Updated 2 pm, Tuesday
Two fishing boats, “The Pedlar” and the “Robert C” both out of Fairhaven, collided about one and a half miles northwest of Menemsha Harbor early Monday afternoon, resulting in the sinking of the Robert C. in approximately 50 feet of water.
“The Robert C went down really fast, probably in less than a minute,” Chilmark harbormaster Dennis Jason told The Times. “Both men were fishing alone. A lot of these small draggers have one operator. Sometimes they’re out on deck working and they lose track of the situation.”
The 40-foot Pedlar is captained by Walter Dixon. The 33-foot Robert C is captained by Douglas Soares, according to Mr. Jason.
On Tuesday morning, a Coast Guard spokesperson said, without identifying Mr. Soares, that the owner of the Robert C had no plans to raise the boat, a 1936 wooden vessel which was not insured. He was however in negotiations to engage a dive team that will either plug the vents or remove the 60 to 90 gallons of diesel fuel aboard the downed dragger. There was a visible sheen of diesel fuel on the water on Tuesday morning, however it poses no threat to the shoreline, according to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment will supervise the clean-up.
There were no injuries reported, but Mr. Jason said without the actions of a nearby lobster fisherman, the outcome could have been worse. “Paul McDonald, the captain of the Shearwater, should be given a lot of credit,” Mr. Jason said. “He did a real nice job of picking Doug out of the water and bringing him into Menemsha.”
According to a Coast Guard spokesman, Station Menemsha got the distress call at 12:08 pm and a 47-foot response boat was immediately launched. After inspecting the scene in a 27-foot response boat, the Coast Guard determined that no environmental or navigational hazards resulted from the accident.
The cause of the collision has not been officially determined and the Coast Guard investigation is ongoing.