I haven't posted much lately, late start due to engine rebuild. Electrolosys ate 5 holes in my 4 year old block. Yamaha covered the entire $10,000 rebuild. Everything that requres lube was replaced.
Steamed from Swansea Marina at 1800 hours Friday night July 26, 2008. Stopped to snag pogies on the way. Fished a few spots on my way to Beavertail, nada. 2100 hours fished house on the rock, bluefish, dogfish and 1 very large seabass on live eel. 2330 hours, stopped by may parents boat in Jamestown to say hi. 2430 hours fished Dutch, blues large nothing else. 0130 dropped the hook and slept in cockpit under the stars, what a beautiful night. 0330 woke up and went to search for bunker. 0430 started fishing Rocks outside Narragansett. 20 fish all over 20#’s. 2 fish in box a 30 and maybe a 40, Boga read 42 but has been off before. 0630 moved to last rock pile off the camp. Swimming pogies and casting a #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& Big Head popper into white water. Picked up a few schoolies, a monster blue and a high teen bass. Whitewater was at the end of my cast, 200ft or so. Boat was in gear, bow pointed out to sea. Water around boat was very manageable, loose sets of rollers, nothing breaking. Seas were large and breaking 200ft south of rock pile.
At 0738 heard a roar and looked toward the bow and a monster wave crashed on the bow breaching the boat. 2nd wave flipped the boat, 3rd wave of the set flipped the boat 360 degrees from turtled position to upright back to turtle. My PFD inflated when I hit the water and EPIRB activated. I reached under the bow and released the anchor too keep boat off the rocks. Anchor rode wrapped around PFD and my groin area. Undertow pulled me under the boat and I popped up in a air-pocket, smashing my nose on the deck. I ripped the pfd off my chest and grabbed my dive knife from the calf holster. The undertow pulled me underwater to the transom, thankfully the engine was gone. I managed to hold onto my knife by the Grace of God and cut myself free from the anchor rode. I swam to the bow and managed to pull myself up on the gunwales and hugged the hull. At this point, my boat was in the snotty area of the rock pile and the breakers were outrageous. I was unable to stay on the boat, I tried to swim away from the boat but it kept following me. Miraculously, I was not in too bad of shape. A few cuts, bloody nose and bruises were the only injuries I could feel at the time. At this point I was probably 300 yards from the camp beach and convinced I was going to die. My prayers were answered, some how I made it into chest deep water and body surfed to safety. The last 100 yards were the most brutally painful experience of my life. I hit every rock and made contact with every barnacle and mussel on the bottom. No wonder this place is Striper Heaven, the structure is unbelievable. I pulled myself onto a flat rock and started puking saltwater, my throat and my other end are raw from the flow of seawater through my body. 10 minutes later my leg starts vibrating and I hear music. I thought I was going mad, then I realized it was my freaking cell phone in my pocket. It was a fishing Buddy that was off the rocks at the mouth of the Sackonnet River. He asked if I was into fish and I relayed a quick version of the events. I called SafeSea, made the report and started calling friends and family. The Coast Guard and SafeSea were on the scene within 5 minutes, however. They were unable to reach me. I was still in the wash and needed to get on dry land. I wish I had my corkers, I can’t count the times I fell on the slime. While on dry land I watched my T-top float away with my radar as well as all of my floatable gear.
I am so thankful to God that I am alive, everything that was lost will be replaced by insurance. 3 hours after capsizing I was home in bed ordering my new boat from Don’s Marine. Yup, you guessed it… It’s a Parker 25SE, 2 feet longer with a 9’6” beam and a Yamaha 250 4 stroke. I will list the items lost when my fingers aren’t so sore. SafeSea picked up my AquaSkins surfbag and all of its contents as well as 2 - 5 gallon buckets and a chumbag.
The boat is still on the rocks as of 1000 hours this am. Salvage team fro SafeSea will attempt salvage Monday or Tuesday am.
If anyone fishing the area finds some gear, I will reward you. There is a $2500.00 reward for a gold and staineless Rolex Submariner that is sitting on the bottom in a knapsack. This watch has more sentimental value than monetary.
I am so thankful that I was alone. Most of my fishing is done alone. If I had to worry about a freind, things could have been much worse
Please call me if you find anything 401-742-4191.
Bruce

What a story. I am so gald you are alright. You are right that everything can be replaced. You have the correct attitude about your experience. I had a friend loose his 20ft Seacraft off Brenton Point. You never know when that big wave is coming.

I have always told people that when boat fishing the white water you need two people. One to drive the boat and the other to fish. The guy fishing must fight the urge to fish. The driver must have an eye on the waves, an eye on the rocks, an eye on the fisherman, and most importantly an eye on the get away route. That is right you have to have 4 eyes. I think you know what I mean. Looking at those 4 things all the time.

Again, glad you are safe and looking forward to your new boat. The key here is you are here to look forward to a new boat.

BE safe everyone,
Eric

Holy Sh*t man. bruce, I'm glad you are alive!! God almighty!!! I was out at 1;30 AM this morning, just not that far South.

Call you tomorrow.

Bruce,
I can't believe it!!! Thank God you made it out in one piece...certainly sounds harrowing. If you need anything PM me and let me know.
(I'm sure this goes for Mikey, too...let us know)
Talk to you soon, very very very glad that you're ok.
Good luck,
Rick

WOW!!!!!!!!! The man above was looking after you..Glad you came out safe....

Thankfully you were prepared and are safe.
I always wear a inflatable pfd now, I hadn't thought about the ankle knife, you never know when something can happen, that was clear daylight when the swell came in.

I agree with teezer, there are places like where your friend called from, that I personally will only fish with a friend, and I normally drive my boat just be be extra sure.

This is the 3rd year in a row that on this board or another sol, that I have seen recounts of boats flipping in white water between Newport and Gooseberry. It's a challenging place to fish.

Enjoy the new boat, Donnie, always puts together excellent rigs.

WOW!

Unreal!! Glad to hear you are ok.

Holy Cow man, glad to hear that you are OK. Sounds like you had all the essential gear to survive something like this. Hope you heal up soon. Once again, glad everything turned out alright.

That's one hell of a story, and yes, you're lucky to be alive! I think a lot of people might not have been so prepared.

-spence

glad your okay Bruce..that is one hell of a story..

Amazing story and glad you are ok!

wow is right! oh man glad you are ok and it sounds like you were pretty prepared for something like this which prob saved your life
glad you're still with us!

Today, things went your way.
Take stock of what you have.
Tomorrow everything will be different.

I'm glad you are still with us.

Holy crap !
Glad you are ok

glad your ok roguewave!!!
Henry

Bruce ,

Glad your safe and healthy, mustve been a scary one.

Nightmare. Glad you were prepared and kept your head. :)

you must have some important thing's "still" to do
it wasn't your time...it seems

i'm so glad that LUCK and SKILL were with you

Have some BETTER luck with the new Boat.
heal up soon.

Incredible Story.... the most Harrowing i've ever read.

Mister,
I never met you but I would like to shake your hand. You kept cool and focused you had your knife ready and had your senses about you. If you had paniced there would have been another one of "those" posts. Take a look around you have a lot your life, your family, thank God, He held you in his hands. Amen

Holy crap :eek:
I'm glad you kept your head and didn't panic in that catastrophe :eek:
Lucky to be alive
I guess you jump right back on that horse, ordering a new boat.
I guess you must have had your phone in a ziploc.
glad it wasn't worse Bruce.

glad to hear you are okay. thats one hell of a story..

I was out in my boat until around midnight last night. On my way in a giant tug boat waked me pretty bad. I was all alone. kind of scary..havent been rocked liked that at night before.. thinking of getting an inflatable pfd to wear onboard and probably shore fishing when its rough. your story definetly verifies the need. also like the ankle knife idea. never thought of wearing one of those on a boat.

good luck with the watch and your future boat.

Wow glad to hear your well.Your story is amazing ! You were prepared and knew what to do and when.Hope your bumps and bruises heal quickly and your new rig comes fast.Keep us in the loop over here.

thanks for the kind words. going to bed. I removed shards of nylon anchor rode from my private parts w/ a pair of vice grips. The folks at Brewers must have thought someone was getting murdered in the bathroom.
July 2008 has been a mess. Got mugged in Prov. 14 days ago and now this mess.
Rented a 23ft Mckee Craft for the next month. Wi8ll follow safesea tomorrow at low tide to watch and film the events. Boat is 10' above high water mark. Storm surge drove it up the beach. National guard dropped off a bunch of floating gear from the beach at my former partners house. $2000.00 cash is gone from the knapsack, front pocket was ripped off.

My cell phone is still working fine. Bluetooth connects to car and all seems well. The phone is rated as water resistant. For once I have a phone that tells the truth in marketing material.

Good night and God Bless to all of you. Say a prayer for those on the water that may not be so lucky. I did not have anything to do with my safety. The God of my understanding has plans for me. I learned about my God through the good folks in AA. They saved my life and now I have a higher power that I pray to every morning and before bed.
When I leave my slip I say thank you God for letting me out on the water today and a I ask him for his protection for me and my fellow fisherman as well as my family, friends and those I don't know that have not yet found God.

Scary, little luck, skill, and someones looking out for you

Bruce - that's enough excitement for the next decade - glad you are (mostly) in one piece. And thank yourself for preparedness!

and here I have been wondering about leaving the harbor in my toy boat.
not a chance!

Glad that you are still here to tell us the story!

That is scary, you never know. Glad you're ok Bruce. I'm gonna start wearing a knife after hearing that..sounds like it saved your life. Good thing you were able to stay calm enough to free yourself, must have took a lot. Wow, again, glad you made it...What an experience..One you will never forget for sure. Thanx for sharing it. That info may save another life some day.

Parker....

Glad you are safe and alive! Quite the story! I got chills just reading about this!

That is scary, you never know. Glad you're ok Bruce. I'm gonna start wearing a knife after hearing that..sounds like it saved your life. Good thing you were able to stay calm enough to free yourself, must have took a lot. Wow, again, glad you made it...What an experience..One you will never forget for sure. Thanx for sharing it. That info may save another life some day.

You know, I was thinking the same thing. I have a couple of knives on the boat, a Swiss Army knife in my pocket, a leatherman in the console but I am buying a dive knive and strapping it to my calf.

Great you made it what a story.

Scary story. Glad you're still kicking though.

Scary stuff. Imagine if you had been in the cabin sleeping. Great job on keeping your wits. Glad you're OK.

Glad you are still with us Bruce. Nothing else really matters.

Hi Salty-Mike,
The National Guard delivered the rod you made me yesterday. Needs a new tiptop and butt , however, rod looks great.
Thanks for the kind words. My phone has been ringing off the hook

Parker -

Amazing story, glad you are still with us. I am speechless...

holy crap!!!

This is amazing. I keep thinking of my Chief in the Navy saying,

Prior Proper Planning Prevents a Piss Poor Performance.
You were prepared and now here to talk about. We all can learn from this.
Parker, give yourself a big pat on the back, very impressive coming away from that in one piece.

Glad to hear you made it - the will to survive makes all the difference in situations like that. You did all the right things and that isn't always easy when the sh*t hits the fan - it goes downhill in a hurry.

I would also guess you got to see what I call The Big Movie, too - when your life from start to finish literally flashes before your eyes in a microsecond. It's a real moment of clarity but I don't recommend it - I've gone through it 3 times.

And at 60 years old, that's good enough for me - I really don't care to see it again.:hs:

I lost a good friend in a very similar situation on Washington Ledge and the loss still scars family and friends almost 20 years later. I've come close to losing four others the same way on Brenton Reef to a rogue wave.

Give thanks to whomever you feel was watching over you.

Wow... It is no accident you made it.

Reads like a movie script. Happy your O.K. Your ordering the same boat and engine my brother-in-law has.

Wow, you are some lucky to survive that. The knife thing was real good pro active thinking on your part.

Riddle me this though... why would you have 2000 bucks in cash and a gold/silver submariner Rolex on your bost in a knapsack?

Glad you made it but I am curious.

Rogue waves have a way of happening on that stretch of caost. Weren't too long ago someone was washed off Black Rock on Block by one if I remember correctly. In the early 80's it was.

That one on Block was a boat with two guys that got flipped near Black Rock/Split Rock Cove - only one guy made it in alive. Rod and Reel commercials - experienced guys.
Glad you made it in alive Bruce - SRI will extend to you a 10% "surviors discount" on replacement tackle.

someone was watching over your shoulder. Glad your able to be here and share your near death experience. you are one lucky guy.

I always have alot of cash. I never know when i might come across a deal. Last year I bought a printing press on a trip to the keys. Met the guy at a bar and started to chat about oyr industry. He needed cash badly and I bought a $300,000 press for 18000 cash money. Some people only deal in cash... I owned a $40,000 wact for 23 hours a few weeks ago. I returned it and tore up the card, the cards limit is $500k. Way too dangerous for a recovering junky

The watch is my good luck charm. It is on my peron orin my boat at all times.

wow.....your lucky 2 b alive............

Glad you made i out alive!!

I was hit by a 10 foot wave last year that filled my boat and I was sure I was going down! Thank God we didn't !!
I also came home and sold the 20' Wellcraft after a few repairs, and bought a bigger boat!!

Good Luck!!

bruce, joe, you are the lucky ones! I remember that story from a while back.

bruce, sounds like you are a quick thinker and work well under pressure. Thanks for posting that, I will be buying some new gear in the future for the "just in case" moments. supposedly you can fill my boat full of water and it will still float. I don't ever want to get there.

glad your ok man.

wow

Anyone care to start the "boat fishing is easier" argument again?

Any type of fishing you do in the ocean has risks associated with it but I think those of us that chase Bass at night, in lousy weather, push the envelope.
Bruse had 3 things going for him

GOD

His wits

A lot of luck!!!

goes to show that quick thinking and being prepared can make the difference in any situation...glad you're ok.

what is a wact

Anyone care to start the "boat fishing is easier" argument again?


BFDC - there, I said it.

Let the games begin :fishslap:








Just kidding, Paul - you're right, there's a higher risk factor in all of it than we'd like to admit. Boat or shore, it ought to make us ALL stop and reflect on it.

A good scare will always teach you a hell of a lot more than good advice. And if you were lucky or blessed enough to have made it out of the last one, be wary of the next one.

Life loves irony :smokin:

Man was that ever a story ... thank god you are okay and have a good point of view about it. Count our blessings.

I have been in a few scary situations myself over the years ... boat flipped in the everglades 30 miles from anywhere ... another time my cousin was at the helm and not paying attention while I was fighting a fish in the white water, fortunately I saw the wave that was about to carry us into the rocks and had time to get us out of harms way ...

... one can never, never take the ocean for granted is what your story confirms for us time and time again ... as we never know how a turn, wave or unforseen situation will turn out.