Coast Guard Story of Survival

The year was 1969. I was stationed on the Coast Guard Cutter Magnolia WLB 328, San Francisco Bay. 

This light house is the entrance to San Francisco Golden Gate bridge.  Ships are guided by this lighthouse every day.  

The ship I was assigned to (USGC MagnoliaWLB 328) had many responsiblilties besides repairing or replacing buoys the ship also refueled Alcatraz Island and the Farlon Island weather station located 36 miles out San Francisco coast due west.  

 The Farlon Island is a mountain that rises above the water thirty six miles west of San Francisco.  The United States Coast Guard has a weather station there. The USCGC Magnolia would bring fuel water and food every two weeks on Wednesday.  The Magnolia would be tied up for at least 3 to 4 hours while the crew of 35 men pumped fuel and water to the island.  The ships cooks would usually go fishing off the fantail.  Today I put in a request to go over the side to go abalone hunting along the sides of this mountain.  

Using my own scuba gear and with the help of a friend Chris Beaulac we would suit up in quarter inch wet suits.  The ocean water temperature was always around 50 degrees even on warm days. Today it was over cast and a light rain was giving the ocean a light texture. Chris would use a truck inner tube to hang on to, and then tie a 50 foot nylon rope to the inner tube which was attached to my weight belt. The Officer of the day would post an M-16 rifle look out for sharks.  The Farlon Island is known for the highest population of white sharks in the world.

On this day everything went wrong.  Chris and I never did see what pulled or cut the line from the inner tube. The nylon line would separate before anyone could do anything.  I was headed to the bottom of the ocean rolling head over heels down the side of the mountain.  The deeper I went the colder the ocean would become. The rope started wrapping around me as I plunged deeper and deeper. The surface disappeared and I lost sight of everything as the ocean turned black.  Finally my hand found a hole along the smooth faced mountain.  Hanging there on the side of this mountain felt like a sheet flopping in a 30 mile wind. The ocean current was overwhelming as the struggle went on and on. Finally the current shifted away from me. 

After a quick look around to see if I had been dragged down by a shark, there was nothing. This did not mean I was safe. Safe is when one is on the ship. My face mask seemed to be full of water but, then I realized it was blood.  My head felt like it was about to explode.  I was becoming dizzy and confused.  It was a very lonely feeling knowing no one could dive down to the bottom of the ocean to save me.  Chris was wearing a quarter inch wet suit and he could not go more than 10 feet under water before he would become too buoyant and have to surface.   

I looked around again to see if there were any sharks.  Visibility was poor and I could not see anything.  The next procedure was to check my air gauge. The air gauge was showing empty, but I was still getting some air from the regulator.  This meant my luck would be running out soon. The next procedure would be to check my depth gauge reading.  I later discovered the gauge had broken at 135 feet. With no light and the temperature close to freezing and the sheer pressure on my head and body I estimated I must be around 200 feet down.

The regulator started to go dry.  Now I had to start to ascend to the surface. Taking the chance the current would not drag me down further.  Dropping my weight belt and letting go of the mountain at the same time should work.   The idea seemed to be working I was going up! As I looked up I could see my air bubbles ahead of me like a trail to follow to safety. The surface was still not visible as I looked again. All kinds of thoughts started rushing through my head. The main one was I’am not going to make it. Then no one will ever find my body. My life was about to end if I don’t start kicking harder. I started to kick to pick up speed knowing if I ascend too fast my lungs will expand and explode. The air regulator started giving me spurts of air then immediately goes dry again.  I tried to concentrate. Giving up was not an option.

Hank Kettles my old diving instructor flashed through my mind, "Divers that panic are dead divers". I had to stay in control. I still could not see the surface but the ocean was getting lighter.  I put my head back and let the air expand from my lungs and kept focusing on the surface. Seconds seemed like hours. Too much time had gone by and the surface seemed too far, and I don't think I'm going to make it!  I start pulling too hard on the regulator. My lungs are beginning to burn. Looking up I can see the surface!  Straining for air my lungs feel like they are burning up. I started taking in water around my mouth from sucking too hard on the regulator. The lactic acid is burning my lungs. My head is about to explode, and I passed out.  The next thing I remember is Chris pulls the regulator out of my mouth. He had not abandoned me after all this time!  I had just about swallowed the regulator. After spitting out some sea water from my lungs I took the biggest breath ever. My mask is full of blood again. 

Next I was pulled aboard by some of the crew that was watching the scene unfold.  Although, I suffered a mild case of air embolism and barotrauma, there were no signs of a shark attack.

Scuba diving without a diving partner ended that day. In the future the scuba gear would be traded for a surf board.

If Chris (above)had given up I probably would not have made it.  

Some of the people in these pictures may have carried me off the buoy deck one stormy day in 1970. I was ordered forward to tie down some power jacks in the fossil that were about to knock a hole in the side of the ship. The ship dropped out from under my feet while crossing the buoy deck. I went air born and the 189 foot ship with a 3 inch steel deck slammed into my back.   I almost washed over the side, but the buoy port had a chain across it and caught my life jacket.

If anyone sees this and knows where to find one of these couragious people contact me.  mailto:justaskjerry@aol.com

Crew lowering life boat.galley

The buoy deck...a very dangerous place even when the ship is tied up.  15 ton buoys are dropped here and tied down in just minutes if your fast enough.  I have witnessed some buoys get away and jump back in the ocean.  This is where my accident occurred but was not reported apparently by anyone....seaman Brad Smith [the guy on the buoy] use to jump on these buoys as we pulled up to them, and do repairs by himself!  This would be like performing a medical treatment on the back of a brama bull just released from the starting gate at a rodeo. The commanding officer of this unit would ask these seaman to risk their lives to fix these out dated old buoys on a daily basis.

Coast Guard light ship....anchors out at sea for months at a time.  

Scuba partner in Monterey Bay California.  Diving partners are life savers and no one should be with out one!

Santa Cruz has some great waves.  I use to do beach rescue there and at Stinson beach north of  San Francisco or, when ever I was on the beach. The people I saved were in rivers or just off the beach where there was an under tow.  The Coast Guard base in San Francisco water rescues were under the Golden Gate Bridge with no survivors even if you could find them.

I sold my scuba gear for a surf board soon after my accident at the farlons.  The main reason I do not dive today is because the water is too polluted  and the bottom of rivers and lakes and Ocean shore lines is full of garbage.   

Many of the seaman were injured on this coast guard unit.  Many of these accidents were never reported.  I would like to take this time to list the people responsible that FAILED to their job and as a result many of these great seaman (SHOWN ABOVE) are disabled today without compensation from the Veterans Administration:

lcdr r.a.roy    commanding officer

lt t.v. johnson   executive officer 

cwo-2  h.w. webster

bmc robert merril

bmi t.r. bonner

bm1 samuel reyes

lt h.m. hendrick

bm1 samuel sagale

  Background Music: Ocean Breezes/ Eternal Tides