16 Rescued as Raging Seas Sink Boats Off Calif. Coast : Pre-Dawn Waves Hit 28 Feet

Sixteen people were snatched from death at sea in three dramatic Coast Guard rescues before dawn Tuesday as waves up to 28 feet high pounded the full length of the fog-bound California coast.

Coast guard helicopters were still searching for one man missing off San Francisco after six of his colleagues were rescued after their sailing boat capsized.

And all along the coast, authorities reported that scores of small craft were overdue because they had taken refuge in sheltered bays.

The first rescue was in Southern California and came after six fishermen aboard the 83-foot C in D, out of Port Hueneme, sent out frantic signals that they could not restart their engine and were being swept by 20-foot waves toward the jagged rocks of San Nicholas Island, 60 miles west of Santa Catalina Island.

200 Yards from Rocks

A Navy H-60 helicopter and a Coast Guard H-3 helicopter combed the seas near the island for four hours until 3:25 a.m. Tuesday, when the Navy helicopter spotted the boat through a break in the thick fog, Coast Guard Petty Officer Tom Heflich said. “The boat was helpless and only about 200 yards from the rocks,” Heflich said.

The Coast Guard helicopter sped to the scene, hoisted the men off the stricken boat and flew them to San Nicholas Island, where they were all reported to be unharmed, Heflich said. None of the men was identified.

The six fishermen were expected to fly back to Point Magu today in a chartered plane. The 82-foot Coast Guard cutter Point Evans took the fishing boat in tow and was expected to reach Long Beach harbor Tuesday evening.

Seven men aboard the 60-foot sailboat Girlfriend III scrambled into a life raft after their boat capsized four miles off the Golden Gate late Monday night, Coast Guard Petty Officer Kathleen Potter said in San Francisco. But giant waves turned over the raft, Potter said.

Those rescued were Bruce T. Martins, 36, of San Rafael; Gary P. Lewis, 42, Sacramento; Don H. Ford, 28, San Francisco; Rick S. Greenwell, 32, San Francisco, and James L. Sinpardos, 44, and Charles W. Campbell, 59, both of Citrus Heights.

Waiting for Fog to Lift

James Vivian, 45, of San Rafael is missing, and this morning Coast Guard helicopters were waiting for the fog to lift again to resume the search.

In the same area, three men were rescued from the 50-foot sailboat Wendy II by the 82-foot Coast Guard cutter Point Heyer after a three-foot hole was smashed in its bow, Potter said. A fourth man, who was injured, was lifted off the vessel by a Coast Guard helicopter and flown to Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame. None of those rescued was identified.

During this rescue, seas were so mountainous that they rolled over a self-righting, 44-foot Coast Guard surf boat sent to the rescue, Potter said. The surf boat has a round top, and the four crew members, who were strapped into their seats, were unharmed, she said. The boat righted itself in a few minutes but lost its mast and radar antenna.

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