THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611030043
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 55 lines
An Outer Banks charter fishing boat sank in the chilly, choppy waters of the Atlantic on Saturday afternoon, but not before seven passengers and crew were plucked from the crippled vessel by some seagoing good Samaritans.
The Jawbreaker, a 52-foot charter craft, was about 10 miles out to sea when it began taking on water about 3 p.m.
Three nearby boats, The Fast Lane, The Sea Hag and The Sea Breeze rushed to the rescue, braving 35 mph winds and rough seas to save those aboard the sinking ship.
Bill Brown, captain of The Fast Lane, a charter boat based at Oregon Inlet, was less than a mile from the crippled craft when he heard the distress call.
``I really don't know what caused it to go down,'' Brown said Saturday night. ``I heard on the radio that they were taking on water, and that the water felt warm coming into the bilge. I was lying about three-quarters of a mile north of them, so we just shot on up there.''
Brown, 27, who lives in Kill Devil Hills, said the disabled boat was still upright when his boat arrived at the scene, along with The Sea Hag and The Sea Breeze.
``We pulled up alongside and got everybody on board to jump in the water,'' Brown said. ``Everybody seemed real calm.''
Within minutes, all seven passengers were safe aboard the three rescue ships.
``It went smooth as silk,'' Brown said. ``We got two, The Sea Hag picked up four, and The Sea Breeze picked up one. The two we pulled in were good as gold. They were shook up some, but other than that, they were fine.''
Brown said conditions were not the best for an ocean rescue.
``It was rough, certainly rough,'' he said. ``The wind was blowing hard, and the water temperature was about 65 1/2 degrees.''
Saturday's rescue was a first for Brown, who has been a charter captain for two years. For Brown, a former commercial angler, this might have been his best catch ever.
``I sank myself one time when I was doing commercial fishing,'' Brown said. ``It's a good thing that everybody was close by, and we were able to pull together to get them out.''
Brown said as his boat sped from the scene, he took one last look at the sinking ship before it slipped into the cold depths of the Atlantic.
``Only about four feet of the bow on the righthand side was showing,'' Brown said. ``It was sticking out of the water. She was still hanging in there.''
Officials from the U.S. Coast Guard Group Cape Hatteras were investigating the incident Saturday afternoon. The passengers were taken to Pirate's Cove Marina in Manteo, where the Jawbreaker was based.
The Sea Breeze, like The Fast Lane, is based at Oregon Inlet, while the Sea Hag is part of the Pirate's Cove charter fleet.
The names of those rescued were not known.
KEYWORDS: RESCUE AT SEA by CNB