Rogue Wave

[parker23]

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

[teezer]

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

[piemma]

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.

[RickBomba]

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

[Squid kids Dad]

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

[striperman36]

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.

[numbskull]

WOW!

[mayday1019]

Unreal!! Glad to hear you are ok.

[Stripersurg]

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.

[spence]

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

[Slingah]

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

[tynan19]

Amazing story and glad you are ok!

[Rockport24]

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!

[JFigliuolo]

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

I'm glad you are still with us.

[Raider Ronnie]

Holy crap !
Glad you are ok

[striperchaser02]

glad your ok roguewave!!!
Henry

[fish4striper]

Bruce ,

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

[justplugit]

Nightmare. Glad you were prepared and kept your head.

[Raven]

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.

[Duke41]

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

[Slipknot]

Holy crap
I'm glad you kept your head and didn't panic in that catastrophe
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.

[MotoXcowboy]

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.

[Adam_777]

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.

[parker23]

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.

[Pete F.]

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

[JohnR]

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

[MikeTLive]

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!

[fishaholic18]

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.

[Bob Thomas]

Parker....

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

[piemma]

Originally Posted by fishaholic18

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.