A sportfishing adventure in the Sea of Cortez turned tragic early Sunday as the 105-foot boat "Erik" capsized and sank with a large group of U.S. anglers aboard. As of Tuesday morning, one body had been recovered and seven people were missing and feared dead.
Most of the victims are from California. Nineteen tourists and 16 crew were rescued, some after spending long periods afloat.
(Note: This story was updated Tuesday morning.)
"I'm relieved I'm alive, but I'm scared for the people who haven't been found yet," Michael Ng, a passenger from Belmont, Calif., told the Long Beach Press-Telegram. "We were not very far from shore, so people were beached or stranded on some local islands."
The Erik is run from San Felipe on the northeastern shore of Baja California. It serves as a mother ship for passengers who make daytime fishing excursions aboard smaller skiffs, called pangas. The Erik was struck by sudden electrical storm at 2:30 a.m. Sunday near Isla San Luis, about 70 miles south of San Felipe.
As the vessel capsized people were flung into the water. Some had donned life vests while others clung to life rings or debris. A search was conducted through Monday by the Mexican Navy, with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard.
The search was expected to end soon but divers were to explore the wreckage of the vessel for bodies.
The Erik takes passengers on multiday voyages to the Midriff Islands about 120 miles south of San Felipe. The vessel is owned and operated by Baja Sportfishing.
Calls and emails to the company, and to its U.S. booking agent Jig Stop Tours, were not returned Monday. But the company issued a statement to the Associated Press that read, "We have been working with the Mexican Navy authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard. Right now our main concern is making sure everyone is accounted for."
Baja Sportfishing's homepage states: "Due to events occurring at this moment, all further trips are cancelled."
The Erik embarked with 27 anglers and 16 crew on Saturday morning, for a six-day adventure. The incident occurred during what apparently was to be the first stop on the way to the Midriff region. The Erik was built in Holland and designed to handle rough seas.
This is not the first major incident involving a San Felipe-based mother-ship sportfishing adventure. In 2000, during an excursion run by a different company, two anglers and their skiff captain were forced ashore by strong winds onto a remote stretch of deserted Isla Angel de la Guarda. When the wind subsided, the skiff's motor would not start and the three were forced into a fight for survival as they were unable to contact the mother ship.
During an ordeal that lasted nearly two weeks and entailed sleeping in caves and subsiding on crabs, sea snails and sea cucumbers, one of the anglers perished while the other, along with the skiff captain, survived long enough to be discovered by visiting commercial scallop fishermen.
I was working at the Los Angeles Times during that incident and interviewed the surviving angler, Joseph Rangel, a day after his rescue. He said of the anxiety he experienced during his return to civilization: "On that boat ride home it was my worst nightmare. I didn't want to sleep or even nap because I didn't want to wake up and be in a cave again -- and have it all be just a dream."
-- Image of the Erik is via the Baja Sportfishing website
Well it was sad Fishing boat carrying U.S. tourists capsized I wish this not be happening again..
Posted by: Barramundi | Sep 28, 2011 at 12:33 AM
I felt pity for those people in the fishing vessels. I hope this would not be happening again. :(
Posted by: Adventure Racing | Aug 17, 2011 at 07:41 PM
that was so sad, I mean is it very dangerous to have fishing anywhere now ? Back in time, some people don't mind those things. Why are those terrorists exists ?
Posted by: Jail Break | Jul 28, 2011 at 07:18 PM