PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — November 26, 2012 — Lobster boat captain Beau Gribbin watched from three-quarters of a mile away as the Twin Lights appeared to catch on something underwater as it dredged for scallops late Sunday morning.
The Glutton, piloted by Gribbin, and the 40-foot Twin Lights, piloted by Jean Frottier, both out of Provincetown, had fished alongside each other for 10 years. The two fishing crews were in their usual spot: an area of state waters two miles north of Provincetown that draws both lobster and scallop fishermen.
There were unusually high seas Sunday, because of recent storms, Gribbin said Tuesday. His vessel hauled eastward, which gave his crew a good view of the goings-on of the fiberglass-hulled Twin Lights.
Frottier turned the Twin Lights down wind for calmer seas, which is customary when there's entanglement, Gribbin said. Then the Twin Lights appeared to take on water and lean sideways, and Gribbin put his binoculars up.
"We saw him roll over," Gribbin said. "He just rolled right over."
The one crew member on the Twin Lights, Eric Rego, was rescued by the crew of the Glutton.
Frottier, 69, of Wellfleet is believed to have died aboard the Twin Lights, although there has been no official confirmation yet. An attempt to reach the Frottier family on Tuesday was unsuccessful.
On Tuesday, the Coast Guard made plans to use a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to get a closer look at the Twin Lights, which sits on the ocean floor in 198 feet of water. The life raft from the Twin Lights washed up Tuesday on the shore of the Cape Cod National Seashore, along with fishing totes, baskets and line, Coast Guard Station Provincetown Chief John Harker said.
The Coast Guard has opened an investigation, Coast Guard spokesman Senior Chief Jamey Kinney said Tuesday. Investigations of this sort can take months, he said.
The ROV, which will likely be equipped with still and videocameras among other equipment, will allow state police divers and the Coast Guard to determine the status of the Twin Lights, its position in the water and if there is a body on board, Harker said. The schedule for the ROV is still being determined, and will depend on the weather, the agency loaning the ROV and other factors.
"It's in the planning stages," Harker said. "The current is some of the worst in the Northeast, and when you add 200 feet for diving, it's a very technical operation."
Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times