Author Topic: Cops save 6 as boat hits rocks off S.I. (Read 4217 times)

dreamsfloatjoe · « **on:** September 07, 2009, 07:28:08 AM »

A fishing trip in New York Harbor nearly turned tragic for six men who were forced to swim to safety on a tiny island Sunday after their boat hit rocks and quickly sank.

The fishermen were then plucked soaked but unharmed from the rocks near the Old Orchard Shoal Lighthouse 2 miles from Staten Island by a team of police officers working on a Coast Guard boat.

"We need help!" the fishing boat's captain, Rosendo Gamboa, remembered saying as he saw the Coast Guard vessel in the distance. "It was very dangerous."

"It was rough out there," added Joao Ferreira, 28. "We could have died."

The ill-fated 27-foot-long boat launched from Elizabeth, N.J., just after 9:30 a.m. and ran into trouble soon afterward, Gamboa said.

"There was a lot of wind," said Gamboa in Spanish, adding that the boat began to intermittently lose power near the Outerbridge Crossing and was at the mercy of the gusts swirling along the water.

"We couldn't anchor after the power went off," said Gamboa, a mechanic. "The wind was too strong."

The boat's generator conked out completely about 20 feet from the rocks surrounding the lighthouse - leaving the men unable to avoid a collision.

The boat slammed into the rocks, which tore a gaping hole in its hull, the fishermen said. The boat then took on water so fast that the men were not able to put on life jackets before they had to start swimming to safety.

As the 1987 model fishing boat quickly sank in approximately 25 feet of water, a passing vessel made a distress call on its behalf, officials said.

When the call came in, several members of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit were on a Coast Guard boat already on the water.

They raced toward the lighthouse, but the boat was already gone beneath the waves.

"Other than the people, you couldn't see anything from the boat," said Detective Robert Brager, 51.

The fishermen, all from New Jersey, were quickly rescued from the rocks and were treated for minor scrapes and bruises, police said.

Though grateful that their lives were saved, Ferreira blasted Gamboa for taking the fishing group out on rough waters in a less-than-seaworthy vessel.

"The guy knows the boat wasn't running that well," Ferreira said. "How did he charge us and let us go out there like that?"

He also claimed that $1,300 of his fishing equipment was now at the bottom of the harbor.

"I lost a lot of quality stuff when the boat went down," he said.

Reference: NY Daily News article

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

"... Ferreira said. "How did he charge us and let us go out there like that?" ...

Was this a charter boat?

Enquiring minds, many Nigerian wanna know.

Hope y'all have a Happy and Safe Labor Day!

Maritime Matt · « **Reply #1 on:** September 07, 2009, 08:53:01 AM »

Whats up with this scene? Luckily there were no fatalities.
Was this an illegal charter?
Does the boat owner/captain have a USCG Merchant Marine License?
They get to the Outerbridge which is still in protected waters and he knows there's mechanical problems and still continues all the way out to Old Orchard?
I'm sure the CG will do a full investigation on this.
Capt.Matt