3 Fishermen Rescued After Boat Sinks

OXNARD — Other than being a little shaken, cold and sleepy, three commercial fishermen rescued by the Coast Guard off Channel Islands Harbor were in fine shape Wednesday afternoon and ready to go home to Monterey.

The odyssey for skipper Than Nguyen, Hao Huynh and Howard Gerald began in the early morning as they made their way back to Oxnard after squid fishing overnight off Santa Rosa Island.

Nguyen said that high waves and strong offshore winds caused the back end of the boat, the St. Joseph, to fill with water, leaving the three men to fend for themselves in the choppy, 56-degree ocean.

When the boat began to go down, Huynh and Gerald swam toward the skiff at the back of the boat, hoping to keep it afloat, but it was too late.

Their mayday call was heard quickly by the Coast Guard, and rescuers plucked the men off an oil platform about five miles from Channel Islands Harbor.

Lt. Rick Sorrell of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Santa Barbara Marine Safety Detachment said they were investigating the cause of the accident and would not have any conclusions for nearly two weeks.

Nguyen said nothing like this had happened in the 20 years he has been fishing. The St. Joseph had been out on several excursions, he said.

When disaster struck Wednesday, the men lost not only their boat and nearly 18 pounds of squid, but also their shoes, socks, wallets and keys.

Coast Guard officials lent the men dry clothing and heavy wool blankets when they reached shore.

“It’s back to Moss Landing, I guess,” said Gerald. “Boy, you come here broke and you leave broke.”

For Gerald, a six-year fishing veteran, this was the latest in a streak of bad luck. A few months ago, he said, his dog drowned in the ocean in Northern California when his boat filled with water.

Fishing, said Gerald, is a dangerous business.

“The ocean don’t have no mercy for you sometimes,” said Gerald, who lives in Moss Landing near Monterey. “You just have to be ready for anything.”