On Dec. 12, a life-threatening situation ended with the successful rescue of two fishermen from the water near Great Duck Island. Islesford fisherman Jack Merrill was hauling traps from his lobster boat, BOTTOM DOLLAR, when he started having difficulty with his engine. Around 9:30 a.m. nearby fishermen saw smoke from Merrill’s direction, but it was not an unusual amount for engine trouble. Joey Wedge, who was a mile away on the AUSTIN MARIE, headed in Merrill’s direction when he noticed the smoke getting darker and thicker. On the BOTTOM DOLLAR, the engine trouble had turned into a fire that disabled the radio before Jack could send a mayday call. As Merrill emptied two new fire extinguishers into the blaze he told his sternman, Les Ricker, to get the survival suits ready. The flames and smoke prevented them from being able to get to the life raft on the cabin roof, but using the extinguishers had given them time to don their survival suits. Once in the water they hung onto lobster crates they had filled with buoys for extra floatation. (Ricker had even thought to toss his lunch cooler into one of the crates.) Five minutes later, Wedge and his sternman, Chris Curran, arrived to find BOTTOM DOLLAR empty and in flames. They circled the burning vessel and found Merrill and Ricker floating in their survival gear on the other side. They quickly pulled them aboard and reported to the Coast Guard that the men were safe. Other boats soon came to the scene, but there was no way to help as they watched the boat burn. When the Coast Guard arrived, their efforts to extinguish the fire were too late, and the BOTTOM DOLLAR sank.
For the rest of the day fishermen checked with each other by radio and talked about the details of the close call. They were not as vocal about their feelings, but many of them were silently sharing a mixture of emotions. Relief, stress, fear, anguish and gratitude only begin to describe that odd feeling in the pit of the stomach. As word of the fire spread on shore, people were experiencing similar reactions. Thoughts and conversations began with the words, “what if,” and ended with the words, “thank God.”
Safety training, accessible equipment in good condition, and the way our fishermen keep track of each other played a part in saving the lives of Jack Merrill and Les Ricker. The luck of good weather was also a factor. When Jack’s boat caught on fire, the seas were calm, visibility clear, and the morning snow squalls, which hampered fishing in Jonesport, had stayed to the east.
A month after the fire, in the middle of January, islanders are settling into their winter routines. It seems to be a different kind of winter with new beginnings and second chances. On Great Cranberry, Norman and Kelly Sanborn have a new baby to keep them busy. Their daughter, Jessica Ann, was born on Dec. 22, doubling the population of children on the big island. All of the Dip of the Month Club members have taken a January swim and Cindy Thomas holds a new record for three dips in January. Steve Philbrook and Sam Hyler have been surfing several times. From their Islesford store, Erin and Aaron Gray have been taking orders for Tuesday night dinner deliveries. Recently they delivered 35 meals of Pad Thai in one-and-a-half hours. The unseasonably mild weather has helped everyone to keep their heating costs down and has been a bonus for those with lobster traps still in the water. Teddy Spurling is about to launch a newly built boat and Jack Merrill’s search for a new boat is narrowing down in a positive way. February is month of preparation for lobstermen as they continue to build new traps, make repairs, rig new buoys and repaint old ones. It is a time to check for proper safety gear, practice how to use it, and make sure it is stored in an accessible location in the wheelhouse. February is also a month of hope that March will bring an early start to a successful and safe spring fishing season.
Islesford, Jan. 17, 2006