Don Gregory(KE5MXH) - Sea Rescue Update

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/sisiutl/ Check these links for map of voyage etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sisiutl/

This post was reported by The BAARC Hamgram , November 2008

The original report is copied below in blue. Our Thanks to Ron Lancaster(KB5VDB) for his work to fully document this historic ham radio event. You will find Ron's updated article imediately following the reprint from the BAARC Published Document.

Distress call from Seas Answered
The following is a brief synopsis of a local ham
assist on a rescue at sea.


Don, KE5MXH had an opportunity recently to assist
with a rescue in the Pacific Ocean. A ship in distress was
sailing vessel out of California on a returning trip from
Hawaii. The ship (boat)...insert proper term here...ran
into a storm and used all but 5 gallons of fuel for its
engine. The only person on board was AC7ID
Don, KE5MXH, from Bristow was on 14.300
frequency and had a better copy than the Maritime Net
Control Operator. The contact with the vessel, the
SISIUTIL, was made by a third ham located in
California, whose call is not available.
The net control operator was reported to me as KI4OR
or possibly KR4OR from looking at the Maritime Net
Web page.
I think the GPS of the sailboat was 35.98775 -95.81074
at the time of the problem.Thanks Stan, KE5LEP for relaying the information.

This item has been reported before, but all of the pertinent information wasn’t available at that time.

Being “Land Locked” in Oklahoma might lead some people to believe that you might never be in a situation where you can help a ship in distress, but not Don Gregory, KE5MXH, of Bristow, Oklahoma, an Amateur (or Ham) Radio Operator, who regularly listens to the Maritime Mobile net on 14.300 Mhz on the twenty meter Amateur Radio band.

On or about 10:45 AM (Local Time) on 14 October 2008, he was listening, when he heard a small Sailboat, “THE SISIUTL“ manned by Robert E Bechler, whose Ham Radio call sign is AC7ID, give a distress call off the coast of California. The boat had left Hawaii bound for California, but it ran into some bad weather, and had used all but five gallons of fuel for its engine, (The 44 foot Gulfstream catamaran “SISIUIL” ) and was still about one hundred, and fifty miles away from the shore.

The Maritime Mobile Net Control operator,

Dale M. Botwin(KR4OR) of Miami, Florida, was having trouble pulling Bechler’s signal out, and Don offered his help, stating that he had an excellent copy on both operators. Botwin tried for several minutes to help, and even though Gregory was able to relay information to, and from Bechler, Botwin decided to turn control of the net over to an operator in California, whose is Ron Anderson(W9RMA), and lives in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

Ron was able to make much better contact with Bechler, get his GPS position, which was 35.98775 north latitude, and 95.81074 west longitude, and contact the US Coast Guard, who arrived in about an hour, and rescued Bechler.
Ham radio operators routinely help with situations like this, as well as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other events that affect large numbers of people. Hams are allowed to operate on several bands of frequencies, using several different modes such as voice, Morse Code, radio-teletype, several digital modes, and Amateur Television, just to name a few. Hams are always willing to help, and many times are the only means of communications to remote parts of the world, or even just a few miles away.

Since leaving Seattle in 2002, Bechler, of Who Kent Washington, and Sisiutl have logged over 50,000 miles in the Pacific. 2008 was one of the longest passages covering 7,500 miles from New Zealand to California.

After arriving in New Zealand in 2007, Bob's 3rd Puddle Jump, Bob met and married Caryl St Clair in Wellington, New Zealand. She had never sailed before but loves the South Pacific islands. Her heavy involvement in animal welfare led to her establishing a foundation on Majuro, in the Marshal Islands for spaying/neutering street animals to help control their population and improves their life. She received a grant to purchase necessary equipment for veterinarians to use in surgery on remote islands. In 2008 we sailed from New Zealand to California to pick up the equipment and join the 2008 Baja Ha-Ha fleet leaving San Diego in November. Along the way we stopped in Tonga, Samoa, Tokelau, Palmyra Island, and Hawaii. In Hawaii Caryl flew to Seattle while Bob began a solo passage to California. It was during this time that he experienced his emergency, his second time to be rescued by the Coast Guard, with the other being in 2006.

Ron Lancaster (KB5VDB)

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