Community rallies to raise swamped dragger in Lubec

Hillary Clinton said it takes a village to raise a child. Lubec fisherman Dana Barker says that it took the fishing village of Lubec to raise his boat, the Simone & Rachel, swamped in the Lubec harbor on January 28. With local fishermen and other members of the community rallying around, he expects to have the boat repaired and ready to go out again soon.

"I couldn't have done it without the salmon crew," Barker says, referring to the men who service the pens of the local salmon farms, owned by Cooke Aquaculture. "Special thanks to Austin Dinsmore, who runs the barge and the hydraulic boom that lifted the boat, also Ronnie Savage, who dove down and put the ropes and straps on the boat to raise it up evenly." The other salmon crew involved were Barry Mahar, Danny Francis and Wade Murray.

Using the hoist on the barge to raise the boat, once it was rigged by Savage, a four-inch hose and a pump on the barge cleared enough water out of the boat to enable the assembled crew to bring it in to the beach. Also helping in the effort were Danny Fitzsimmons, Milton Chute and Wayne Moores. Barker is grateful to the people who stopped by to offer help after they got the boat on the beach C Stephen Tinker, Steve Wallace and Dallas Hood. There were also many other people who offered help.

Fisherman Danny Fitzsimmons claims that, when he called the Coast Guard at Eastport to request help, "they said they would be there momentarily."

Fitzsimmons went down to the dock. "We all waited there till the boat sank.... In the meantime, my wife had someone come up that had stopped by the house to let us know the Coast Guard wasn't coming; Unless there was anyone aboard, they weren't coming."

Fitzsimmons says, "We go out fishing in a whole lot worse than that [30 knots]. I have seen the Coast Guard out there before in 40-50 mile-per-hour winds."

Wayne Moores, sternman on the Simone & Rachel, was alerted to the sinking boat by a call from Milton Chute. Moores phoned Barker, and both met at the harbor on the evening of January 28. When they got there "she was riding low in the water, and the waves soon came over [into the boat]," says Moores. "But we had time," says Barker. "If they [the Coast Guard] had come when they were called, we could have saved her." Barker says that the Coast Guard, after ascertaining that no one was on board the boat, said that they could not come and help.

Barker and Moores watched from the pier as the boat slowly filled with water. "She was leaking a little bit, but not enough to take her down," says Moores. He realized that the scupper plug had popped out. "That's enough [to sink the boat] when it's blowing like that and she's rocking," Moores says.

Barker says the men could do nothing because "it was too dangerous to go out there in a skiff. They [the Coast Guard] should have come. Bottom line, that's what they're there for." Barker says the Coast Guard sent him forms to fill out regarding the sinking, whether any fuel leaked or other hazards remained, with a threat of a fine if the papers were not sent back within days. "There's nothing on the water," Moores reassured. "Nothing came out of the gas barrel."

Chief James Malcolm at the Eastport Coast Guard Station explains the unit's response. "The Coast Guard's general salvage policy states that, basically, that day the weather conditions were outside the limitations of my vessels. My larger vessel is rated for any winds less than 30 knots. The winds were in excess of 30 knots that day, and, this being a salvage situation, no persons being on board, it would be referred to as unduly hazardous for my vessel and my crew." Chief Malcolm says exceptions could be made at a higher level and that "we briefed it through the chain of command and called back" to inform the caller that the Coast Guard would "not be able to respond."

Garry Moores of Lubec, a fishing vessel safety inspector, says, "It was Chief Malcolm's call, but if you asked me to make the same decision, I would make a different decision. It is assistance, not salvage. The Coast Guard pumping out a boat has most certainly been done before." Moores adds, "If all of this is brought to light and discussed, maybe the next boat that needs assistance will be helped.