Survivor of Boat Sinking That Claimed 10 Tells of Giant Swells

The skipper of the Fish-n-Fool, which two weeks ago was capsized by a 20-foot wave that led to the deaths of 10 people, remarked to passengers minutes before the boat was hit that the area where they were returning to anchor was being pounded by giant swells, one of the two survivors testified Thursday during the first day of a Coast Guard Marine Board investigation.

Jim Sims told a four-member panel consisting of Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board officials that the fishing vessel was a little more than a mile north of an outcropping known as Ben’s Rock when the boat’s skipper, Gary LaMont, shouted his astonishment at the size of the large swells.

“He said, ‘My God, look at the swells on Ben’s Rock,’ ” Sims, 29, testified. “I heard that, everybody heard that. Everybody stopped and looked. We could clearly see the white water.”

At that point, Sims told the panel, he was unconcerned about the swells and went down into the galley to eat lunch. But 20 minutes later he went outside and discovered that the boat was next to the rock, which he described as three to four feet wide and about 10 feet long.

“As I came out of the galley we were right there,” said Sims, who was subdued and calm throughout his five hours of testimony. “We were about 20 feet or less from the rock. Just 20 minutes prior to that he had just made his comments. I couldn’t believe we were right next to the rock.”

Sims testified that the 57-foot boat, which was on a four-day fishing trip off Baja California about 150 miles southeast of San Diego, was facing away from Ben’s Rock when a giant wave appeared. It sucked in the bow of the boat, then slammed into the vessel, lifting it over on its side.

The passengers, he said, were on the left (port) side of the vessel and 20-year-old Scott Milliron, a deckhand, was at the bow.

“The white water hit the boat and jarred it sideways, and I hit the water,” Sims said, adding that he had gone to the rear of the vessel as the wave approached.

He added that he believed LaMont was at the controls when the skipper began to give the idling engine more power. It was a futile effort because in a few moments, the Fish-n-Fool turned upside down, Sims recalled.

During a recess in the hearing, Lt. J. Michael McCoy, a panelist, said that despite the giant swells, a skipper still has “a lot of discretion” in deciding whether to take a boat into areas that might be considered dangerous.

Sims was asked during the hearing whether he felt he was in safe hands. He replied, “He (LaMont) made me feel real comfortable.”

But later, talking to reporters, he said he wouldn’t have gone to Ben’s Rock had he known about the huge waves. “I would not have gone in there,” he said, “but who are you going to blame?”

Sims added that he felt that LaMont probably believed there wasn’t a problem because they had been traveling amid some rough swells during other parts of the fishing trip. He also said there was no tip-off from the weather, which he described as being “beautiful.”

Sims recalled that at no point, from the time the three crewmen and nine passengers left H & M Landing on Shelter Island to the time of the accident, did LaMont indicate a need for safety precautions. Under Coast Guard guidelines, an operator of a ship is required to inform passengers of safety measures in case of an emergency.

It is not known, for example, if the vessel had posted safety placards on board. (The craft was discovered last week at a depth of about 170 feet. A decision has not been made on whether to recover the boat.)

After the boat capsized, eight of the passengers began to look for boat debris in an effort to save themselves, Sims said. The next few hours were filled with horror, Sims testified, describing the futile efforts by fellow passengers to swim to nearby San Martin Island.

In one instance, he remembered the fruitless efforts of two passengers, Rusty Paxton of Riverside and Timothy York, 25, of Huntington Beach. “Rusty told me to tell his wife that he loved her, and then I heard him thrashing in the water. I could hear (York) thrashing in the water. I could hear him yell that he was too young to die and ‘I don’t want to die,’ ” said Sims, who was nearby, hanging on to a piece of plywood.

Cathy Compton, a crew member from San Diego, was the only other survivor.

In other developments at the hearing, Sims admitted that “someone” had brought marijuana on board but didn’t identify the person. While being questioned on the subject by LaMont’s lawyer, William P. Barry, Sims asked for an attorney to advise him.

At that point, however, board members and Barry dropped that line of inquiry.

Asked later by reporters if he had brought the drug aboard the vessel, Sims responded: “I have no comment.”

Marine inspector Roger Tomlinson testified that when he inspected the 22-year-old boat in May, 1986, he found the boat seaworthy and legal. But he added that under normal operating procedures on an extended fishing trip--though not required by Coast Guard regulations--the boat should have had at least two deckhands.

The Fish-n-Fool had only one.

Barry, LaMont’s attorney, said he believed that aspect would not have any relevance because Coast Guard regulations do not stipulate such a requirement, and because LaMont is considered to have been an outstanding boat operator.

The dead were Steve Rhoads, 25, of Costa Mesa; Rusty Paxton, Kent Springman, 37, and Max Pfost, 52, all of Riverside; Timothy York, 25, and Ken Baldwin, 64, both of Huntington Beach; Terry Milam, 39, of Norco; George Stinson, 40, of Orange; Milliron, 20, of Lakeside, and LaMont of Spring Valley.

The hearing is scheduled to resume today at the Sheraton Harbor Island East.