Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Rescue off Gloucester coast

Many of us are familiar with the town of Gloucester, MA because that's the famous site of the Perfect Storm tragedy. This morning there's good news about the rescue of two fishermen there. From the Gloucester Daily Times:

Veteran local fisherman Roger Brisson was being hailed as a hero yesterday after the rescue of two crew members who were thrown into frigid Atlantic waters about a mile off Gloucester's coast when their clamshell boat capsized.

The crew of the Providenza, a 38-foot work boat from Gloucester, was plucked to safety by Brisson's 20-foot fishing vessel, Blue Dagger, also from Gloucester, at 9:45 a.m., about a half-mile from the Dog Bar breakwater off Eastern Point. Neither crew member was seriously hurt in the incident.

According to Brisson:
"I was headed 10 miles out when I see something kind of weird, what looked like a big life raft," Brisson, 62, said yesterday from his apartment in Danvers. "As I got closer, I saw it was a boat upside down."
But
"They couldn't call mayday, it happened so fast," said Brisson, who has been a commercial fisherman for 30 years.
The details are sketchy as
Coast Guard would investigate the incident, which took place in 2- to 4-foot seas and calm winds. The men were headed out to sea to dispose of the shucked surf clam shells in water a 100-foot deep when the boat somehow became unstable and overturned, said Intershell spokesman Monte Rome.
And

It was not immediately known what caused the boat to capsize, but Brisson said he suspects the shells most likely froze to the deck, causing an imbalance and the boat to overturn.

"I have no idea of what made the boat unstable; it's been running like clockwork for 10 years," Rome said. "It may have been the way the load was situated, and I think it was hit by a rogue wave.

"It's a happy ending; these are really lucky guys," Rome said. "There wasn't a bump, there wasn't a bruise; (Brisson) is the hero of the day."

For a happy ending we can certainly able to have a light moment as:
"I told my girlfriend, I didn't make money today, but I got a couple of lives ones," a humble Brisson said with a laugh. "I'm glad I was there for them."
Way to go, Roger!

No comments: