ROCKPORT, Mass. — October 29, 2013 — An experienced fisherman is dead after a boat he and another crewman were taking from Gloucester to Maine, reportedly to dismantle because it was no longer seaworthy, sank this weekend.
The Provincetown-based fishing vessel Terra Nova began taking on water about three miles off the coast of Rockport around 8:30 p.m. Friday. The crew said the water pumps could not handle the load and abandoned ship.
Although both David “Oakesy” Oakes and Jason Randall were pulled from the sea around 10:30 p.m. Friday, Oakes died, according to a family member who wished not be named.
Oakes, of South Thomaston, Maine, was airlifted out of the water by a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, said the state accepted jurisdiction of the Oakes case but the cause of death has not been determined.
Harris said it is unclear if Oakes died at the hospital, on his way to the hospital or in the water.
Meanwhile, Oakes’ son-in-law, Randall of Rockland, Maine, was rescued by Rockport Harbormasters Scott Story and Rosemary Lesch. He was taken to Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester. He has since been released.