PLUM ISLAND — A 40-foot sport fishing boat, the Samantha Mae, sank yesterday morning off the coast of Salisbury, forcing its passengers to climb the rocks of the north jetty for safety.
U.S. Coast Guard Merrimack River petty officer John Jenkins said his station received a Mayday call around 8:40 a.m. saying the boat was taking on water. By the time the station's 24-foot shallow water response boat and its 47-foot motor life boat arrived, the sport boat was resting alongside the north jetty and four of the passengers, all wearing life vests, were safely on the rocks.
Two other passengers still on the boat were picked up by the Coast Guard and taken to the same area of the jetty. None of the passengers was injured, according to Jenkins.
The boat continued to take on water until slipping underneath the water about 10 minutes after the last passengers were removed. Jenkins said the depth of that area of the Merrimack River mouth is anywhere between 8 and 40 feet.
Newburyport Harbormaster Paul Hogg said it appears the boat, owned by Mark Wahlgren of Newburyport and moored at the city's Hilton's Marina, lost power and then drifted until striking the rocks of the north jetty.
Jake Goodridge from Tow Boat US in Salisbury, dispatched to raise and then tow the boat to port, said there appeared to be a large hole in the hull.
Goodridge said the boat was raised using air lift bags and then taken to shallower water closer to Plum Island until the tide was low enough so they could pump out the water and patch up the hole. Two boats with five personnel spent an estimated eight hours on scene before the boat was taken back to its marina.
Goodridge said the operation posed no serious challenges and was completed around 7 p.m.
"Pretty cut and dry, yeah," Goodridge said.
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
