Here’s a story from two weeks ago that not only involves heroic action from the passengers on a Martha’s Vineyard ferry but also an as yet unsolved mystery.
At 3:30 pm on Monday October 13, passengers on the Massachusetts Steamship Authority ferry Island Home, bound from Martha’s Vineyard to Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts, saw a man in the water a fair distance off the coast near Nobska Point. The weather was terrible with howling northeast winds, heavy rain and building seas.
In this weather, passengers and crew leapt into action and threw life rings and life preservers in the man’s direction, despite the strong winds. Visibility was minimal.
A Coast Guard helicopter was launched and the Falmouth Fire Rescue and Environmental Police boats dispatched. The helicopter crew eventually found the man in the water, the rescue swimmer jumped in and at 4: 25 pm, the crew was able to hoist the man to safety.
“The person was originally aboard the ferry Nantucket and was spotted overboard by the Island Home,” Coast Guard spokesperson Keira Shantry said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“It is not clear how the individual fell into the water. Coast Guard Station Woods Hole and a helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod assisted with search efforts for approximately 1 hour. The person was recovered and transported to Air Station Cape Cod where they were seen by EMS and was in stable condition with no reported injuries.”
Roy Mundy was aboard Island Home and was one of the good Samaritans who tried to help.
“Out of nowhere one person stood up and said, ‘man overboard’ and it was really intense because every single person on the boat shot up immediately,” Mundy said. “It was horrendous out there so I’m so happy that they found him, we all wanted him to be found but you have to be honest, it looked bleak it was so dangerous out there.”
The victim’s name has not been released, and it remains a mystery how he fell off the Nantucket in such terrible weather in the first place.
