Two Fishermen Rescued After Boat Starts Sinking
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Two Cape May fishermen were rescued today by the combined efforts of the Coast Guard and other fishing vessels.
The two men on the 46-foot bay scalloper Captain Charlie, Matt McElroy and William Grier, radioed a distress signal to Coast Guard Group Eastern Shore operators at 3:46 p.m. The Captain Charlie was taking on water quickly from a leak somewhere in the engine room. They were about 32 miles due south of Cape May, N.J.
The Coast Guard command center issued an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB) to request assistance from nearby vessels. A 41-foot rescue boat crew from Station Indian River launched, along with the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Sailfish, which launched from Cape Henlopen in Delaware Bay. A Dolphin rescue helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City, N.J. also joined the search.
Three nearby fishing vessel crews responded to the call for help – the Joanna Lynn, the Equalizer, and the Virginia Reel. The Joanna Lynn was the first to arrive at the scene at about 4:45 p.m., and took both men off the Captain Charlie as it continued to sink. Water had already risen up to the rails of the boat.
Crew membes from the 41-foot rescue boat climbed aboard the nearly sunken Captain Charlie and recovered the boat’s liferaft and Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).
The CGC Sailfish and Indian River rescue boat remain with the Joanna Lynn at the scene, marking the position of the vessel. It was considered too far gone and unsafe to attempt to dewater with a pump and was completely sunk by 6:45 p.m.
Neither of the crewmen on the Captain Charlie were injured. Both were wearing survival suits.
The CGC Sailfish is homeported in Sandy Hook, N.J
Two Fishermen Rescued After Boat Starts Sinking
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Two Cape May fishermen were rescued today by the combined efforts of the Coast Guard and other fishing vessels.
The two men on the 46-foot bay scalloper Captain Charlie, Matt McElroy and William Grier, radioed a distress signal to Coast Guard Group Eastern Shore operators at 3:46 p.m. The Captain Charlie was taking on water quickly from a leak somewhere in the engine room. They were about 32 miles due south of Cape May, N.J.
The Coast Guard command center issued an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB) to request assistance from nearby vessels. A 41-foot rescue boat crew from Station Indian River launched, along with the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Sailfish, which launched from Cape Henlopen in Delaware Bay. A Dolphin rescue helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City, N.J. also joined the search.
Three nearby fishing vessel crews responded to the call for help – the Joanna Lynn, the Equalizer, and the Virginia Reel. The Joanna Lynn was the first to arrive at the scene at about 4:45 p.m., and took both men off the Captain Charlie as it continued to sink. Water had already risen up to the rails of the boat.
Crew membes from the 41-foot rescue boat climbed aboard the nearly sunken Captain Charlie and recovered the boat’s liferaft and Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).
The CGC Sailfish and Indian River rescue boat remain with the Joanna Lynn at the scene, marking the position of the vessel. It was considered too far gone and unsafe to attempt to dewater with a pump and was completely sunk by 6:45 p.m.
Neither of the crewmen on the Captain Charlie were injured. Both were wearing survival suits.
The CGC Sailfish is homeported in Sandy Hook, N.J