Christopher J. DAmelio - Life and Death at Cape Disappointment: Becoming a Surfman on the Columbia River Bar

THIS BOOK IS FIRST AND FOREMOST DEDICATED TO MY WIFE, COURTNEY, my daughters, Taylor and Mia, and my son, Matthew. Anyone who has ever been a spouse or a child of a service member will tell you how difficult the life is, especially the first few years. My family was no different. Without all their support and love, I know full well my career would not have been the same.

So, to my loving, caring, and supportive wife, my deepest gratitude. Your encouragement when times were rough is more than appreciated. Just knowing you would be there when I had a hard day at work made a difficult and sometimes terrifying job much more bearable. It was a relief knowing you were keeping our household and kids happy and safe while I was working. I know I will never be able to thank you enough. You bring joy and inspiration to my life. I love you.

To Taylor, Matthew, and Mia, you have always been my motivation, my source of inspiration to aim higher, to set a good example, to be the best person I can be. That is what I have always hoped to achieve: to make you proud. You were all probably too young to remember what my career entailed, so this book is in many ways for you. I hope you will read it one day and hopefully understand me in a new light. I love you.

Judy and John DAmelio, Mom and Dad, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for always supporting me and being there for me. I am a much better person because of you. From childhood to adulthood you have been the difference makers. No matter what the circumstances, I know I can always count on you for advice or a friendly ear. I truly believe I would not be where I am or who I am today if it wasnt for you. I love you.

Gene and Marsha Wada, I couldnt have asked for greater or more-involved in-laws. You have always been there, not only for me, but for our entire family. From our exhausting road trips to being there for the kids while we were away, I more than appreciate everything you have done for our family. Thank you.

Reid Maruyama, this book never would have happened without your hard work, belief, and dedication. Knowing little about the Coast Guard, you quickly absorbed what most people would have taken years to learn. From the time you spent at Station Cape Disappointment to the countless hours of interviews to the research and books you read, you are the one who made this all happen. I cant stress this enough. If it wasnt for you, this entire project would have never come together. I cant thank you enough.

Allison OLeary, I want to thank you for all the hard work you put into this project and all the advice you have given me. Your support, encouragement, and knowledge helped to make this book possible. Thank you.

I also want to thank the following people for helping me with this book and for making my tour at Cape Disappointment a memorable one. To my friends and extended family, I would like to extend my love and gratitude: Dave and Brooke Hofkins, Kevin Rhodes, Casey Verdugo, and Kyle Knudson. To my family in the Coast Guard, my life in the Pacific Northwest wouldnt have been the same without you: Scott and Beth Slade, Tyler and Shan Bartel, Tom Karczewski, Joel Abstetar, Jamie Frederick, Tisha Aurechio, Jeff Kihlmire, Jason Linnett, Jamie Frederick, Wes Parker, Michael Hoag, Ralph Gilbert, Jeff Kotson, Michael Loizakes, Dr. William Jeffrey Long, Dan Johnson, and Fred Bowman. And finally, to Dr. Dennis Noble, David Hofkins, and Michael Tougiasthank you for encouraging me to write this book.

There have been countless people in the Coast Guard who have helped to train and mentor me throughout my career. I know I havent mentioned everyone by name, so to all of those I failed to mention, I just want to thank you for all the knowledge and leadership you provided me and the communities we served. To the Crew of Station Cape Disappointment (19972005), the Crew of Station Siuslaw River (20052008), and the Crew of Station Umpqua River (20082009), I thank you.

NEAR 1400 HOURS (2:00 P.M.), MY CREW AND I TOOK THE TWENTY-three-foot utility lifeboat out for patrol. I had two other boat crewmen with me, both fairly new to the station and green, untrained. We were keeping watch on pleasure boats and fishermen around the Columbia River Bar when we got a call from the communications room about an hour later that a boy and girl had fallen off the cliff at the North Head Lighthouse a half mile north of the mouth of the river.

It was the summer of 2004. I was six years into my tour at Station Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco, Washington. I dont remember the specific dateprobably because I have chosen not toand Ive never felt the need to go back and find out. I didnt know it then, but this case would be one of the last I would ever work out of Cape Disappointment for the US Coast Guard, and the one that pushed me toward my decision to transfer to Station Siuslaw in Florence, Oregon.

It was late summer, August or early September, near the end of salmon season. Hundreds of recreational salmon boats were out fishing past the Bar, where the water was calm and flat. By noon, the heat had burned off the fog and it was turning out to be a nice day, 70 degrees, not a lot of wind.

The summers in Cape Disappointment, Washington, are traditionally the busiest time of year, especially for the Coast Guard. In the off-season it is a quiet Pacific Coast fishing town, but in summer it becomes a popular tourist destination for vacationers who enjoy the water and want to fish and swim. This makes it the time of year when search-and-rescue stations are most active: Even though the weather is mild, anything can happen when hundreds of pleasure crafts and recreational salmon boats are out on the water, so we perform what is called a Recreational Boating Safety Patrol where we essentially drive around the Bar and up and down and along the coastline, watching, waiting, on standby.

Tourists and visitors are often unaware that the ocean never takes a break, even during nice weather. People underestimate it on beautiful days and are humbled by its immense power on stormy days. Those of us in the Coast Guard see it year-round and learn to respect and cope with its changing personality, from gentle swells to boat-busting breakers. And back in 2004, when the kids fell off the cliff, we Coast Guard officers at Cape Disappointment did our best to help everyone who underestimated the wind, currents, waves, and risks as mundane as slipping off a jetty. We had never considered closing the area to boats when the waves and currents made navigation treacherous; we just did our jobs the best way we knew how.

From the tip of the North Jetty to the tip of the South Jetty, the Columbia River Bar is two miles wide. The station at Cape Disappointment is located on the northern peninsula in Baker Bay, on the Washington side of the river. The stations geographical jurisdiction ranges about fifty miles along the coast, from Ocean Park, Washington, to Tillamook Head, Oregon, and fifty nautical miles out to sea. But when I was on patrol that day, the most significant event I had experienced happened right on the shore, under our noses, and its impact would reverberate through my life for many years afterward.

That day, we took the boat out of the harbor and around the A Jetty. We drove out to the Bar, right along the shoreline, where people were fishing off the rocks. The water was already crowded with boats, kayaks, swimmers, and surfers. Some children on the North Jetty ran after the boat, waving to us as we passed. Even though fishermen tend to have a lot of luck catching salmon here, it can be a very dangerous spot to fish. Walking on the large rocks that make up the jetty, people have been known to slip or get swept out to sea by a large wave. Over my seven years of service at Cape Disappointment, I can recall at least four or five cases where we pulled someone out of the water who had fallen off the North Jetty. At least two were dead bodies. One was a kid.