S-Journey
08-06-2004, 11:23 AM
Just came across this, great story--
How bout that kid Nick Anderson, busy night or what?
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Water rescues come in waves
By Matthew J. Gill/ mgill@cnc.com
Thursday, August 5, 2004
It was a dangerous night to be recreating on the waters of Scituate Saturday as eight boaters and 21 kayakers had to be rescued, and two boats sank to the ocean floor.
As a full moon rose over the night sky, the Scituate Harbormaster's Office received an emergency call at approximately 8:30 p.m. from boaters reporting their engine had failed about one mile off of Scituate's Egypt Beach.
When Scituate Asst. Harbormaster Nick Anderson arrived on the scene from a patrol of the South River, he found Dan Giampietro and Steven Barry of Scituate, and Kevin Ross of Plymouth anchored down in Giampietro's vessel 'The Kasani."
Giampietro said he and his friends had been fishing off Egypt Beach since 5:30 p.m., but were only catching dogfish. They were headed out to the Tarpouch Buoy for more fishing, when their engine failed.
Anderson threw the boaters a tow line and when they cut their anchor he began to tow them in.
As the two vessels headed back to Scituate Harbor, however, Giampietro said he spotted five red flares in the sky, fired from about one mile and a half further out into the ocean.
"We knew a boat was going down, you could tell," Giampietro said.
Because the red flares are an international distress signal, and the towed vessel had been okay when anchored in before, Anderson made the decision to have the men drop a second anchor so he could investigate the emergency.
"At that point they were fine," said Anderson, a 21-year-old student at Mass Maritime Academy, who was working alone on his boat.
Anderson said he told the men he would return for them.
Departing the men, Anderson said he headed east to the flare-site and when he arrived a few minutes later found five people in a 24-foot vessel, and the boat was taking on water.
According to a report in The Boston Herald, Wayne Bjorkman, 38, of Weymouth was boating with his daughter, her husband and two friends when the vessel's engine failed.
The names of the other four boaters were not released by the Coast Guard, who arrived on the scene just moments after Anderson to help out.
"I'm not sure what the failure was," Bjorkman stated. "I hit a patch of rough water and it erupted quickly over the bow and stern."
Coast Guard Petty Officer Dan Farina said the Coast Guard received an emergency call at approximately 8:55 p.m., and nine minutes later Coxswain Petty Officer Wayne Lougee and seamen Dave Snyder and Ron Hope joined Anderson on the scene.
The Coast Guard crew brought the five boaters aboard their boat, Farina said, and with the group safe, Coast Guard officers boarded their vessel and attempted to pump it out but could not keep up with the incoming water.
Giving up on the boat, Farina said the officers returned to their vessel and at 9:15, the boat was completely submerged under water.
The only casualty during the mission was the loss of the Coast Guard's water pump, which went down with the vessel.
At 9:30 p.m., the Coast Guard had the five boaters back on dry land in Scituate Harbor, Farina said.
With the Coast Guard in control of the situation, Anderson said he sped back to where he had left Giampietro, Barry and Ross, but had difficulties finding their vessel.
"I was looking for a boat on the way back," Anderson said. "What I found was just three guys."
During the 30-45 minutes Anderson had been away, "The Kasani" had succumbed to the wind and waves, and when Anderson returned to the scene he found the three shipmates in the water, holding onto its overturned bow and each other.
Because there were no lights on their boat, Anderson said he was "just lucky" he found the three when he heard them yelling. He said he then spotted them by the sinking boat, treading water in their life jackets.
Despite the waves that were crashing around him, Anderson said he was compelled to completely turn off his engine to safely get the three men on board.
Because the lowest spot in the boat is in the back, by the outboard motor, Anderson said it's the easiest place to help swimmers climb aboard from the water.
For safety purposes, however, Anderson said the engine must be completely turned off to protect the swimmers from the rotor's spinning blades.
"It's very difficult to get people on board," said Anderson, who added that stopping the engine "leaves you open to the waves."
"It's necessary," he added. "It's what you have to do."
With the engine stopped, the three men swam over and, with Anderson's help, managed to climb aboard.
The temperature of the water was 63 degrees, Anderson said.
"They were obviously cold and tired," said Anderson, "but they were calm. To be in the water as long as they were, it's exhausting."
After Anderson had left them to see about the emergency, Giampietro said his second anchor wasn't able to grab bottom and a quick change in the wind brought stronger waves, and soon water was pouring into his boat.
"In two minutes we were swamped," said Giampietro who jumped into the water with his two shipmates so they wouldn't be sucked under if the boat sank.
Giampietro said the strong tides caused the men to drift, possibly three quarters of a mile in the direction of Minot, which is why Anderson had a difficult time finding them.
Despite the cold, Giampietro said he wasn't thinking about the temperature while waiting for Anderson to return.
"We knew [Anderson] was coming back," he said. "It didn't get cold until we got into the boat."
When Anderson brought the waterlogged men back to Scituate Harbor, as their boat sunk to the bottom, they were treated by the Scituate Fire and Police departments. Ross was taken to South Shore Hospital to be treated for hypothermia, Giampietro said, and his body temperature only returned to normal Tuesday.
Giampietro complimented the Harbormaster's Office, The Coast Guard, and Scituate Police and Fire for helping them during the emergency, but reserved his highest praise for Anderson.
"I can't tell you enough about Nick," he said. "The kid is just amazing. He's the real hero of the whole bunch."
But Saturday night's adventures in Scituate waters did not end there.
"Just as we were getting the guys out of the boat," Anderson said he heard a call on his boat's emergency scanner, about some kayakers who had lost their way in the Spit.
Harbormaster Frank Regan said he received an emergency call from a kayaker on a cell phone at approximately 10:30 p.m., reporting that 21 people in kayaks were lost in the North and Herring Rivers.
The group, which included one man in his 80s, had begun its adventure at approximately 6 p.m., paddling in their kayaks to view the full moon rise.
During a full moon, Regan said high tides are higher than usual, and on Saturday night the water was so high the North River marshes flooded and became indistinguishable from the channels themselves.
Because of this, those in the kayaks were disoriented and eventually got lost, Regan said.
Two Harbormaster's boats were sent to find the kayakers; Regan joined Anderson and Harbormaster's assistants Joe Noble and Dave Giacomozzi set out in another boat.
Regan said all of the kayakers were located within 30 minutes with the aid of spotlights, but traversing the flooded marshes was not easy work.
"We must have run aground ten times out there," he said. "It's like being out on a lake."
All of the 21 kayakers were okay, Regan said, but after hours in their kayaks some had grown too tired to paddle.
Although Regan said some members of the group were not very experienced, he commented that their instincts to stay together made it easier to locate them.
Some of the kayakers were brought aboard the two Harbormaster's boats for the return trip to the Driftway boat ramp where Scituate Police and Fire were waiting to treat them, Regan said, while others were towed.
"It was quite an adventure for everybody," he added. "We've never had eight people in the water, and 21 kayakers lost on the same night."
Regan applauded the work done by Anderson, who's in his sixth year on the job, and added that the rescued boaters were also "pretty appreciative." This week, Regan also wrote a letter to Selectmen commending the "exceptional skill" he demonstrated throughout the night.
"In the space of four hours," Regan stated in the letter, "Nicholas Anderson participated in the rescue of 29 persons under darkness and dangerous weather conditions. He deserves recognition from the Town of Scituate for his courage, his boating skills and the professional manner in which he performed his duties."
As for the sunken boats, Regan said it would be unlikely that the owners would attempt to retrieve them, but they may surface and wash ashore somewhere.
"I'm already looking for another boat," Giampietro said.
How bout that kid Nick Anderson, busy night or what?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Water rescues come in waves
By Matthew J. Gill/ mgill@cnc.com
Thursday, August 5, 2004
It was a dangerous night to be recreating on the waters of Scituate Saturday as eight boaters and 21 kayakers had to be rescued, and two boats sank to the ocean floor.
As a full moon rose over the night sky, the Scituate Harbormaster's Office received an emergency call at approximately 8:30 p.m. from boaters reporting their engine had failed about one mile off of Scituate's Egypt Beach.
When Scituate Asst. Harbormaster Nick Anderson arrived on the scene from a patrol of the South River, he found Dan Giampietro and Steven Barry of Scituate, and Kevin Ross of Plymouth anchored down in Giampietro's vessel 'The Kasani."
Giampietro said he and his friends had been fishing off Egypt Beach since 5:30 p.m., but were only catching dogfish. They were headed out to the Tarpouch Buoy for more fishing, when their engine failed.
Anderson threw the boaters a tow line and when they cut their anchor he began to tow them in.
As the two vessels headed back to Scituate Harbor, however, Giampietro said he spotted five red flares in the sky, fired from about one mile and a half further out into the ocean.
"We knew a boat was going down, you could tell," Giampietro said.
Because the red flares are an international distress signal, and the towed vessel had been okay when anchored in before, Anderson made the decision to have the men drop a second anchor so he could investigate the emergency.
"At that point they were fine," said Anderson, a 21-year-old student at Mass Maritime Academy, who was working alone on his boat.
Anderson said he told the men he would return for them.
Departing the men, Anderson said he headed east to the flare-site and when he arrived a few minutes later found five people in a 24-foot vessel, and the boat was taking on water.
According to a report in The Boston Herald, Wayne Bjorkman, 38, of Weymouth was boating with his daughter, her husband and two friends when the vessel's engine failed.
The names of the other four boaters were not released by the Coast Guard, who arrived on the scene just moments after Anderson to help out.
"I'm not sure what the failure was," Bjorkman stated. "I hit a patch of rough water and it erupted quickly over the bow and stern."
Coast Guard Petty Officer Dan Farina said the Coast Guard received an emergency call at approximately 8:55 p.m., and nine minutes later Coxswain Petty Officer Wayne Lougee and seamen Dave Snyder and Ron Hope joined Anderson on the scene.
The Coast Guard crew brought the five boaters aboard their boat, Farina said, and with the group safe, Coast Guard officers boarded their vessel and attempted to pump it out but could not keep up with the incoming water.
Giving up on the boat, Farina said the officers returned to their vessel and at 9:15, the boat was completely submerged under water.
The only casualty during the mission was the loss of the Coast Guard's water pump, which went down with the vessel.
At 9:30 p.m., the Coast Guard had the five boaters back on dry land in Scituate Harbor, Farina said.
With the Coast Guard in control of the situation, Anderson said he sped back to where he had left Giampietro, Barry and Ross, but had difficulties finding their vessel.
"I was looking for a boat on the way back," Anderson said. "What I found was just three guys."
During the 30-45 minutes Anderson had been away, "The Kasani" had succumbed to the wind and waves, and when Anderson returned to the scene he found the three shipmates in the water, holding onto its overturned bow and each other.
Because there were no lights on their boat, Anderson said he was "just lucky" he found the three when he heard them yelling. He said he then spotted them by the sinking boat, treading water in their life jackets.
Despite the waves that were crashing around him, Anderson said he was compelled to completely turn off his engine to safely get the three men on board.
Because the lowest spot in the boat is in the back, by the outboard motor, Anderson said it's the easiest place to help swimmers climb aboard from the water.
For safety purposes, however, Anderson said the engine must be completely turned off to protect the swimmers from the rotor's spinning blades.
"It's very difficult to get people on board," said Anderson, who added that stopping the engine "leaves you open to the waves."
"It's necessary," he added. "It's what you have to do."
With the engine stopped, the three men swam over and, with Anderson's help, managed to climb aboard.
The temperature of the water was 63 degrees, Anderson said.
"They were obviously cold and tired," said Anderson, "but they were calm. To be in the water as long as they were, it's exhausting."
After Anderson had left them to see about the emergency, Giampietro said his second anchor wasn't able to grab bottom and a quick change in the wind brought stronger waves, and soon water was pouring into his boat.
"In two minutes we were swamped," said Giampietro who jumped into the water with his two shipmates so they wouldn't be sucked under if the boat sank.
Giampietro said the strong tides caused the men to drift, possibly three quarters of a mile in the direction of Minot, which is why Anderson had a difficult time finding them.
Despite the cold, Giampietro said he wasn't thinking about the temperature while waiting for Anderson to return.
"We knew [Anderson] was coming back," he said. "It didn't get cold until we got into the boat."
When Anderson brought the waterlogged men back to Scituate Harbor, as their boat sunk to the bottom, they were treated by the Scituate Fire and Police departments. Ross was taken to South Shore Hospital to be treated for hypothermia, Giampietro said, and his body temperature only returned to normal Tuesday.
Giampietro complimented the Harbormaster's Office, The Coast Guard, and Scituate Police and Fire for helping them during the emergency, but reserved his highest praise for Anderson.
"I can't tell you enough about Nick," he said. "The kid is just amazing. He's the real hero of the whole bunch."
But Saturday night's adventures in Scituate waters did not end there.
"Just as we were getting the guys out of the boat," Anderson said he heard a call on his boat's emergency scanner, about some kayakers who had lost their way in the Spit.
Harbormaster Frank Regan said he received an emergency call from a kayaker on a cell phone at approximately 10:30 p.m., reporting that 21 people in kayaks were lost in the North and Herring Rivers.
The group, which included one man in his 80s, had begun its adventure at approximately 6 p.m., paddling in their kayaks to view the full moon rise.
During a full moon, Regan said high tides are higher than usual, and on Saturday night the water was so high the North River marshes flooded and became indistinguishable from the channels themselves.
Because of this, those in the kayaks were disoriented and eventually got lost, Regan said.
Two Harbormaster's boats were sent to find the kayakers; Regan joined Anderson and Harbormaster's assistants Joe Noble and Dave Giacomozzi set out in another boat.
Regan said all of the kayakers were located within 30 minutes with the aid of spotlights, but traversing the flooded marshes was not easy work.
"We must have run aground ten times out there," he said. "It's like being out on a lake."
All of the 21 kayakers were okay, Regan said, but after hours in their kayaks some had grown too tired to paddle.
Although Regan said some members of the group were not very experienced, he commented that their instincts to stay together made it easier to locate them.
Some of the kayakers were brought aboard the two Harbormaster's boats for the return trip to the Driftway boat ramp where Scituate Police and Fire were waiting to treat them, Regan said, while others were towed.
"It was quite an adventure for everybody," he added. "We've never had eight people in the water, and 21 kayakers lost on the same night."
Regan applauded the work done by Anderson, who's in his sixth year on the job, and added that the rescued boaters were also "pretty appreciative." This week, Regan also wrote a letter to Selectmen commending the "exceptional skill" he demonstrated throughout the night.
"In the space of four hours," Regan stated in the letter, "Nicholas Anderson participated in the rescue of 29 persons under darkness and dangerous weather conditions. He deserves recognition from the Town of Scituate for his courage, his boating skills and the professional manner in which he performed his duties."
As for the sunken boats, Regan said it would be unlikely that the owners would attempt to retrieve them, but they may surface and wash ashore somewhere.
"I'm already looking for another boat," Giampietro said.