Debris drifts away as boat is uprighted before being raised from the water. The Pilot/Jef Hatch

The boat, registered to Harbor resident Mark Kizzire, was floating hull up when the U.S. Coast Guard arrived and pulled all three victims to safety.

“The captain stated that he hit a rock and capsized,” Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Joe Habel said. 

Habel was the pilot on the response boat that made its way from Coast Guard Station Chetco River to the scene of the incident.

“We received a direct phone call of a capsized vessel, clarified that the boat wasn’t on the beach and proceeded to the site,” Habel said. “Upon arriving we pulled all three victims from the water and all were conscious and coherent.”

The search parties were aided in their search by one of the men who had managed to climb atop the stern of the capsized vessel and was waving his personal flotation device in the air.

“None of the victims were wearing personal flotation devices,” U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Bruce Day said. “You don’t have much time in cold water without proper flotation devices.”

The U.S. Coast Guard treats for hypothermia anytime they pull victims out of the ocean due to the possibility of hypothermia, known to set in within 30-60 minutes of being in the 49-degree waters found on Oregon’s coast.

While transporting the three men back to shore, the Coast Guard radioed for emergency medical services to be standing by.

“We lost vitals on the way back,” Habel said, “but we were able to resuscitate the victim.”

The victim, later identified as Charles Sayler, was alive with a weak pulse and shallow breathing when he was placed in the ambulance, according to U.S. Coast Guard Executive Petty Officer Cheston Evans.

Sayler was pronounced dead at Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City.

“The Coast Guard offers its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” said Lt. Cmdr. Clint Prindle, Chief of Surface Operations at Coast Guard Group North Bend. “Tragic moments such as these remind of us how important it is to always wear your life jacket while boating.”

The Coast Guard responded to the scene within seven minutes from the time they received the call notifying them of the capsized vessel. 

Before a crew can leave the station to rescue boaters in distress they have to dress out in three layers of thermal protection including an outer layer that is waterproof and designed like a dry suit to keep the crew members dry as well as warm, then they notify the proper chain of command as they leave the station.

“The more people who we have know about it at the station, the more people who can help,” Habel said. “We had people on the beach keeping an eye on things and people back at the station who were able to make calls to have the emergency vehicle on scene when we got back.”

The response time required by the Coast Guard is a 15 minute window, according to Evans.

“They were out there in seven minutes,” he said. “I think they set a record getting out to that boat.”

Habel, whose father is in the Coast Guard, was saddened by the loss of life but was glad to have saved the lives of two people.

“The reason I joined the Coast Guard was to make a difference,” he said. “We did the best we could and I’m thankful that we could save two people.”

“The professionalism and dedication shown by the crew is amazing,” Evans added. “It’s unfortunate that a life was lost.

“It’s amazing how a nice beautiful day can turn into a nightmare so quickly.”

While the threesome were pulled from the water quickly and brought back to shore, the boat was left adrift in the ocean because Coast Guard guidelines state that emphasis be placed on securing the safety of the victims.

“The focus was to retrieve the people,” Evans said, “and get them back to shore.”

A bystander who heard the informational broadcast by the Coast Guard and saw them hustle out to the ocean was able to get in his boat, the Green Hornet, and retrieved the vessel before it ran aground.

Harbor resident Jim Cross was listening to his radio when he realized that he should retrieve the boat. 

“The Coast Guard told me it was illegal for them to tow it in,” he said. “I mean, I’d hate to see the boat damaged if it washed up, but I also hate to see stuff in the ocean and went out to pull it back in.”

Cross was assisted by Dick Daniels, a friend of the capsized boat’s captain.

Day emphasized how important it is for boaters to wear their life jackets at all times to try and alleviate incidents like Wednesday’s.

“Everything happens fast on the ocean,” he said. “You can go from having no fish on to hooking into four at the same time and the same can happen with trouble.

“A lot of people don’t realize that.”

The Pilot was unable to contact the captain of the boat, or the family of the deceased.