The merrimack claims another

[Roccus]

An on going search for a missing "boater" is being conducted right now in the mouth of the river

according to the channel 4 news, the coast gaurd recieved a may day call around 10 PM last night for a boat taking on water in or around the mouth of the river.. two men swam to the jetty, another was rescued from the boat, a fourth is still missing after jumping out of the boat and trying to swim ashore...this is tragic.. my prayers go out to the family of the missing man.

The mouth of that river is no joke, please people, take heed, Odd fish and I were just talking about it Monday night...Randy said" I hope no one tries getting out there" .. no fish is worth dieing for.. stay home and chew your finger nails until it calms down...

[oddfish]

He has my prayrs as well............................

OD

[marshman]

That jetty is good for at least one per year. Angry seas and piss poor visibility. They made a very bad decision. Like Roc said, stay home, stay safe.

[Coalman]

Massachusetts own Bering Sea.

[chowdah]

The mouth is a bit scary in GOOD weather never mind with rough seas and a steady wind And at night! Feel bad for the folks at home. You can't stop folks from risky behavior but I wish I would hear more about theses accidents ending up with rescues cause eveyone had a lifejacket on.

[Scunz]

Prayers for all involved....


Has it always been this bad in terms of carelessness out there, or just since "The Deadliest Catch" started airing?

[Roccus]

this is nothing new, I myself came close to being a victim close to 40 years ago... one stupid decision led to boat full of water and a soiled under garmets.... it just wasnt my time...I dont take chances anymore.

I have been in on several rescues , which include a 25' boat running on to the jetty at 2AM at dead low tide ( Alchohol was involved) another involved another boat carelessly running into the back of another... the man that ended in the water was in a wheel chair and was thrown from it.. my fishing partner jumped over the side to the mans aid... all he and his wife wanted to do was do a little schoolie fishing.. another time, we were all drifting the badgers on the out going, many surfcasters were wading the bar, one sole out near the end, a wake from a passing boat lifted him off the bar into the raging current.. they found him in Portsmouth a few weeks latter...there have been others, like the 14' aluminum that I towed in after the ocupants were so busy gaffing a blue fish that their boat swamped, one more wave would have put it to the bottom, their engine stalled, they were helpless, I tossed them a line and towed them to safty...
I could go on for hours, I spend alot of time on the water, and have done so since the early 70's...now there are more people, alot more people, and IMHO, they are not a savvy as the people were back then, maybe it's the lack of preaching by old timers, maybe it's the hype on the Net... I warn people all the time.. most dont listen, they think that I've gone soft , they never think it is as bad as it is until the $*%# hits the fan...BTW.. fishing was pretty darn good last night.. far from the swirling, dangrerous waters in the mouth.. there is still alot of debris in the water, but the clarity has improved greatly, thanks to these big tides...

Be safe everyone.. it's only June, the best fishing of the year is yet to come..

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Roccus

BTW.. fishing was pretty darn good last night.. far from the swirling, dangrerous waters in the mouth.. there is still alot of debris in the water, but the clarity has improved greatly, thanks to these big tides...

Be safe everyone.. it's only June, the best fishing of the year is yet to come..

Thats good to hear, I'll be out tonight, far from the mouth!

It seems like things don't get bad a little at a time, but they go from fine to REALLY bad all at once.

I heard of a boat going down on stellwagon this spring. The story I heard was the guy backed his boat off the trailer and shot out to the bank. Turns out he forgot the plug, but when underway at full speed he never noticed, it wasn't till he was 20 miles off shore and he stopped to fish did it fill up and sink.

I'm not sure how accurate this is, just the story I heard.

[cold waters]

Danny,

i cant say that i have a much more reliable account of that story... but i believe it to be true... it had nothing to do with a plug... the live well hose had a leak and was just pumping water into the boat....

[Smann]

Common sense and using your head is what it is all about .If you grew up around the water you know to respect it.
The problem today is many people think they are bullet proof, it can't happen to me. Just like Roc I had a close call when I was young, it was'nt my time,but I learned to respect the ocean after that day I will stay far away from the bad element.