What do you get when the weather is super fine for boating and you are the harbormasters of very popular seaside locations – oh, and toss in a summertime holiday weekend? You get busy.
As summer winds down in fine weather style, Isaac Perry, Marion harbormaster, and Jamie McIntosh, Mattapoisett harbormaster, found their departments in high demand as several incidents required the rescue skills that boaters depend on during times of distress.
Both Marion and Mattapoisett departments participated in a rescue off Cleveland’s Ledge on Saturday. Perry and McIntosh confirmed that, by the time they were on the scene, a commercial fishing boat had pulled three people from their sinking boat. Perry said the boat was full of construction supplies as the boaters were contractors heading to the Cleveland Ledge Lighthouse, now privately owned, to do renovation work. “We recovered eight sheetrock panels as well as assisting in righting the vessel,” Perry stated. Mattapoisett transported the boaters to Bourne, where they declined further assistance.
Over in Mattapoisett, McIntosh said his team was busy all weekend with a small capsized sailing craft. No one was injured and the sailor was removed from the water, assisted with righting the boat, and sailed on.
A near-drowning occurred off Barstow Wharf in Mattapoisett when a boater was unable to swim into shore from their boat. The person in the water was brought to shore and received first aid before being transported to the hospital. McIntosh said the swimmer was not seriously injured.
Rounding out the weekend calls, Mattapoisett Harbormaster’s department responded to a call for help when a jet ski ran out of fuel near Ram Island and people on-shore heard someone calling for help. No injuries were sustained.
Perry said with a chuckle, “We had lots of people in the harbor … mooring lines that needed untangling, just lots of stuff.”
By Marilou Newell