By Jennifer Henderson
A boating accident on Tomales Bay Friday left one person dead while a second man had to be rescued by helicopter.
The accident occurred when a 15-foot fishing boat capsized at noon near the mouth of the bay, spilling Point Reyes Station resident Kevin Gallagher, 33, and Petaluma resident Frank Leroy Ramey, 51, into the water.
They were carried by the current out of Tomales Bay and into the ocean, where wind and swells pushed them a mile north. Neither man was wearing a lifejacket.
After fighting currents for six hours, Gallagher reached shore at a remote beach at the base of a steep cliff at the south end of Estero San Antonio.
There a Dillon Beach resident heard his cries for help and called Marin sheriff's deputies.
A Sonoma County helicopter rescue unit landed on the beach, treated Gallagher for hypothermia, and then airlifted him to an ambulance, which took him to Petaluma Valley Hospital.
The helicopter rescue unit then began looking for Ramey and was joined in the search by a CHP helicopter, two Coast Guard helicopters, and two Coast Guard boats.
At 11 p.m., the Coast Guard located Ramey's body a mile off of Estero San Antonio. Coroner's officials listed the cause of death as drowning.
Neither Sonoma County Sheriff's department or the Coast Guard knew what caused the boat to capsize.
However, Sonoma Sergeant Roger Rude pointed out that there were unusually strong swells that day, and Bill Hantzmon of the Coast Guard noted waves were 4 to 5 feet high at 12-second intervals.
The mouth of Tomales Bay is known for heavy swells, added Hantzmon.
A graveside memorial service for Mr. Ramey will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Yreka at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3. He is survived by his two daughters, Connie Ramey-Voth of Alturas, Modoc County, and Amy Holbrook of Keizer, Oregon; his mother Frances Ramey of Redding; his brother John Ramey, of Shingletown, Shasta County; and a granddaughter, Emma Holbrook, of Keizer, Oregon.