I was onboard with Capt. Fred that day we responded to the call for help. There is no doubt that radio saved lives. And even then only 3 boats responded to a life or death situation. One smart ass actually told them they should call the Coast Guard instead of offering assistance. While he was technically correct, by that time, it would have taken to send out the CG would have been too great, and boats in the vicinity would have had to assist. (as we did)
A few things that would have helped these people sooner, maybe this info will help the next person in trouble.
1. the moment they realized they were taking on water, they should have made a Pan, Pan call on Channel 16. At least then the CG would have been made aware of a possible emergency unfolding.
Instead, (as I understood what they said), when they realized they were taking on water, they headed toward shore... which was smart, but the Pan Pan call should have been made at the same time.
2. When they realized the water was overwhelming the vessel, they should have upgraded that call to a Mayday. At this point, the general coordinates of the vessel, how many people on board and description would already be known due to the early Pan, Pan call.
3. The person on channel 68 asking for help was calm, but he was unable to give his exact position, and honestly it almost seemed like a hoax. Making a Pan Pan and Mayday call would have given the situation an urgency and credibility, I think we hesitated a moment trying to figure out if the call was for real or not... good thing we decided it didn't matter quickly as the stern of the boat went down just after the 4th person was transferred off the sinking vessel
4. A flare would have made it easier to find the sinking vessel... if they were unable to give coordinates with a flare, we would have found them faster. We found them pretty quickly, but we spent a few minutes trying to spot them...
5. I do not recall seeing anyone wearing life jackets. 4 people on a sinking boat and no one bothered to put on a life jacket...
Why did the boat sink? Well, in my experience, there is only one thing in a stern drive boat that would cause a boat to sink that fast. Without hitting something causing a hull failure/puncture.
BELLOW FAILURE!!!
I think this is one of the most underrated dangers of stern drive boats, it is why I always buy boats with outboards, if the bellows fail it's like having a hole the size of a basket ball at the heaviest point of the boat ... underwater!
It is imperative to have these inspected regularly if you own a stern drive boat.
At the end of the day, everyone was safe, because they were able to ask for assistance from nearby vessels via their VHF radio. Cell phones would not have worked this time...
I estimate from the initial call to the moment the boat sank, maybe 20 minutes passed… It feels like 5 minutes.