Safety

 HARPSWELL, Maine — June 12, 2013 — Philip Tuttle saw an opportunity and took it. With his wife preoccupied upstairs, he quickly scribbled a note — “Headed out to look for a trap. Be back shortly.” — and headed toward his boat Saturday afternoon.

Tuttle has hauled lobsters from the waters of Casco Bay for about 40 years. And he found the trap, but got a little too close to shore in the process. He hit a ledge, and the Queen Tut, his 26-foot lobster boat, began sinking.

“The boat just went right over on its side,” he said. “Within three minutes, it was sunk.”

Unable to reach a life jacket, Tuttle took a deep breath as the boat went down, pried loose a nearby buoy, and swam 30 yards, though it felt more like 2 miles, through chilly water to an island. Slowly, he clawed his way up the jagged rocks, barnacles slicing into his shins and arms with each movement.

Unable to reach a life jacket, Tuttle took a deep breath as the boat went down, pried loose a nearby buoy, and swam 30 yards, though it felt more like 2 miles, through chilly water to an island. Slowly, he clawed his way up the jagged rocks, barnacles slicing into his shins and arms with each movement.

Philip Tuttle is 90 years old.

He’s not supposed to lobster alone anymore. But Tuttle, a feisty and spry retired casket salesman who spends about three months a year lobstering, is not one easily told what to do. On Saturday, he sneaked out of the house.

“I get the Dickens for that,” he said with an impish grin Wednesday, sitting beneath a picture window overlooking the ocean.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

 

 

June 10, 2013 — A 90-year-old Great Island man swam from his sinking lobster boat to a small island Saturday night before being rescued by his son-in-law.

Philip Tuttle was home Monday afternoon recovering from cuts and scrapes suffered in the ordeal, according to his daughter-in-law Verian Tuttle.

“He’s a pretty stubborn, feisty Mainer,” she said Monday.

Tuttle left his home late Saturday afternoon after leaving his wife a note that he was heading out to check a trap and would be right back, Verian Tuttle said. But when he didn’t return in time for dinner, they knew something was wrong.

Tuttle’s 26-foot-lobster boat, Queen Tut, had run aground off Gun Point sometime between 6:30 and 6:45 p.m., according to Jeff Nichols of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

“He’s very sharp — he really is — and he definitely was trying to find something to float on,” his daughter-in-law said. “He climbed out onto the ledge he hit, the tide was coming in now, so he knew he had to get to shore, and he had to swim about 30 yards. He’s a pretty good swimmer, or was in his day, and he made it ashore. He said he would crawl on the rocks a few inches at a time.”

In the meantime, Tuttle’s family headed down to the shore to look for him. After one son, Brooks Tuttle, took a skiff to search of the Queen Tut, another son, Stewart, and Tuttle’s son-in-law Michael Innis saw the boat’s muffler sticking out of the sea.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

May 16, 2013 — The Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership will be conducting free safety and survival training for commercial fishermen on Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Gloucester, 17 Harbor Loop. The day-long training is conducted by Coast Guard certified fishing vessel safety instructors.

This hands-on training includes instruction in: on-board firefighting, man overboard procedures, damage control, flood and pump procedures, donning and use of immersion suits, flares and EPIRBS, life raft deployment, emergency communications and emergency first aid. Fishermen should bring their own survival suits. Training suits will be available for those that do not have them.

“The recent tragic losses of four fishermen is a grim reminder of the inherent dangers of our industry,” said Capt. Sebastian Noto of the Gloucester-base fishing vessel Grace Marie. “This training program is an opportunity for area fishermen to get hands-on knowledge and experience on how to deal with the kind of life-threatening emergencies they are likely to encounter at sea.”

Lunch will be provided courtesy of the Ocean Marine Insurance Agency. This training is supported by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Team (NCOIC) and the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership (MFP).

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

 

May 12, 2013 — Stian Stiansen, captain of "Pauline," killed in maritime accident; crew member rescued.

A commercial fishing vessel capsized in the Shinnecock Inlet on Sunday afternoon in rough seas, killing its captain.

The man, 85-year-old Stian Stiansen, an East Quogue resident, was found dead in the water, by a jetty, according to Petty Officer 1st Class Anthony Kozak, of Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound. A SeaTow boat pulled Scott Finne, a 42-year-old crew member, from the water and Finne said there was one other person missing, Kozak said.

At 1:50 p.m., Southampton Town police received several 911 calls that a 45-foot trawler, Pauline IV, had capsized. According to a police statement, they weren't sure how many people were aboard the vessel when it capsized. One person was seen from shore "clinging to a flotation device," police said.

Police notified a Coast Guard Station Shinnecock communications watchstander.

Sector Long Island Sound issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched a response boat crew from the nearby Station Shinnecock, the Coast Guard said. Rescue crews from the station, Southampton Village police, Southampton Town Bay Constables, and various fire department water rescue squads descended upon the scene, along with a Suffolk County police aviation unit.

The helicopter located the Stiansen's body, the Coast Guard said. At about 3 p.m., he was found on the east side of the Shinnecock Inlet. He was taken to Southampton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead 40 minutes later.

The water in the inlet is about 50-degrees, he said.

Police called the SeaTow captain's efforts heroic. "In dangerous seas he navigated the inlet, located the subject observed in the water, and retrieved him safely," police said in a statement.

The Coast Guard reached the area within 15 minutes, according to Kozak. He said the rescue boat that started searching for the victim reported 8-foot breakers in the area. "That's pretty significant," he said.

Police said the accident occurred as the vessel was returning to the dock. Stiansen had taken the boat earlier that morning.

"With a vessel trying to make it through a small inlet like that it can be difficult," Kozak said, even for experienced fishermen. He said reports were that the boat was "picked up by the waves and thrown into the rocks and capsized. It probably happened pretty quick."

Finne, an Eastport resident, was not injured, but was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

The trawler came to rest on the beach east of the Shinnecock Inlet. The Coast Guard will remove it, police said.

The fire departments that responded included Hampton Bays, Southampton North Sea and Sag Harbor fire departments. The Hampton Bays and Southampton Village ambulances also responded, along with coordinators from Suffolk County Emergency Coordinators.

Southampton Town police detectives are investigating the maritime accident, Kozak said. Anyone with any information is asked to call 631-702-2230.

May 7, 2013 — On Friday, May 17, 2013, a free safety and survival training will be held at the Coast Guard Station, 17 Harbor Loop, Gloucester from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM. 

The hands-on training, sponsored by Fishing Partnership Support Services, is conducted by Coast Guard certified fishing vessel safety instructors.

The Safety-at-Sea training program includes: 

• On-Board Firefighting
• Man-Overboard Procedures
• Flooding & Pump Procedures
• Flares & EPIRBs
• Donning & Using Survival Suits
• Life Raft Deployment
• Damage Control
• Emergency Communication/First Aid

Please bring your own survival suits. Training suits are provided for those who do not currently have one. Lunch will be provided courtesy of Ocean Marine Insurance Agency.

For more information view the event flyer

 

May 2, 2013 — On Friday, May 17, 2013, a free safety and survival training will be held at the Coast Guard Station, 17 Harbor Loop, Gloucester from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM.

The hands-on training, sponsored by Fishing Partnership Support Services, is conducted by Coast Guard certified fishing vessel safety instructors.

For more information view the flyer at NOAA Fisheries 

 

DARWIN, Australia (AP) — April 22, 2013 — A French fisherman was bloodied but back on his fishing boat Monday, just hours after he escaped from the jaws of a young saltwater crocodile who attacked him while swimming along a remote stretch of Australia’s northern coast.

Yoann Galeran, 29, said he was swimming from shore to a dinghy about 15 meters (50 feet) away on Sunday night when a crocodile between 2 meters (6 feet 7 inches) and 2.5 meters (8 feet 2 inches) clamped down on his head and neck and attempted to drown him in a maneuver known as a death roll.

‘‘It went straight away to the top of my head and diving under the water he tried to do that spinning thing,’’ Galeran said, referring to the drowning maneuver.

‘‘It was going so fast — everything happened in less than five seconds and then I fell free,’’ he added. ‘‘I'm very lucky.’’

‘‘If it was a bit bigger crocodile, I wouldn’t be talking to you now,’’ he said.

Fishing boat skipper Craig van Lawick said he thought Galeran, an Australian resident born in the southeastern French city of Avignon, was joking about being attacked by a crocodile until he saw the blood.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

 

 

April 22, 2013 — On Friday, April 26, 2013, free survival training for commercial fishermen will be held at the University of Massachusetts SMAST building, 706 Rodney French Blvd. in New Bedford from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM.

The hands-on training, sponsored by Fishing Partnership Support Services, is conducted by Coast Guard certifiedbfishing vessel safety instructors.

Please see the attached flier for additional details.  Though the training is free, pre-registration is recommended.

For more information or to register for the training, please contact:

dmachie@fishingpartnership.org or call Deb Machie at 508-991-3043.

Read the full notice here

 

 

April 6, 2013 — Investigators believe an underwater snag caused a commercial fishing boat to capsize and sink in the Delaware Bay off southern New Jersey this week.

But they tell The Press of Atlantic City that it's not yet clear what object caused the snag.

State police continued to search Saturday for a crew member who went missing after Thursday morning's accident, which happened about six miles west of Cape May Point.
Authorities say the 40-foot Linda Claire was dredging for conchs and crabs when it capsized.

Good Samaritans aboard the vessels Katherine Brown and Sandra Lee rescued the boat's captain and another crew member, but 24-year-old Josh Catlett remains missing.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Newsworks

 

 

PORTLAND, Maine — March 16, 2013 — A 65-foot fishing vessel that encountered mechanical problems off New England’s coast has been safely towed to its home port in Portland, Maine.

A Coast Guard Cutter based in Boston assisted the 65-foot vessel Titan from where it called for help 72 nautical miles east of Portsmouth, N.H., on Friday.

The Titan had reported hydraulic problems and could not anchor. The captain feared the boat would drift toward rocks.

Read the full story by the Associated Press at The Boston Globe