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Seven men survive two nights adrift
By Jonathan Starkey
Staff Reporter
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Special to the Coastal Point • SUBMITTED
John Werler’s sons Austin, 7, and John Jr., 10, left a “Hi Dad” message for their father as they awaited his return.
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When seven Pennsylvania residents left the Indian River Marina on Friday night on the 50-foot wooden-hulled “The Chief” bound for a tuna-fishing expedition, it seemed like a normal trip. Just more than 12 hours later, it turned into a near-tragic situation that they will likely never forget.
While attempting to return from the trip on Saturday morning, the boat struck a large, black object about 35 miles out and sunk in about two minutes, according to one passenger, leaving the crew stranded in Atlantic Ocean waters for two days.
Monday morning, a Coast Guard helicopter team out of Atlantic City, N.J., rescued the seven men, who had survived in a four-man life raft for two days.
“I told everybody we were going to get rescued Monday morning so we had nothing to worry about,” said Francis Gessler, of Media, Pa. who admitted to being cramped on the life raft but not overwhelmingly scared. “We stayed positive the whole time.”
Gessler; Jeff Werler, John A. Werler and Thomas Tuscano of Feasterville, Pa.; Todd Carpenter of Levittown, Pa.; Kenneth Arters of Chester springs, Pa.; and Francis Redmiles, the ship’s master, of Philadelphia, returned to the Indian River Marina early Monday morning, reportedly in good health but undoubtedly a bit shaken.
Gessler said that when the boat struck the object, he thought that the boat had suffered some damage but was not worried until he turned around to see water splash upon its deck.
He said that after minor attempts to clear the water, the crew, one-by-one, evacuated onto the life raft, carrying only bottles of water. The boat was not reported missing until about noon Sunday, according to a Coast Guard press release. That was after the crew had suffered through a turbulent night drifting on the then-rough Atlantic seas.
Gessler said that the life raft surfed along 15- to 18-foot swells, and he remembered comparing it to a whitewater-rafting venture.
“Everybody had positive attitudes,” said John Werler. “Nobody panicked or freaked out. We all knew we had to stay calm (but) we knew we were in for a rough ride (Saturday) night.”
Sunday was a better day on the water, but probably seemed longer as the crew waited for rescue and battled hunger, thirst and claustrophobia in the small raft. By early Monday morning, they began to take turns floating in the water outside the raft to stretch their bodies, which had already been cramped for nearly two days, Gessler said.
While floating outside with another member of the crew Monday morning, Gessler said, they spotted a Coast Guard helicopter and fired off their last pair of flares. Upon seeing the streaks of light, the Coast Guard chopper team found the crew, about 70 miles east of the Indian River Inlet.
They strapped each one into a basket, uploaded them one-by-one into the helicopter and took them back to friends and loved-ones waiting at the Marina.
“There were some of us that were scared,” Gessler said. “But I told everyone that we would make it. Everybody had their theories. (But) everybody was positive.
“Elbows were flying, legs were cramped, but we had to do what we had to do,” Gessler added about the time in the life raft. “It’s better than being dead.”
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