Jet-Skier Rescued From the Ocean

An Oxnard man returning from a pleasure ride to an offshore oil drilling platform bobbed on his jet ski in the Pacific Ocean for about four hours Monday afternoon after it apparently ran out of gas and before the Coast Guard could rescue him, authorities said.

James Elliott, 36, and a friend, Joe Archuch, had left the Ventura Harbor about 9 a.m. and were returning from platform Gilda when the two were separated about noon, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Wilkins.

“Based on the [paramedic’s] assessment of him, he’s in pretty good shape,” Wilkins said, adding that Elliott did not appear to have suffered hypothermia while in the water.

Elliott and Archuch were riding together away from the platform, which is eight miles off the Ventura coast, until Elliott fell from his jet ski, Wilkins said. By the time he climbed back on his personal water craft, Archuch had moved far ahead.

When Archuch returned to the harbor and did not see his friend after waiting for him, he notified the Coast Guard shortly before 2 p.m., Wilkins said.

A 41-foot rescue boat was underway by 2 p.m., and a Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched a short time later. The helicopter located Elliott at 3:45 p.m. about six miles southwest of Rincon Point and hoisted him aboard, Wilkins said.

“Apparently, they had made this run before,” Wilkins said. “It’s a pretty good haul for a jet ski. . . . They have no navigational means, though, like a compass. It’s all by sight. We’ve had instances where the fog comes in and they’re dead.”

The Coast Guard was still working early Monday evening to retrieve the jet ski, Wilkins said.