Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-10-22
Gibson Girl Transmifter
Aids Rescue Olive in Bay
COPPER PIucks
Group Off Roft
AS YuwI Sinks

A small Gibson Grip emer.
gency transmitter and "top-
notch" Navy action was credited
today with the speedy rescue Of
I'VE Washington area residents
two hours after their 68-foot
yawl had sunk in Chesapeake
Bay.
The vessel went down about 8
am. yesterday after it struck a
submerged wreck about So miles
south-southeast Of the Patuxent
Naval Air Station. Patuxent. Md,
Plucked from the water were:
Air Force 1t. Col. Julian A. Har-
yey. SO. owner Of the ship, and
his 7-yeaf-old son. Lance: David
r Harrison of Hunting Towers,
Alexandria; James L. Pierce,
chief engineer Of the vessel, and
Air Force Capt. Guy e. Hairston
Of 1916 New Hampshire avenue
NV.
Capt. Hairston. who was on
leave for q few days and '.just
along for the trip" gave the fol-
lowing account Of the Inflated
voyage Of the Torbatross.
The vessel left Hunting Towers
Yacht Basin Wednesday morn
ing en- route to Florida where
Col. Harvey had been transferred
to Eglin Air Force Base. The
boat tied up Wednesday night at
Dalghren Naval Proving Grounds
on the Potomac River.
They set out again Thursday
morning and had no trouble UNI
til about 8 am. Friday. Col.
Harvey was at the wheel and the
one-time racing vessel was run
ming under diesel power and q
jib sail.
Suddenly there was q loud
noise when the ship hit the sub
merged object. A check showed
a six-inch hole in the wooden
hull where water was pouring In.
Break Out Life Raft
Col. Harvey decided almost
Immediately to abandon ship
and the four adults broke out
Ia six-man rubber life raft, dashed
ut to q dinghy. filled it with pro-
visions and equipment and
pushed OF from the stricken
|yawl.
Within 10 minutes the Torba-
tross went down. About a half
hour had elapsed from the time
the ship hit the object.
Col. Harvey and Capt. Hair
|ston rugged up the Gibson Girl
within is minutes after they left
the ship. The Gibson GfTl is a
small emergency radio signal
transmitter which operates with
an antenna let out on a kite and
Ia hand crank.
A four-engine Super Constel-
lation from Patuxent picked up
the cranked-out distress signals
and in about " hours four or
i've planes Gireled the raft. Navy
|seaplanes. could not set down in
the rough water so a helicopter
was called from Patuxent.
4 1s9
y Picked Up by Copter
About 1918. less than two
hours after the ship went down,
Capt. Harvey and his son were
pulled of the raft together in q
sling to the helicopter lowering
about so feet overhead. The
Others were lifted One at a time
after that.
Capt. Hairston said they never
feared for their lives while
aboard the raft. He said the
raft was well provisioned and
they figured It would drift to
Tangier Island by nightfall un-
less a storm developed.
Capt. Hairston said they took
exposure suits with them when
they left the sinking ship and
probably could have stayed out
q long time without too much
danger from the cold. He said
they put q sail cloth over them
to keep Of the spray.
1T did get pretty wet though"
he added.
Military planes were In the
area because they had been en-
gagged in a search for two Marine
Corps pilots whose planes dis
Tuesday night while
on a flight from Brunswick. Me-.
to Edenton, N. c.