by Bill Turville
REEDVILLE—At 1:45 p.m. Saturday, April 1, the Northumberland County Sheriff’s Office issued a VHF radio alert to Smith Point Sea Rescue (SPSR) reporting a 50-foot Carver yacht with eight persons on board was taking on water near buoy 62 in the central Chesapeake Bay.
The all-volunteer marine rescue team from Northumberland County responded to the call.
As soon as the crew of four was assembled at their boathouse, Rescue I, SPSR’s 42-foot Provincial heavy weather day/night rescue boat, departed with the crew of Bill Turville, Pete Ortiz, Michael Haynie and Robert Gwaltney, all seasoned members from Reedville. En route to the bay, the dispatch office called back to report the vessel had sunk and all eight persons were now in the water.
Rescue I departed Cockrell Creek and traveled across the bay at wide open throttle as the wind and waves were rapidly building in advance of a major evening storm. The Coast Guard contacted SPSR to request an estimated time of arrival and advised they would have a unit on the way. Once on scene, no signs of victims or debris were found and no other boats were nearby. SPSR established a search pattern around the last known position….
