Fishing trip goes awry

ENCINITAS ---- Four North County men and a dead mako shark shared a 22-foot motorboat overnight after the craft ran out of fuel, authorities said Thursday. As it turned out, a lack of fuel wasn't their only problem. Officials said there was a significant lack of safety precautions and a mishap that compounded the trip, as well as the lack of fuel aboard the navy blue craft named "Swinger."

Skipper Rich Turnbull and Bradley Benall, Rich Smith and Paul Nogera were each in good condition and apologetic, said Capt. Larry Giles of the Encinitas lifeguards. The men are in the 20s and all are believed to be Carlsbad residents, he said.

"They tied up two Coast Guard cutters, a helicopter and a Zodiac (inflatable rescue boat) all night," Giles said.

The four men left the Oceanside Harbor on Wednesday for a day of fishing, he said. Then, said Giles, the Swinger ran out of fuel in the waters off Camp Pendleton.

The boat, equipped with a radio that didn't work, began drifting down the North County coast.

"They had a cell phone until it was dropped overboard," said Giles. "They had a flare cartridge to shoot out of a gun, but they didn't have a gun."

By sunset, the Swinger was less than a mile off the Boneyards Beach in Encinitas. The men tossed the anchor overboard and it caught on something and held.

With a small bottle of water, the nice-sized mako and no navigation lights, the men then settled in for a long chilly night.

Meanwhile, one man's wife became concerned when the boaters hadn't returned by 5 p.m. She found their car and boat trailer still at the marina, said Petty Officer Robert Lanier, a Coast Guard spokesman.

At 8:30 p.m., the Coast Guard was notified. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and the cutter Petrel searched between Oceanside and San Diego, trying to identify each boat until about 1 a.m. Thursday At 6:30 a.m., the cutter Alert joined them.

It was the helicopter crew who spotted the boat with the men waving at the aircraft. Encinitas lifeguards Ryan Iliss and Joel Carrington went out on a wave runner to confirm the find.

One of the Coast Guard boats also pulled up, and while Coast Guard officers discussed safety issues with the fishermen, the lifeguards gave them 10 gallons of gas with the understanding that the men would pay for the fuel.

"They were lucky," Giles said. "This time of year, it's still warm and they didn't run into any inclement weather."