Marin Coroner IDs Boater Killed On Tomales Bay

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The Marin County coroner's office has identified a boater who died when a fishing boat capsized around noon Monday on Tomales Bay as Brian Phidat Ho, 47, of San Jose.

Ho and another man were fishing when their boat went head-on into a large wave and turned end over end before it righted itself, Chief Deputy Coroner Darrell Harris said.

The other man on the boat was able to get back into the vessel and found Ho in the water about 15 minutes later. He was unable to get Ho back into the boat and towed him to shore instead, Harris said.

There were no life vests or other protective gear in the boat. One of two dogs on the boat survived, but the other was never recovered, according to Harris.

Ho was unresponsive when the other fisherman reached shore at Lawson's Landing, where paramedics tried to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead at 1:17 p.m., Harris said.

The men were fishing from a 13-foot Boston Whaler pleasure craft, Point Reyes National Seashore spokesman John Dell'Osso said.

The Bodega Bay Fire Department, Marin County Fire Department, a Sonoma County Sheriff's Office helicopter crew and the U.S. Coast Guard at Bodega Bay responded to the incident.

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