Fish wins; fishermen rescued

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

A Coast Guard helicopter rescued two fishermen whose fishing boat overturned after they snagged a big fish several miles off Hale'iwa yesterday afternoon.

The men said they were trying to land a 450- to 500-pound marlin. The men gathered to one side of the boat and tipped it over, Coast Guard spokesman David Mosley said. The fish escaped and the boat was left drifting in the ocean.

Mosley said the command center received a distress signal at 2 p.m. from the overturned boat that was about 12 miles north of Hale'iwa.

A helicopter was launched 11 minutes later and arrived on scene by 3 p.m., Mosley said. The helicopter hoisted the owner Jeffrey Loo, 42, and Francis Kaholi, 49, aboard and returned them to Honolulu, Mosley said. The men were not injured, Mosley said.

Mosley credited the fishermen for having an emergency beacon device called an "electronic position indicating radio beacon," or EPIRB, that alerted the Coast Guard of the situation.

"That potentially saved their lives," Mosley said.