A sailboat capsized on Monday southeast of Bird Island, located in Marion approximately a half-mile south of the Kittansett Club and Butler Point. Three people in the water were rescued, including a 78-year-old woman, a 49-year-old woman, and a 52-year-old man whose names were not released.
Both Marion and Mattapoisett harbormaster boats responded to separate 911 calls shortly after noon on July 20 and worked together to bring the boat and the people who had been in it to safety.
“The people in the water were able to get to their cell phone – initially they did – and then they lost their phone (before) a passer-by in a boat triggered the response from our patrol vessel,” said Marion Deputy Harbormaster Adam Murphy. “The position was rather unclear. Southeast of Bird Island is a pretty large area… When we got around Bird Island, we saw the passer-by boat. It was too rough for them to attempt (a rescue).”
Both towns’ harbormasters reported consistent waves of at least 4 feet, and Murphy said south-southwest winds reached 25-30 mph. Once on the scene, he spotted one person in the water and two people clinging to the bow of the capsized sailboat.
“Our plan was to drift downwind on them and put our patrol boat beside them. We timed the seas just right to (pull the people onto the harbormaster’s boat),” said Murphy, who notified Marion Police and transported the people back to the dock. “All refused treatment and went back home.”
The boat, described by Mattapoisett Harbormaster Jamie McIntosh as a 17.5-foot, Cape Cod Day Sailer style, launched from Mattapoisett.
“The conditions added to the reason why the boat capsized,” said McIntosh, who brought the boat to Barden’s Boat Yard in Marion.
When McIntosh overheard the 911 call from the passer-by at approximately 12:15 pm with information that a boat had capsized and with three in the water, Mattapoisett staffers dropped what they were doing and went out to assist Marion in the rescue effort. When they arrived, the occupants were out of the water so Mattapoisett assisted Marion in righting the capsized boat.
“We can’t speak any more highly of their staff,” said Murphy. “Their assistance was very valuable in this situation.”
The incident followed closely on the heels of a similar misfortune in Marion seas, also involving a sailboat launched from Mattapoisett.
Murphy said a 60-foot sailboat had a sail stuck, resulting in wind doing damage in 5- to 6-foot seas. “We dealt with that for over two hours last Sunday (before we) got that sail down,” he said. “It’s been a pretty rough weekend as far as weather goes, and not too many people grow up around here… it’s a real eye-opener. What ends up happening is, when you get out there, they’ll sail a certain way to get out of a situation.”
Waves that are too big coupled with strong winds can make the situation worse.
“Everyone’s recreating, and it’s showing,” said Murphy. “People need to pay attention to the weather, that’s the most important thing. And this end of the bay, particularly with the southwest wind, the majority of people respect it… when they’re in trouble, they need to call 911.”
Murphy said the GPS equipment is helpful, but he strongly recommends checking a local weather report before embarking.
Speaking to a Zoom meeting of the Marion Marine Resources Commission on Monday night, Murphy said, “A few people are going to call and say the Harbormaster’s boat went screaming through the harbor. Yes, that was me, and yeah, we did do that, but there was a reason.”
By Mick Colageo and Marilou Newell