Boothbay Harbor CG crew assist in fishing boat rescue
A Boothbay Harbor fisherman doesn’t know what he’ll do now that his boat is at the bottom of sea. Kelo Pinkham’s boat, the Jeanne C., sank Sept. 25 about 50 nautical miles east of Portland. Pinkham and his son, Morgan, were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Pinkham said Monday neither he nor his son were injured. Pinkham said the boat sank because it started taking on water. He wasn’t sure what caused the problem.
The Jeanne C. wasn’t insured.
“I’m not sure what I’ll do now,” Pinkham said. “I guess I’ll just think about it for awhile.”
A crew from U.S. Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor assisted in rescuing the Pinkhams. The Boothbay Harbor crew joined Coast Guard cutters Campbell and Ocracoke along with a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in rescuing the Jeanne C.’s two-member crew.
Watchstanders at the First District Command Center in Boston received an emergency beacon notification from the Jeanne C. around 3:28 p.m. Friday, according to a Coast Guard press release. Coast Guard personnel were unable to reach the vessel by radio, which resulted in search and rescue coordinators launching the Campbell and Ocracoke, a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Station Boothbay Harbor, and the helicopter.
The Boothbay Harbor crew spotted the life raft with two persons aboard around 4:30 p.m.
"Their boat sunk right out from underneath them," said Lt. Samantha Leon, the command duty officer at the First District Command Center. "They had the proper safety equipment, like the life-raft, on-board and were able to get in quickly. They helped save their own lives."
The Pinkham and his son were rescued and by taken by the Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat to shore. An Emergency Medical Services crew awaited their arrival at the pier in Boothbay Harbor.
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