Survivor Testifies : Hearing Opens in Loss of 10 Lives in Sinking

Shortly before a 20-foot rogue wave sank the 57-foot fishing Fish-n-Fool the skipper had commented on the size of ocean swells, a marine inquiry was told Thursday.

The boat went to the bottom in 170 feet of water off the Baja California coast, 150 miles south of San Diego. Ten of the 12 persons aboard the vessel died.

The Coast Guard Marine Board investigation into the sinking opened Thursday. The board is composed of two members of the Coast Guard and two members of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Jim Sims, 29, one of the two survivors, told the panel the boat was a little more than a mile north of an outcropping known as Ben’s Rock when the 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 testified. “I heard that, everybody heard that. Everybody stopped and looked. We could clearly see the white water.” He said the waves appeared to be 8 to 10 feet.

At that point, Sims told the panel, he was unconcerned about the swells and went down into the galley to eat lunch. Twenty 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.

Sims said the boat, on a four-day fishing trip, was facing away from the rock when the 20-foot wave appeared. It slammed into the vessel, lifting it over on its side.

Sims said he had gone to the rear of the vessel when “the white water hit the boat and jarred it sideways and I hit the water.”

He said he believed LaMont was at the helm and began to increase engnine power when the wave hit. It was a futile effort because, in a few moments, the Fish-n-Fool overturned, Sims recalled.

During a hearing recess, board member Lt. J. Michael McCoy, said that despite the big 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 big 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 in rough swells during other parts of the fishing trip. He also said there was no tip-off from the weather, which he described as “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 vessel is required to inform passengers of safety measures in case of an emergency.

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

Sims said the hours after the sinking were filled with horror as he and fellow passengers tried 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 near him, 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 marijuana aboard the vessel, Sims responded: “I have no comment.”

Marine inspector Roger Tomlinson testified that, when he inspected the 22-year-old boat last May and found it boat seaworthy and meeting regulations. But he added that under normal operating procedures for an extended fishing trip the boat should have had at least two deckhands. The Fish-n-Fool had only one.

LaMont’s attorney said he believed that no relevance because Coast Guard regulations do not stipulate such a requirement and because LaMont was considered an outstanding boat operator.

Those killed in the shipwreck 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; Scott Milliron, 20, of Lakeside, George Stinson, 40, of Orange, and LaMont of Spring Valley.

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