A Coast Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft forward-looking infrared camera captures an 18-foot boat stuck on Sinuk River near Nome, Alaska, Oct. 29, 2021. The C-130 crew were notified of overdue boaters location and dropped a pump can with survival gear and a radio.

Coast Guard helicopter picks up two stranded boaters

By Diana Haecker
Two overdue boaters from Teller were rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter last Friday after being reported overdue on Thursday.
They were both found alive and well in a cabin at the Sinuk River, and their 18-foot skiff was seen bobbing in the surf near the mouth of the Sinuk.
According to Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Aileen Witroski the boaters, Donald Weyiouanna and Johnny Topkok, had left Teller on Thursday around 3 p.m., trying to make it to Nome that evening. When they didn’t arrive, Teller relatives called AST around 10 p.m. to report them overdue. State troopers notified the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center which in turn notified Coast Guard 17th District command center around 11 p.m.
Nome Search and Rescue was also notified. Nome SAR Chief Jim West Jr. asked Bering Air to keep an eye out and a pilot indeed spotted the two boaters at a cabin on the banks of the Sinuk on Friday. The Coast Guard was informed of their location and they launched an Air Station Kodiak C-130 Hercules aircrew from Kodiak and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Kotzebue. The C-130 crew did a fly over and dropped a pump can with survival gear, clothing, food and a radio. According to a Coast Guard spokeswoman the weather wasn’t suitable to launch a helicopter, but later that day, weather improved. The helicopter crew was on scene later that day to pick up the boaters at 6:30 p.m. and transported them to the Nome airport.
“We want to stress the importance of filing a float plan with someone before getting underway,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Christopher Cole, a 17th District command center watchstander. “In this case, the boaters told their loved ones where they were going and when they should be arriving at their final destination. This information aided us in locating and rescuing the boaters.” On scene weather was an air temperature of 28°F, 17-mph winds and less than 10-mile visibility.
No injuries were reported.
AST Sgt. Aileen Witroski reminds travelers to pay attention to weather forecasts and to communicate where you are going, when you plan to get there and what route you’re taking.

 

The Nome Nugget

PO Box 610
Nome, Alaska 99762
USA

Phone: (907) 443-5235
Fax: (907) 443-5112

www.nomenugget.net

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