> US SAILING Media > Latest News > 2010 > US SAILING Awards Hanson Rescue Medals to Boats in San Francisco Bay and Lake Erie
CONTACT:
Jake Fish
US SAILING Communications Manager
jakefish@ussailing.org
(401) 683-0800
PORTSMOUTH, RI (February 3, 2010) - The US SAILING Safety-at-Sea Committee has awarded Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medals to two boats for rescues in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Francisco and on Lake Erie.
Rainbow, a Crowther 10 Metre catamaran owned and skippered by Clifford Shaw (Walnut Creek, Calif.), received the award for rescuing two sailors near the Farallon Islands on March 29, 2008. Twenty miles off the California mainland, in 12-foot seas, 50-degree water, and wind gusting to 30 knots, Rainbow was following the San Francisco Bay Area Multihull Association’s Doublehanded Farollones Race. Shaw noticed a competing boat, Pterodactyl, sailing erratically near the Farallon Islands with no one on deck. He spotted two swimmers wearing inflated life jackets and threw them a Lifesling, but it fell short. He turned on his engines and circled the men until they grabbed the Lifesling. Shaw shut down the engines and with his crew, Gregory Yankelovich, pulled the men to the boat and helped them up the swim ladder. Rainbow chased Pterodactyl, which was sailing west, for 90 minutes until a Coast Guard 44-footer arrived on the scene. Neither crew wanted to risk boarding in these rough conditions. Shaw requested that the Coast Guard put Rainbow’s EPIRB (tracking transmitter) on Pterodactyl. The boat was subsequently spotted in the Pacific but not recovered and is presumed lost.
A Hanson Rescue Medal has been awarded to Odyssey, a Catalina 400 owned and skippered by Wally McMinn (Farmington Hills, Mich.), for rescuing a kayaker from Lake Erie on September 4, 2009. Just after sunset, Odyssey, was motorsailing along the Ohio shore when McMinn and his wife, Ann, heard a faint cry. They found a man in the water holding onto a swamped kayak while wearing a life jacket. The man had been fishing for perch in the lake and was pulled offshore by a large fish. McMinn deployed a Lifesling and circled the man, but was unable to get the device into his hands. McMinn then tossed a throw rope and pulled the man to the boat, which he boarded by the swim ladder. The McMinns hauled the kayak on deck and dropped the man and his kayak off at the Conneaut (Ohio) Boat Club, where he was met by friends. Odyssey continued on to the North Cape Yacht Club rendezvous in Leamington, Ontario.
The Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal is awarded to any person who rescues or endeavors to rescue any other person from drowning, shipwreck, or other perils at sea within the territorial waters of the United States, or as part of a sailboat race or voyage that originated or stopped in the U.S. The medal was established in 1990 by friends of the late Mr. Hanson, an ocean-racing sailor from the Chesapeake Bay. The purpose of the award is to recognize significant accomplishments in seamanship and collecting case studies of rescues for analysis by US SAILING’s Safety-at-Sea Committee for use in educational and training programs. Any individual or organization may submit a nomination for a Hanson Rescue Medal.
For more information about the Hanson Rescue Medal, including nomination forms, please go to http://offshore.ussailing.org/SAS/Hanson_Rescue_Award.htm.
- Hanson Medal Report provided by John Rousmaniere.
About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.