10 Fishermen on Raft Saved From Hurricane Off Tip of Baja

Ten San Pedro-based fishermen stranded on a life raft for a day after being caught in Hurricane Darby were rescued Tuesday off the Mexican coast, the Coast Guard announced.

The crew of the 60-foot fishing vessel Tootur was picked up by the Raku Yoh, a Panamanian merchant vessel, at 11:04 a.m. about 180 miles west of Cabo San Lucas, said Petty Officer Brenda Toledo at the Coast Guard station in Long Beach.

The 580-foot merchant vessel was sent to the scene by the Coast Guard, which watched over the crew for more than a day by air. The crew radioed for help Sunday night, reporting that they were being buffeted by 100-m.p.h. winds and 25-foot swells, officials said.

The crew members were in good condition, Toledo said. One might have a broken knee cap and another a broken arm.

Because the injuries weren’t serious, the crew will not be transferred to another boat and instead will head to Panama on the Raku Yoh, Toledo said. The ship is expected to arrive July 14.

The crew abandoned the Tootur Monday after it lost its pilot house windows and rudder. It was not known Tuesday whether it will be salvaged.

Crew members probably had provisions and water on the inflatable life raft, the Coast Guard said.

But they had no radio until one was dropped to them Monday night from a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules.

Three C-130s from Sacramento and a Navy P-3 Orion patrol plane from Moffet Field in Sunnyvale had taken turns since Monday flying over the stricken vessel and later the life raft.

During the night, the aircraft dropped flares to illuminate the bobbing life raft, Toledo said. The fishing crew was too far from shore to be airlifted out by helicopter.

“We were in visual contact with them at least 99% of the time,” Toledo said.

By the time of the rescue, the winds had died down to about 23 m.p.h. and swells were three to five feet, Toledo said.

Four other ships were called off the rescue after officials determined the crew was healthy enough to continue on with the Raku Yoh. They included the Coast Guard cutter Morganthau, sent from San Diego, two Mexican navy vessels and the merchant ship Lakambini.

The crew of another vessel headed for Southern California was also rescued after being caught in the hurricane. The seven-member crew of the yacht Oasis, bound for Newport Beach from Florida when it radioed for help Sunday, was picked up Monday by the merchant ship Chiquita Roma, out of the Bahamas.

The Chiquita Roma was expected to arrive in Port Huenene tonight.

One Oasis crew member might have suffered a broken arm, authorities said.

The Oasis was 120 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas when its crew asked for help as they battled 90-m.p.h. winds and 25-foot seas.

The 70-foot yacht lost one engine to fire and two pilot house windows. Its status Tuesday was unknown.