul Ireland, a friend of the Redmiles family, said all people on board are from the Philadelphia area.
The marina the fishermen left from reported high winds and waves while the group was out at sea over the weekend.
The Coast Guard said workers tried to contact the boat, but did not receive a response. However, they did not receive a distress signal from the boat, either.
Redmiles’ wife, said the boat, named “The Chief,” has been in her husband’s family for years. Redmiles’ father handed it down to him, she said.
She said he typically goes about four hours from the shoreline, noting that cell phones don’t work there.
Ireland said the group planned to fish for tuna around the Wilmington Canon area, about 50 miles offshore.
A representative of the Atlantic City Coast Guard said they were alerted of the search Sunday morning.

[Charkbait]

let's hope it's 7 and not 6

[wagonmaster]

Hope that they are all in good health and okay.

[igormothra]

wow.... hope everyone is ok.

[Steve]

YES!!!

Please.... be seven....
Coast Guard comes through, AGAIN!!
Those folks are great!

[DaveH]

I hope for the best for everyone involved.

[wagonmaster]

Steve, I am glad you posted that all on the chief are okay- that is good to know

[TOO EZ]

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...cal&id=4595947


Awesome Video!

[Sam]

by Bob Monek, Action News Executive Producer / ABCLOCAL.GO.COM




They left on a 50-foot fishing boat, The Chief, from the Indian River Inlet in Delaware on Friday. The crew reported hitting a large black object about 30 miles out while en route to the inlet on Saturday. The master and three crew members heard a loud bang at the back of the vessel and water began filling up the engine room. They tried pumping out the water, but the generator failed and they abandoned ship.
The men were reported missing at noon on Sunday, and the Coast Guard began searching a 10,000 square mile area. The men were found about 70 miles east of the inlet on Monday morning. Lt. Brian Potter said they had been searching that particular area for about ten minutes.
"We saw a white puff of smoke," said Potter. "We got a little closer and sure enough there was an orange life raft. These guys had just popped off their last flare."
The coast guard crew hoisted the men to their helicopter and flew them back to the cutter Tahoma.
Gary King, a spokesman for the Indian River Inlet Marina, identified the boat owner as Frank Redmiles. King says The Chief was a well-maintained vessel, which had been based at the marina for a number of years. The other men on board were identified as Fran Gessler of Philadelphia, John and Jeff Werler, Tom Pascano, Todd Carpenter and Ken Arters. The coast guard says all seven men are in good condition, although they were dehydrated and tired.
King says he believes bad weather may have played a factor in the mishap. There were reports of 14-foot seas.

[Steve]

If you use Firefox, they have a "Firefox Video" on Too EZ's link, works well.

So glad they are all home safely....

[TOO EZ]

I'm not sure if I should post this under another thread but, I'm going to babble for a bit and got to bed.

When I first heard of the situation this morning around 7:30-8am I had goose bumps up and down my arms. The first thing I did was post it over on Dot Net, Dot Com and 2 other boards. The crew left on Fri and it's Mon. Something is not right. I believe Tommy made the call to the CG on Sat. and they responded on Sun. by sending the DNREC guys down to the Not Right.

Anyway... What I am trying to say is - This situation should be a learning experience for Everyone that owns a boat OR is on someone else's boat. There is much discussion on another forum asking questions about did they have this or that or was the sky blue or pink.

SAFETY is a friggin must when you go out on a boat OR your own boat. No matter how Small or Big it is... They all sink the same way.

When your batteries are submerged in water - they dont work! Therefore, you can't hail a mayday. If you dont have an Epirb - Get one. If you have not checked your battery on your Epirb - check it. If you dont have the proper life vests on your boat - get em. If your Flares are outdated - buy news one. If you don't have the money for all of this - then sell the boat. Life is too priceless to cheap out on.

Bottom line, you need to be prepared with the proper safety equipment no matter how large of small your boat is.

Furthermore, too many people are too eager to jump into a boat with out checking where the vests are, where the epirb is, where the raft is, where the flares are, etc.

Trust me- It's not GAY to ask where this stuff is on your buddies boat- it's the difference between Life and Death. I did it 2 weeks ago and I wasn't ashamed of my question at the least bit.


Learn from this Aweful experience. Thank God the 7 are alive. We all know the Gesslers and we know the Chief. Thank God they had a life raft and Thank God these men Reacted FAST. FAST - Like within MINUTES NOT 5, 10 or 15. This boat was old and sunk fast!

Thats all... I know most of you are on the land surf fishing... but, those that own a boat OR venture out in one- Make sure you have Everything you need and Some. It's lonely out there and certainly gives a true meaning of FINDING A NEEDLE IN A HAY STACK.

[wagonmaster]

I sure am glad that all is well with those folks, You are 100 % correct about boat safety. I check and re-check my equipment every time I disembark on my boat, even if just taking family or friends on a river cruise, not just out in the ocean, I hope that everyone else does, or will read this post and will do this. It is not stupid to have an accident and be prepared it is however stupid to have an accident and not be prepared.Good job to the Coast Guard as well as anyone else involved in this mishap. Thanks for keeping all of us up to date.