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Here is a post from another site by poster Shipmate Bill. Thank God everyone is ok. Both boats are Jersey boats. Reportedly on the West wall of the Hudson.
So yesterday started as a typical canyon trip. Ice the boat, load all the gear check and recheck and head for the deep blue. We start trolling and put a nice 50-60 lb yellowfin in the box right at sunset. We set up on the drift and we're sliding down the wall and eventually we're going to drift into the deep. Perfect!! Set the lines and almost immediately we hook another fish which ends up being a ~70 lb hammer head. We release him and continue fishing. Then the crazy starts. Radio starts in around 1230 with we're taking on water, bilge pumps can't keep up, engines won't start here's our position. We punch in the numbers and we're less than 5 miles away. We immediately clear the decks and start running. We get to the last position and there's nothing. We start heading downwind and 1/2 mile down we hit the debris field - someone sunk. we keep going and see a faint red light and start heading towards it for another 1/4 mile and a flare blows up less than 100 yards in front of us. From the tower in the red light of the flare i can see the life raft and guys waving their arms. We come down on them and all my captain and AB training kicks in. We're asking all the appropriate questions and find out everyone on the sunken vessel is in the life raft wearing life jackets, no medical conditions no injuries. We pick up the guys and i find out the second captain who called the mayday is a friend of mine and was never happier to hear the Fat Cat was coming to assist. After everyone was on board and calmed down we checked them to make sure no one was shocky and headed for the barn. I've never been in a life raft but from what my buddy said it was the longest 15 minutes of his life, especially after watching the self deploying epirb get tangled up and go down with the ship. These guys were well shaken and wouldn't take their life jackets off until they were on dry land. I've fished offshore since i was a little kid. I learned more last night about safety and fishing offshore than i ever wanted to. You never know whats going to happen out there and last night was a night i'll never forget.
So yesterday started as a typical canyon trip. Ice the boat, load all the gear check and recheck and head for the deep blue. We start trolling and put a nice 50-60 lb yellowfin in the box right at sunset. We set up on the drift and we're sliding down the wall and eventually we're going to drift into the deep. Perfect!! Set the lines and almost immediately we hook another fish which ends up being a ~70 lb hammer head. We release him and continue fishing. Then the crazy starts. Radio starts in around 1230 with we're taking on water, bilge pumps can't keep up, engines won't start here's our position. We punch in the numbers and we're less than 5 miles away. We immediately clear the decks and start running. We get to the last position and there's nothing. We start heading downwind and 1/2 mile down we hit the debris field - someone sunk. we keep going and see a faint red light and start heading towards it for another 1/4 mile and a flare blows up less than 100 yards in front of us. From the tower in the red light of the flare i can see the life raft and guys waving their arms. We come down on them and all my captain and AB training kicks in. We're asking all the appropriate questions and find out everyone on the sunken vessel is in the life raft wearing life jackets, no medical conditions no injuries. We pick up the guys and i find out the second captain who called the mayday is a friend of mine and was never happier to hear the Fat Cat was coming to assist. After everyone was on board and calmed down we checked them to make sure no one was shocky and headed for the barn. I've never been in a life raft but from what my buddy said it was the longest 15 minutes of his life, especially after watching the self deploying epirb get tangled up and go down with the ship. These guys were well shaken and wouldn't take their life jackets off until they were on dry land. I've fished offshore since i was a little kid. I learned more last night about safety and fishing offshore than i ever wanted to. You never know whats going to happen out there and last night was a night i'll never forget.
