Marshfield harbormasters called for two saves in two days

June 22, 2016

By Hannah Sparks, Marshfield Mariner

Two Marshfield assistant harbormasters, Robert Hayes and Eli DiTullio, rescued a Hanson couple who were out fishing from their sinking boat Monday, June 20.

For them, it wasn’t an act of heroism, however. Rather, it was just training kicking in. And it was the second time in two days the Marshfield harbormasters were called to the rescue. 

At about 3:20 p.m., Hayes said the harbormasters’ office received a call from police, who received a 911 call reporting a 21-foot sea pro cabin cruiser vessel taking on water.

The call came out of Blue Fish Cove in Green Harbor, but when Hayes and DiTullio got there, no one was in sight. They encountered several other vessels a bit farther out to sea, but none were in distress. They immediately went into a search pattern, and during their first pass, DiTullio spotted something white flashing in the water that didn’t appear to be a buoy.

“When you look at the waves, the white caps come and go, but this wasn’t moving. It was just a constant shape in the water,” DiTullio said. 

As the two assistant harbormasters approached the flash of white, they saw two adults, a man and a woman, clinging to the white point of the submerged boat's bow and a white cooler. Either one could have been the item DiTullio say, Hayes said, joking that he should be called “Eagle Eye Eli” from now on.

“When his motor caught on the lobster pot line, with the wind, it held the stern to the sea. The waves were coming over the stern,” Hayes said.

The vessel was at least a mile off the coast, in about 40 feet of 62-degree water. The man told Hayes the boat was down as soon as water started coming in and fast, making attempts to bail it out pointless. Hayes said he was lucky to get a call out when he did.

“They were smart, and stayed with the boat,” DiTullio said.

Had they tried to swim ashore, they would not have been able to see them and rescue them, Hayes added.

The couple were wearing life jackets, but had been in the choppy water for 15 to 20 minutes. The cool water temperature was causing the couples’ muscles to cramp up, making those life jackets all the more crucial, Hayes said. 

“It might have made the difference, actually,” he said.

Hayes and DiTullio pulled the couple aboard and wrapped them in the blankets. The Marshfield Fire Department met them at the pier and looked over the couple in an ambulance. They were both cold and shaken, and the man had suffered some scrapes, but neither of them was transported to the hospital.

The assistant harbormasters then brought the couple back to Green Harbor Marina, where they got in their truck and drove away. A towing service was notified of the sunken boat so it can be salvaged. 

Training helped guide Hayes and DiTullio’s efforts. 

“Having this job, you know something like this can happen, so you just want to make sure you know where everything is, and you have the training to help,” DiTullio said.

Just two hours before the incident, he said they were working on de-watering pump training, a device that could have been used to save the boat had it not been submerged.

Though the crew is often called out to help kayakers or paddleboard users who get blown out too far off shore and require assistance, it’s rare that they get called to a sinking vessel.

“It’s dangerous out there, it really is, but that’s why we’re here,” Hayes said.

Harbormaster Mike DiMeo said things happen quickly on the water, and that he was proud of his crew for how they handled the situation.

“Those guys utilized the tools we give them and saved two lives. It was a great rescue, and it just shows the importance of having a very trained and well-equipped department,” he said.

It was the second time in two days first responders had to go into rescue mode in Marshfields' waterways.

On June 19, a Wakefield man attempting to load a boat onto a trailer lost control, sending his truck and trailer into Green Harbor.

Dozens of onlookers gathered to watch as divers worked to attach the fully submerged Ford F250 truck and trailer to cables. A large tow truck from Andy’s Towing then pulled them out.

Assistant Harbormaster John Toomey said he was told the truck and the trailer started to jackknife as the man was backing down the ramp into the water, causing him to panic. No one was hurt and both the truck and the trailer had been removed by about 3:30 p.m. 

“That’s two days, and three people that have been assisted, but that’s why we’re there,” DiMeo said. “It’s going to be a very busy season.” 

Public safety is paramount, he said, and offered some safety tips for boaters getting back out on the water as boating season really kicks off. 

He advised boaters to always have a “float plan” either with a friend or with the harbormasters’ office, saying who is on board, where they are going, and when they plan to return by. That way, if something happens, people will know when to start getting concerned.

In the end though he said it’s important that people know how to operate their vessel, and that at least one other person on board knows how to work safety and communications equipment, especially the VHF radio which issues mayday calls. 

“Always operate within your skill set, with the experience that you have, boat with other experienced boaters, watch the weather,” DiMeo said, adding that if the weather is bad, you can always go out another day.