ACTIVITY: Sea disaster
CASE: GSAF 1964.07.15
DATE: July 15, 1964
LOCATION: Atlantic Ocean
BOAT: The yacht Gooney Bird
OCCUPANTS: Leo Pogorzelski, Phil Karakoosh, Julius
Kasimer and Ralph Stevens
NARRATIVE: On July 13, the Gooney Bird began taking
on water. At noon on July 15, the water got ahead of the
hand bilge pump so it was decided to leave the yacht. The
yacht carried only one two-man life raft so supplies were
hung over the side of the raft on lines. Not having enough
room in the raft for all equipment, they tied the food to a
line over the side. This was then taken by sharks on the
first night in the raft. Their flares were later taken by
sharks.
Leo Pogorzelski described their experiences with sharks
while in the raft:
“During the nine days we were adrift on the raft, we had
the company of several sharks. We cannot identify the
species. They were dark brown to black and very
persistent.
“They bumped the bulges our bodies made in the
bottom of the raft almost every day several times. At
night, the sharks were very frisky bumping us hard
enough so that once I thought my ribs were damaged.
They did not bite through the rubberized fabric even
though it was only about 1/8” thick.
“On the fifth day on the raft an eight- or nine-footer
became so obnoxious that, at the urging of the others, I
shot with a .38 special revolver. He disappeared
immediately. This one came close to the raft whenever
anyone became careless (or cramped) and put an arm
or leg over the side.
“Ralph Stevens shot one around 15 feet long that was
bumping and jostling us enough so that we were afraid
of getting knocked off the raft. He disappeared fast
also.
“At night, something (we presumed the sharks) pulled
off anything we tied over the side to make room. This
© Global Shark Accident File, 2000. All rights reserved. This report may not be abridged or
reproduced in any form without written permission of the Global Shark Accident File.
made for considerable splashing and bumping at night that had to be quieted by
shooting into the water.”
The men were rescued at 37º04’E, 66º57’ West on the southern fringes of the Gulf Stream.
INJURY: No injuries. Sharks ate their food which was tied to a line and hung over the side
of a raft.
SOURCES: Tri-City Herald, Sunday, July 26, 1964; Canberra Times, July 27, 1964, page 6’
Smithsonian Institution, Case File # 1313
© Global Shark Accident File, 2000. All rights reserved. This report may not be abridged or
reproduced in any form without written permission of the Global Shark Accident File.
© Global Shark Accident File, 2000. All rights reserved. This report may not be abridged or
reproduced in any form without written permission of the Global Shark Accident File.
The following information was obtained by an investigating officer from the Marine Inspection
Office, Philadelphia, Pa.
The boat hit an unidentified object on the night of 13 July 1964. The boat was then three days out of
Old Saybrook, Conn. All damage was below deck boards. Occupants thought the boat had taken a
jolt from a wave. During the night the battery operated bilge pump began operating continuously.
Occupants thought this was due to seas breaking over bow. On 14 July they had to start pumping
bilges with hand bilge pump, since the battery for the electric bilge pump was dead. Also on 14 July
the grommets in the main sail pulled out. This left only the jib.
At noon on 15 July the water got ahead of the hand bilge pump so was decided to leave the boat.
The GOONEY BIRD carried 12 kapok life jackets and one (2 man) inflatable life raft. The occupants
inflated the raft and placed in the raft one sail bag of food (mostly canned), one container of water
(approximately 1 1/2 gallons0, one container of flare gun and flares, two dry cell lights, one piece of
canvas, one .38 caliber pistol, one fishing line wwith hooks, one hunting knife, four kapok life
jackets. The four men then left the boat and entered the raft, securing the raft to the boat with a
piece of line secured with a slip knot for easy releasing when the boat sank. The rough water
caused the slip knot to come loose before the boat sank, allowing the raft to drift free. Not having
enough room in the raft for all equipment, they tied the food to a line over the side. This was then
taken by sharks on the first night in the raft. The flare gun and flares were used a couple of times
when ships appeared with negative results. Occupants deemed the ships were too far away. The
container with flare gun and flares was tied to a line over the side and was taken by sharks on
about the third night. The two lights were used on several occasions when ships appeared and on
two occasions ships started to investigate but on both occasions it was just at daylight and their
lights were not strong enough to be effective. On both occasions the ships returned to their course,
apparently after deciding there was nothing there. Ater the batteries went dead, the reflectors were
removed to be used for signaling. The lights were tied over the side and were taken by sharks. An
attempt was made to catch fish, but they were only able to catch a couple of fish about the size of
sardines. An attempt was made to attract attention of ships by firing three shots with the .38 caliber
pistol when ships appeared, but the ships were either up wind or too far away each time. The water
was rationed at what they estimated to be 1/4 cup per person three times and day and 1/2 cup per
person each night, but actually the ration was probably even less. At the time they were rescued,
they had 1/2 pint of water left. An attempt was made to catch rain but the piece of canvas leaked so
badly they were not able to catch any rain. So for eight days, they survived on approximately 2 1/2
gallons of water and no food. The type and manufacture of the equipment was not known by the
four men, but all equipment used worked very well. The GOONEY BIRD was not equipped with a
radio transmitter.
© Global Shark Accident File, 2000. All rights reserved. This report may not be abridged or
reproduced in any form without written permission of the Global Shark Accident File.