2 Drown When Boat Capsizes in Heavy Surf

Two men drowned and two others were pulled to shore Saturday when their boat ran into rough surf and capsized off the Silver Strand beach area near Channel Islands Harbor, authorities said.

The men’s 20-foot-long cabin cruiser hit heavy surf with swells of 10 to 12 feet, U.S. Coast Guard officials said. The boat overturned after it was hit by a wave, causing two of the men to fall into the water, officials said.

The two victims, ages 53 and 23, were dead on arrival at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, said Chief Kerry Tim, executive officer of the Channel Islands Coast Guard. Their identities were not released pending notification of relatives, officials said.

The two other men stayed with the cruiser until it came closer to shore, said Roy Webster, a firefighter with the Naval Construction Battalion Center. Webster and Eddie Romero, an acting fire captain with the battalion center, were among those who waded in and helped the two survivors ashore, Webster said.

Officials said the boat was registered under the name of John Amos of Pomona.

Amos, 79, was identified as one of the survivors by residents of the Silver Strand area who came to the aid of the two men who were helped ashore. Officials said the other survivor was Amos’ grandson, Kelley Christopher Amos, 23.

None of the men were wearing life jackets at the time.

Webster said the men were using a flashlight to help them maneuver the boat and “came too close to the surf. They couldn’t see.”

The men were trying to dock at Channel Island Harbor, where they had launched the boat earlier in the day, Tim said.

A rescue team, including officials from the Coast Guard, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and the Oxnard Fire Department, searched 30 minutes for the two drowning victims, Tim said. “The rescuers saw them just below the surface,” Tim said.

With the help of a helicopter and flares to light the water, the Coast Guard maneuvered a 44-foot rescue boat alongside one of the victims and pulled him out of the water at 6:27 p.m., about 30 minutes after the accident was reported.

The second man was picked up a few minutes later by a 41-foot Coast Guard utility boat. The two men were immediately given cardiopulmonary resuscitation by Coast Guard officials but did not respond, officials said. Paramedics also attempted to revive them on shore before they were taken to the hospital, Tim said.

Residents in the 1900 block of Ocean Drive said they were watching television shortly before 6 p.m. when they spotted the capsized boat. They called police and ran outside to help.

Barbara Hamer, a guest at one of the oceanfront homes, said she helped bring the two survivors into the house. Hamer said they put Amos in the shower to warm him up and gave him orange juice after he told them he was diabetic.

“He said they lost power,” Hamer said. “When he hit the wave, the other two were thrown out. His grandson told him to jump off.”