The Grace Marie, a 72-foot commercial fishing boat, sank on Friday night about 80 nm east of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Another boat, fishing nearby, rescued all 7 crew on board and brought them home to Gloucester.
The Coast Guard says it heard a Mayday call about 10 pm from the Grace Marie, saying it was taking on water and flooding. The Coast Guard then issued an urgent marine broadcast asking all boats in the area to respond to the Mayday.
The Dawn T, a gillnetter, was fishing nearby and rescued all the crew. No one was injured. It got back to Gloucester about 1 pm on Saturday.
The Grace Marie was a steel-hulled trawler built by Rhode Island Marine in 1978. It established a reputation as one of Gloucester’s most successful fishing boats.
The Coast Guard said the crew did everything right after the boat started to sink, putting on immersion suits and deploying a life raft.
Angela Sanfilippo, president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, told gloucestertimes.com that “They knew what to do, and they saved their lives.” She added, “It’s the most dangerous profession in the world.” Read more:
