Lessons from a Rescue
What a father learned the day he abandoned ship with his children.
It’s been a year since Geoff Varell, 38, and his two sons were plucked from the ocean by the Coast Guard after they abandoned their boat off Cape Canaveral, yet the resident of Sanford, Florida, says the experience still haunts him. “I don’t know that it will ever leave us as a family,” he says. “It was traumatic for me because my kids were involved, but I don’t mind sharing the story if someone else can learn from it.”
Varell, a lifelong boater, launched his 20-foot, outboardpowered center console from Jetty Park on May 28 in the hopes of catching dolphin at a popular spot called The Cones. With him were his sons Gregory (9 at the time) and Grayden (7), and his friend Chris Westhelle. The weather looked promising, with predictions for 1- to 2-foot seas. Once the crew got offshore, though, a small storm system had emerged and seas were running 3 to 4. But because the kids seemed okay and there were other boats nearby, the men went ahead and put out lines to troll. That’s when Varell saw water coming into the engine well.
“We kicked on the bilge pump and tried to diagnose the problem, but within minutes, the well was submerged and water was coming over the transom,” said Varell. Remaining calm, even as seas swelled to 4- to 6-footers, the men called in a Mayday over Channel 16. After a few attempts, they received a reply from someone on the other end who confirmed the boat’s coordinates. They thought it was the Coast Guard; later the crew would learn the Coasties never received the call. Assuming help would arrive soon, Varell moved his group to the bow to wait for a rescue team. It was then the boat dipped sharply to starboard and took on water over the gunwale. The captain gave the order to abandon ship. “That decision still troubles me, because I know the safest place to be in this situation is with the boat, but I was concerned we would roll. And if that happened, it’d be too tough on the kids.” Before leaving the boat, Varell grabbed flares and his ACR ResQLink personal locator beacon. While floating in the water with his son Gregory lying face up on his chest (Grayden was in the same position on Westhelle’s torso), he quickly shot three flares, assuming the boats nearby would respond. Those crews never saw the signals and eventually left the area. Varell also powered on the ResQLink, a device he’d bought for about $250 a few years before at the urging of a good friend. Varell never imagined he’d have to use it. The ResQLink successfully transmitted a distress message to the Coast Guard. Two hours after Varell and his crew abandoned ship—and just as Grayden’s lips were beginning to turn blue—a plane spotted the group. A cutter arrived on the scene shortly after. “I only bought the ResQLink because my friend encouraged me to. He said he wouldn’t go fishing with me unless I had one on my boat. At the time, I viewed it as extra equipment that would never be used. My boat had all of the federal- and state-required safety devices. I thought that was enough. But there’s no doubt about it, that beacon saved our lives. I’ll never go offshore without one again.” —