Newport men rescue friend lost in Pacific

Man fell overboard Thursday and was found floating two miles off Port of L.A.Four Newport Beach men helped rescue a family friend who had fallen overboard from his moving boat and was lost at sea for several hours Thursday.

Craig McCabe, a 59-year-old Marina del Rey resident, was en route from Marina del Rey to Newport Beach on his 55-foot powerboat when he fell into the water, according to McCabe’s friend, Newport Beach resident John Marshall.

“It was an absolute needle in the haystack,” Paul Marshall, one of the rescuers, said. “Everything was aligned perfectly. When we left, I was not real optimistic. I thought it was something we had to do.”

It remains unclear what caused McCabe to fall off the boat, said Lt. Tony Migliorini of the U.S. Coast Guard.

John Marshall said his friend was heading to Newport Beach to have repairs done on his boat, Heather, which is registered in Newport Beach. McCabe grew up in Corona del Mar.

The boat, which Migliorini said was likely on automatic pilot, was found with no passengers and with its engine running at about 11 a.m. west of Avalon Harbor at Catalina Island.

McCabe was rescued at about 2:15 p.m., Migliorini said. His friends had spotted him in the water near a buoy about two miles from the Port of Los Angeles.

“We looked over and saw him floating about 30 feet from the buoy,” Paul Marshall said. “He was extremely delirious and suffering from hypothermia.”

Two of the rescuers jumped into the water and dragged Craig McCabe onto their boat. The five men on board, including McCabe’s brother, Lance, wrapped Craig McCabe in blankets and waited a few minutes until a Long Beach lifeguard rescue boat arrived with paramedics. Paul Marshall said McCabe was unable to speak coherently and had suffered a large bump on his head.

“Judging from where he [McCabe] was found, he must have been in the water for at least a few hours,” Migliorini said. Paul Marshall said it was likely about five hours.

The search started hours earlier when a Catalina Island lifeguard called a Coast Guard watch commander, who recognized the boat’s name and called Lance McCabe.

Lance McCabe called friend John Marshall, who gathered his son, Jeff Marshall; his brother, Paul Marshall; and his father-in-law, Ray Jackson -- all Newport Beach residents with boating experience.

Five boats from the Los Angeles County Baywatch and one from the Coast Guard were searching for the missing man, though their rescue focused near the area near where Craig McCabe’s boat was found. Two Coast Guard C-130 helicopters and one lifeguard helicopter were used to search from the air.

Meanwhile, the Marshalls, Jackson and Lance McCabe took off in a family-owned boat around 12:30 p.m. When they heard where the boat had run ashore, the passengers determined Craig McCabe’s probable course.

“We figured he fell off the boat between the time he left Marina del Rey and the time when he would have turned left toward Newport Beach,” Paul Marshall said. “It just made sense if you look at a map.”

Craig McCabe was taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach in stable condition. His body temperature was about 90 degrees as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Paul Marshall said.

John and Paul Marshall said they were both elated to have completed the rescue mission.

Added Kelly Marshall, Paul Marshall’s wife: “I was crying out of joy. They are on cloud nine tonight.”

The family celebrated Thursday night with a toast at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club.