Yellow Tail Fundraiser Friday for Men Lost at Sea

Alameda's  will hold a fundraiser Friday Aug. 16 for Find our Fathers, a nonprofit group working to fund a recovery operation for this July off Mexico’s Baja coast. 

Gary Wong, owner of Yellow Tail, said he has no direct connection to the missing men, but decided to contribute to their cause after a customer told him about Find Our Fathers' fundraising efforts.

The restaurant at 1332-C Park Street will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. It will donate a portion of Friday's sales to the group. 

One of the survivors of the accident, Craig Wong, and his brother, Glenn, will be on hand to answer questions diners may have about the search effort and to collect signatures for a petition calling for more government help in finding the lost men.

There were 43 passengers on the fishing boat Erik which capsized July 3 just two miles from shore 60 to 100 miles south of San Felipe Mexico. Many of its passengers have ties to the Bay Area and Northern California.

Those on board included 27 American tourists and 16 crew members. One man, Leslie Yee, born and raised in San Francisco, has been confirmed dead. Wreckage from the boat has not been located. Some survivors of the accident were later found on land many miles away in remote, rural areas.

The seven missing fishermen are Russell Bautista, Shawn Chaddock, Mark Dorland, Don Lee, Gene L. Leong, Al Mein and Brian Wong. 

After the accident, friends and family members of the missing men quickly joined forces to form Find our Fathers. Since then the group has been pressuring authorities in both Mexico and the United States to keep alive a search and rescue mission and mount a diving expedition to recover the boat’s wreckage and any remains. 

After encountering what they say were frustrating delays and a denial on July 12 of a request to the Department of Defense to hunt for the wreckage (estimated to be 200 feet below the surface of the sea), the group launched a fundraising campaign.

Their goal is to raise $300,000 to mount a self-funded diving expedition. They have established a website, Facebook page, Twitter account and blog to communicate updates of their efforts and let supporters know how they can help.  

They have also enlisted the aid of numerous political figures in their cause, including U.S. House of Representatives Jackie Speier, Pete Stark, Lynn Woolsey, Anna Eshoo, Barbara Lee, Jerry McNerney and Mike Thompson; U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and California State Senator Leland Yee. Additionally they have made appeals to U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  

Remember: and is now located in the Redwood Square shopping corridor, near the downtown branch of the U.S. Post Office. It is in a space formerly occupied by Amarin Thai Restaurant.