Shark fishermen rescue four from flooded boat off South Shore
Four fishermen, participants in the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament, set out in heavy seas and high winds Friday morning, in a 29-foot Luhrs center console. A short while later, the Blue Jacket shipped a big wave over the bow, and the fishermen found themselves under water, five miles south of Martha's Vineyard.
The rescue of the Blue Jacket crew took place south of the Vineyard in very rough water.
The Coast Guard received a report from Blue Jacket at around 7:36 am Friday, reporting that they were taking on water five miles south of the Island, according to a Coast Guard First District press release.
Coast Guard Station Menemsha launched its 47-foot motor lifeboat. But as the rugged vessel got underway for what would have been a rough trip around Gay Head, the Coast Guard learned that Sophia, a 38-foot Pearson, run by a 19-year-old house painter from Centerville, who was also a tournament competitor, had rescued the four men.
The 23rd annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament is a two-day affair based in Oak Bluffs Harbor. It annually attracts hundreds of fishermen lured by the excitement of big game fishing for sharks, and rich prizes.
Much of the fishing is done well south of the Vineyard. On the eve of the tournament a storm blew up the coast and assaulted the Vineyard just after midnight, creating treacherous boating conditions Friday, the first day of the tournament.
Winds gusted above 20 miles per hour and waves crested to near 10 feet, according to the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory, which stands one mile off South Beach.
The Buzzards Bay weather station recorded gusts to 41 miles-per-hour out of the east-southeast. And the Nantucket buoy, 54 nautical miles southeast of Nantucket, recorded wave heights reaching close to 16-feet.
The Blue Jacket departed Oak Bluffs Harbor at 6 am Friday morning bound south of the Vineyard through Muskeget Channel, the passage between Nantucket and Chappaquiddick. The channel is lined with treacherous, shifting shoals and beset by strong currents that, combined with a strong southerly wind, can build steep, dangerous waves.
The exact location of the Blue Jacket's foundering is not clear. She struck a wave that broke the windshield and swamped the boat, according to the Coast Guard report. The captain headed for the nearest point of land, and another wave came across the vessel's stern and the 29-footer began to sink.
The rescuers
Kosta Tsoleridis, his older brother, Lazo, cousin Will Russell, and friends Dave Mahaffel and Gary Simmons were aboard Sophia, whose home port is Parker's River in Yarmouth, when she left the dock in Oak Bluffs at 6 am. They were heading bound for a spot about 15 miles south of Squibnocket.
"I was heading out to the Claw," Mr. Tsoleridis said, referring to the spot. "I didn't want to go too far, because it was so nasty."
When Sophia left, six- to seven-foot waves were crashing over the jetties that protect the harbor entrance, Mr. Tsoleridis said. "But we said, 'screw it,' and we just kept going." When they arrived at Wasque the waves were in the 10- to 15-foot range, he said. "We didn't get beat up too bad, because I was only going seven to eight knots," he said. "I am not going to kill myself."
A couple of miles from the Claw, the men decided to turn around because the sea conditions made fishing impossible. On the return trip, they spotted the Blue Jacket, in trouble about eight miles, Mr. Tsoleridis estimated, south of the Vineyard.
"Here and there we saw a boat coming out of the peak of the waves, and we thought nothing of it because it just looked like another boat trying to make it out there and go fishing," Mr. Tsoleridis said. "And when we got closer to the boat, we saw somebody waving a lifejacket and one of my guys said, 'It look's like something's wrong.'"
Mr. Tsoleridis headed immediately in the direction of the sinking vessel. When he pulled up close, one of the men onboard Blue Jacket made a surprising request. "The first thing he told me was, hold up a minute we've got to tie up the rods," he said. "They wanted to put a balloon on the rods to save them."
A big game rod and reel can cost thousands of dollars, but it can be replaced. Mr. Tsoleridis told the men to forget about the rods, that they were not worth their lives.
The men jumped off their sinking boat into the heaving water. All were wearing lifejackets. One by one, Mr. Tsoleridis picked up all of them. They were very grateful and very happy.
"We got there just in the nick of time," Mr. Tsoleridis said. "They were very lucky."
Despite his age, Mr. Tsoleridis is an experienced big game tuna fisherman. This was his first shark tournament and the first time he ever saw a boat go down. Asked if there is a lesson in the experience, he said, "Listen to the weather."
Others turned back
Edgartown harbormaster Charlie Blair said that on Friday several boats, including the 80-foot Sweet Caroline, set out and turned around due to the sea conditions south of the Vineyard. Mr. Blair said he heard reports from several captains who went out and returned that the Blue Jacket was seen speeding across the waves.
"They said that the guy was flying out of the wash," Mr. Blair said. "You get one bad landing and it ruins your whole day."
Sean Flaherty of Blue Jacket, the registered entrant for the tournament, could not be reached for comment.
At last report, the boat remains partially submerged south of the Vineyard. Recovery plans are unclear. "We are asking mariners to exercise caution when transiting the area of the wreckage," said Richard Elliott, search and rescue controller at the Coast Guard's Sector Southeastern New England.
Todd Alexander, Oak Bluffs harbormaster, said the four men were very lucky. There were not many boats out fishing, and it is very difficult to spot a boat or people in trouble in heavy swells. "It could have been much worse," he said.
