The Coast Guard rescued two fisherman from the fishing vessel New Faith that was sinking 52 miles off the coast of Coos Bay, Saturday morning, July 8. The two men where hoisted off the New Faith, a 40-foot commercial fishing vessel homeported in Coos Bay, by two separate aircrews aboard MH-65 Dolphin helicopters, one from Sector North Bend and the other from Air Facility Newport, and flew them to North Bend where they were released without need for medical care. A communications watchstander at Sector North Bend received a mayday call on VHF-FM channel 16 at 5:10 a.m. The captain of the vessel New Faith reported that his vessel was taking on water from an unknown location. The Sector North Bend aircrew was airborne at 5:50 a.m. and on scene at 6:23 a.m., where they lowered a rescue swimmer to facilitate communications and assist with dewatering. The Air Facility Newport aircrew was airborne at 6:30 a.m. and on scene at 6:54 a.m. After dewatering efforts were unsuccessful, the fishermen where safely hoisted into the helicopters, the captain at 7:13 a.m. and the deckhand at 7:34 a.m. There was less than 300 gallons of diesel and 1 ton of albacore tuna catch reported onboard the vessel. The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Orcas confirmed the vessel sank.
