PORT ANGELES — Mike Ferguson heard the distress call and acted quickly.
Lawrence Mayfield is thankful he did.
Mayfield and three crew members were drifting helplessly in a 28-foot fishing boat near Cape Alava, south of Cape Flattery, on Aug. 29.
They were anchored, but the heavy surf kept pushing them toward the rocks at Umatilla Reef.
Fortunately for Mayfield, Ferguson was at the right place at the right time.
The charter boat captain from Puyallup moved in and rescued Mayfield’s crew from the looming rocks. He had 12 diving clients on board.
Capt. Scott Pollock presented Ferguson with the Coast Guard Public Service Commendation award on Wednesday in a ceremony at Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles.
“Mr. Ferguson’s actions are most heartily commended by the U.S. Coast Guard and are in keeping with the highest traditions of public service,” Pollock said.
Ferguson described the award as “very, very honoring.”
“I like to think that anybody else would have done the same thing,” he said.
Mayfield attended the ceremony on Ediz Hook with his children, Jamir, 8, and Je-on, 10.
The children were aboard the fishing boat when a wave crested over its bow and disabled the engine.
“This is very, very emotional for me,” Mayfield said, in thanking Ferguson and Coast Guard personnel at the ceremony.
“I don’t want to really recognize how close we were to not being here.”
Also in attendance were Dana Davis of Renton and Ricky Saldana of Tacoma, Furguson’s crewmates on the 41-foot Mark V charter boat from Porthole Dive Charters.
Things got dicey for Mayfield, an experienced fisherman from Tacoma, after the main engine died and the backup motor wouldn’t start.
Thinking fast, he set the anchor and called the Coast Guard.
“The United States Coast Guard auxiliary does boating safety and training programs,” Mayfield said after the ceremony.
“They should be mandatory for anybody who takes a boat out. I’ve gone through several. The only reason I knew to set the anchor was because of the training. If you lose power, the first thing you do is you drop that anchor.”
Heard broadcast
Ferguson and company were returning from a dive when they heard the Urgent Marine Information Broadcast. Poor underwater visibility had cut the dive short.
“The broadcast was really loud, so we knew the vessel was close,” Ferguson recalled.
With the help of his Global Positioning System, Ferguson found the distressed vessel on the other side of some rocks.
“We went around and we had a visual on it,” Ferguson said.
“I could recognize immediately that they were in trouble.”
Waves stacking up in shallow water pitched the anchored vessel high into the air.
“We were trying to decipher if we could get in there safety,” Ferguson said.
Things happened fast, and the dozen customers weighed heavy in Ferguson’s quick thinking.
“We just kept looking at that line — how much movement was on that anchor line — and we knew we had to do something,” Ferguson said.
“It wasn’t much of a decision. There was danger and we had to get in there. Like I said, I think anybody in that situation would have helped. I don’t think anybody would have looked at that situation and drove away.”
With about 10 yards separating Mayfield’s boat from the rocks, Ferguson moved in from the other side and took the crew on board.
He then cast a line to Mayfield and towed the unnamed fishing vessel to safety.
“Even with Mike being right there, if that anchor wasn’t there he wouldn’t have been able to do anything,” Mayfield said.
“We would have been beyond rescue.”
With so much adrenaline pumping through his veins, Mayfield never panicked during the ordeal.
Scared afterwards
“I wasn’t scared until afterwards,” he said.
Mayfield, who has been fishing since 1992, won’t hesitate to go back to Umatilla Reef.
“We been coming up here for years and years, over a decade now,” Mayfield said.
“Unfortunately, or fortunately, the good lingcod or good fish are in the rocks, so we fish that area. I try to stay around anywhere from 50 to 30 feet of water, and in that area, the rocks come up from 30 feet to zero feet in the blink of an eye.”
No matter how much you prepare, Mayfield says you’re always at some risk at sea.
“This is kind of all coming back,” Mayfield said.
“We’re lucky to be here. We’re very fortunate to be here.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.