Community College District Police Chief Survives When Boat Capsizes

A chartered ship on a Fourth of July fishing trip out of Dana Point was capsized by two rogue waves in Mexico's Sea of Cortez early Sunday, leaving one person confirmed dead and at least eight missing, U.S. and Mexican authorities reported Tuesday morning. 

As of noon Monday, about 37 people had been pulled from the water or swam ashore as a U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter returned to San Diego to refuel so it could resume the search for survivors. The Mexican Navy also is involved in the search.

The ship, called the Erik, was sold out for a four-night trip to the fertile fishing grounds off Baja California. Most of the passengers were from San Francisco, the Coast Guard reported. The Erik is a "mother ship,'' with supplies, sleeping berths and a galley for a fleet of panga boats that take fishermen to spots in the northern end of the Sea of Cortez. Trips are offered by a Dana Point company called Jig Stop Tours and also are popular with Southern California residents.

Survivors included Charles Gibson, 57, the police chief of the Contra Costa Community College District in Martinez. In a telephone interview with the Associated Press from San Felipe, Gibson said that he was aboard the ship “sleeping like a baby” when crew and fellow passengers sounded the alarm that the ship was sinking.

Another survivor, Michael Ng of Belmont, said the boat was less than two miles from shore when it overturned and that several passengers stayed afloat and swam with the help of a cooler, according to a report by the Associated Press. He, another passenger and a cook were headed for shore when they were rescued by a fishing boat.

The vessel sank near Isla San Luis, Baja California, with about 50 people aboard around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Coast Guard. Most passengers swam to shore, and some were rescued by other boats.

The Mexican Navy searched throughout the day with surface and air crews, and officers called the U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday evening for helicopter assistance, Coast Guard officials said. A MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter lifted off from the San Diego Coast Guard station at 6:30 a.m. Monday.

One-foot waves and good visibility mean "fairly decent conditions'' for
searching, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry Dunphy. Chances for survival "depend on several factors, such as did they have access to lifejackets and were they wearing them; are there any flotation devices or other survival gear present," Dunphy said. Water temperatures are warm.

Here is a list of survivors from the Mexican media:

• Marcelino Morales-Villegas
• Roman Amador-Farias
• Jose Maria Diaz-Ordoñez
• Marco Antonio Villa-Bejarano
• Azor Quintana-Romo
• Robert Higgins
• Ross Anderson
• Charles Gibson
• Gary Hanson
• Isael Kui Mingng
• Jim Miller
• Richard Ciadattari
• Lee Ikegami
• Gary Wong
• Craig Wong
• Fius Zuger
• David Leving
• Bruce Marr
• Adolph Joseph Beler
• Michael Ng
• Jerry Garcia

— City News Service contributed to this report