Indomitable crew are good Samaritans of sea

The crew that freed a sea turtle. From left to right are Able Seaman Adeeb Saleh, Ordinary Seaman Bill Howell, Boatswain Bobby Taylor and Ordinary Seaman Clyde Wynne.	AB Adeeb Saleh and OS Clyde Wynne lift the turtle to cut away the net that was entangled in its flippers. (Photo by Bobby Taylor)
By OSC (SW) Joe Lantzy

Conducting ocean surveillance is not challenging enough for the crew of USNS Indomitable, they have to orchestrate daring rescues of unfortunate victims of the deep.

While conducting ocean surveillance in the eastern Pacific, Indomitable spotted a small fishing vessel. As Indomitable approached the vessel to identify her, Second Mate Gordon Patton received radio traffic in Spanish on the VHF bridge-to-bridge radio. Petty Officer First Class Daniel Crooks, a member of Indomitable's military department, came up to the bridge to interpret the call. Costa Rican fishing vessel Captain Kim asked if Indomitable could provide medical assistance to their captain who had been bitten in the leg by a shark while fishing the night before.

"After receiving permission from the operational command we sent our rescue boat over to render what help we could," said OSC(SW) Joe Lantzy.

Indomitable's rescue boat departed with Medical Department Representative Ellen Bye, Engine Utilityman Manual Hernandez, Ordinary Seaman Bill Howell and Boatswain Bobby Taylor. Bye checked the patient, Capt. Jose Zedilla, and found that he had been bitten just below the right knee. Zedilla had one deep puncture wound and several abrasions with some localized bruising and swelling. Bye cleaned and bandaged his wounds.

Bye left dressing supplies behind because the only medical supply Captain Kim had aboard was a bottle of acetaminophen.

Hernandez served as the interpreter and was also pressed into service as a medical assistant. He was able to ascertain that Captain Kim's crew had been fishing with lines the night before. A shark was hooked on one of the lines the crew was pulling in. As soon as they pulled the line on board, the shark turned and caught Zedilla on his leg.

Captain Kim was more than two day's transit from her homeport, but decided to remain at sea and continue fishing.

"Actions by Indomitable's crew prevented this fisherman from infection and further problems," said Lantzy.

If that was not enough, Indomitable came to the rescue of yet another hapless victim Jan. 17. This time, Indomitable was conducting operations off the western coast of South America when Second Mate Gordon Patton spotted a tangle of abandoned fishing nets, lines, floats and hooks off the starboard side and what looked like a turtle trapped in the nets.

After closer observation, he discovered it was in fact a Loggerhead Sea Turtle that had become entangled in abandoned fishing nets. Patton contacted the master, Capt. Bruce Sonn, and the master and his department heads discussed the risks and came up with a plan to free the turtle.

The turtle swims away after being cut clear of the nets. Pictured are AB Adeeb Saleh and OS Clyde Wynne. (Photo by Bobby Taylor)

Indomitable sent her rescue boat with Boatswain Bobby Taylor as coxswain and Able Seaman Adeeb Saleh and Ordinary Seaman Clyde Wynne to get a closer look. The turtle tried to swim away when the boat approached, dragging the net with it. While Taylor steadied the boat, Saleh and Wynne grabbed the net. The net was looped around the turtle's flippers and twice around its neck. The turtle, which measured about three-feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide and weighed in the neighborhood of 150 pounds, was, understandably, a little frantic.

The three men saw that the net was wrapped around the turtle's neck. In order to free the turtle the rescue crew would have to put their hands near its eight-inch wide head. The net was also full of hooks, so the crew had to handle the net very carefully to avoid not getting snagged. They decided to free the back end of the turtle first.

Wynne grabbed the back end of the turtle and lifted it so he could cut away the net that was wrapped around its flippers. He did this for only a few seconds at a time so the turtle could lift its head to take a breath.

"Once we started cutting away the net and making sure it could raise its head to breathe, the turtle calmed down and seemed to understand that we were trying to help it," said Wynne.

After about 15 minutes, the back of the turtle was free and they proceeded to the front to free the turtle's neck from the net. First, Wynne wanted to get a feel for what the turtle would do, so he passed his hand near the turtle's head. The turtle turned its head away as if knowing that the rescue crew was there to help free it. Wynne was then able to unwrap the net from around the turtle's neck.

The turtle wasted no time in escaping once the net was cut away. Indomitable retrieved tangled net, floats, hooks and line for proper disposal at the next port.

Indomitable then continued her mission off the western coast of South America.