2 Men Drown After Wave Washes Them Off Boat

Two men drowned in a boating accident off a beach near Oxnard this weekend after they were swept overboard by a wave that hit their cabin cruiser as they returned to port, authorities said Sunday.

The Ventura County coroner’s office identified the victims of Saturday’s accident as Samuel Farley, 53, of Ontario, and Thomas Moreno, 23, of Fontana.

Although there were life jackets aboard, neither man was wearing one, authorities said.

Two other men, Kelley Christopher Amos, 23, of Saugus, and his grandfather, John Allen Amos, 78, of Pomona, survived the accident. The 24-foot boat is registered to the elder Amos, Coast Guard officials said.

Farley and Moreno worked at a Nordstrom department store warehouse in Ontario with the younger Amos.

The accident occurred at 5:45 p.m. off Silver Strand Beach near the Channel Islands Harbor as the men were returning from a day of fishing at Anacapa Island.

The elder Amos was steering the cruiser to shore when he apparently missed the entrance to the harbor, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies said.

A huge wave struck the boat about 100 yards offshore, throwing Farley and Moreno into the water, deputies said.

Christopher Amos and his grandfather managed to stay on the boat and tried to restart the engines after the wave struck, deputies said.

The engines would not start, but the Amoses stayed aboard until they neared shore and were able to jump into shallow water, authorities said.

Farley and Moreno were pulled from the water by the Coast Guard at about 6:30 p.m., authorities said. After Coast Guard officials and paramedics tried to revive the men, the victims were transported to St. John’s Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead.

Moreno is survived by his wife and parents, who also live in Fontana, Deputy County Coroner Dale Zentzis said.

Farley has two sisters in Arcadia and Victorville and two teen-age daughters from a previous marriage, friends of the victim said.

“He loved fishing, that was his favorite pastime,” said Larry Bartkus, 41, of Upland. Friends who had been fishing previously with Farley said he was an excellent swimmer, Bartkus said.