Thursday, July 9, 2009

Five stranded on rocky shore rescued

Boating, whether for leisure or travel, is exciting and fun. However, rough waters and rocky portion of the shore would surely give you a chill.

Five Long Beach residents embarked on their boating journey to have fun. But a near tragedy came up which caused them to be stranded for two hours in the rocky shore of Dana Point.

The five men were heading home from Catalina Island when their boat stuck along the rock shore. The tide was high but they were unable to get ashore. They got out of their boat and tried to go afar but the rocks, high surf and tall cliff walls prevented them.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department was notified of the incident but failed to reach them by ground. To reach them, lifeguards were called in to help them swam out of the ocean and towards a sheriff’s boat that took them out of the rough waters and into the nearby harbor.

Luckily, none of the five men needed hospitalization.

In 2007, the U.S. Coast Guard compiled that there were 5, 191 accidents on water with a total of $53,106,495.78 in property damages. Accidents on water including boating accidents commonly happen due to recklessness, operator inattention, inexperience and speeding.

As no other reports of an odd behavior, the five men above might have lacked the necessary experience to man and operate the boat. Moreover, the fact that it happened at night may even contribute in making their trip difficult.

If anyone of them had been negligent, a case may be filed against him for putting the lives of others in danger. A boating accident lawyer may be helpful in pursuing the case.