Today's Boating, Coast Guard and Harbormaster news is here.
Cape's lost explorer is found - Posted on Nov 11, 2005
JAMESTOWN, VA - (11/11/05) The human genome can't help those hoping to identify explorer Bartholomew Gosnold, who named Cape Cod and local islands in 1602 and five years later helped colonize Jamestown, Va. Much is known about Gosnold's explorations, but his final resting place has been a modern mystery. Even science can't help.
An archeologist and anthropologist announced yesterday morning in Historic Jamestowne that he and others can't find a close family member of Gosnold's with which to compare DNA to positively identify his remains. Archeologists uncovered an unmarked grave two years ago in Jamestown, where Gosnold died soon after the village was founded. The body was in a coffin - unusual for the time - and had a captain's staff beside it, leading researchers to believe they had found the explorer and settler. It's a notion they still hold to. ''We have never found any other ceremonial objects in Jamestown burials, so we know this was someone very special,'' said Dr. William Kelso, director of archeology for Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. They tracked down where Gosnold's sister and niece were supposedly buried in England. And the Church of England gave permission to uncover their remains, the first time such a scientific endeavor had been approved there. But the niece could not be located beneath her memorial stone and the suspected burial site of the sister turned out to hold a younger woman, perhaps a relative, though not one who would share the same mitochondrial DNA. But rest easy Gosnold lovers, all is not lost.
''Since we were not aware of any other relatives, buried or living, who could provide suitable DNA for testing, we will continue to rely on archaeological and forensic evidence, which in my opinion, strongly indicates that we have found Gosnold's grave,'' Kelso said. Gosnold's contributions are what matters, Martha's Vineyard Historical Society assistant curator Dana Costanza said. ''We knew he died there,'' she said. ''I think the important thing is we knew what he was a part of.'' In 1602, Gosnold sailed aboard the Concord from Falmouth, England in hopes of setting up a trading fort in Virginia. They sailed off the coast of Portugal and then to New England, pioneering the northern route, according to a historical society paper based on both a published journal and account of the trip written by men aboard the Concord. The crew stopped for one day in Maine and then headed south, coming upon a peninsula, one that offered a sea rich in cod. And Cape Cod was named. Next, they came upon an island, one that held an ''incredible store of Vines,'' the Rev. John Brereton wrote. Gosnold named the island Martha's Vineyard, likely after an infant daughter and his mother-in-law who funded his expedition, Costanza said. Further on, they came upon other lands, naming them the Elizabeth Islands after the queen. They settled briefly on Cuttyhunk, where they traded with Wampanoag Indians and shared meals.
But a dispute and an unfriendly encounter with the Wampanoag led to a quick departure, just three months after they arrived. ''Gosnold came, sort of stopped here and then set up something temporary, very temporary on Cuttyhunk and then left,'' Costanza said. It was the first white settlement on the Cape and islands.
Harbormaster responds as Crew is Plucked From Island In Gale - Posted on Nov 10, 2005
CHATHAM — (11/10/05) Two men aboard a stricken 32-foot tuna boat MAXIMUS are lucky to be alive after a four-hour ordeal last Thursday night. Two men, identified as Scott Son of Ashland , Mass. , and Alfred Adams of West Roxbury , were returning to Saquatucket Harbor from a fishing trip off Nauset Beach at around 7:30 p.m. when the trouble began. Son was at the helm when the boat ran into trouble and began to flood quickly. “Either he lost his steering or somehow the boat began taking on water in the rough seas off Monomoy,” Chatham Harbormaster Stuart Smith said.
Without time to issue a distress call, Son and Adams donned survival suits and abandoned the boat, taking with them their emergency radio beacon and a cellular phone. The boat was equipped with a life raft, which apparently did not deploy. At the time, gale warnings were flying for winds gusting to 30 to 35 knots from the southwest, and Smith said seas were probably 10 to 12 feet in Nantucket Sound, with short, choppy seas near Monomoy Point. The men struggled to stay together as they drifted in the darkness, and after 45 minutes, found themselves on the beach. Shortly thereafter, their stricken boat washed up nearby. They called 911 on the cell phone, and the state police called the Coast Guard.
Waterways Commission Attaches Slips To Commercial Boat Sales - Posted on Nov 10, 2005
by William F. Galvin
HARWICH — Four commercial enterprises operating out of town harbors would be allowed to transfer their slips as a condition of the sale of the vessel with little regard for the waiting list under a change in the harbor management plan voted by the waterways commission.
The commission voted to separate and create a new “ferry permit” category for the Freedom Ferry which operates between Saquatucket Harbor and Nantucket . That regulation allows selectmen to transfer the present slip to a new entity.
In an effort to promote fishing and tourism in Harwich, the commission also voted to allow selectmen to transfer the slips of three additional commercial enterprises -- the Yankee and Golden Eagle head boats and Perseverance, a seal watch boat – to new entities.
The commission also voted to freeze the D permit waiting list and allowing those people now on the list to remain until the list is exhausted. While an entity not on that list will have the right to purchase a commercial vessel and access a slip, people on the waiting list would have an opportunity to make an offer of first refusal on the business.
The votes of the waterways commission last Thursday are recommendations to change the harbor management plan. The board of selectmen is expected to hold public hearings on the changes next month. Paul Donovan, chairman of the commission and owner of the Golden Eagle, left the room to avoid a conflict of interest.
Selectmen and the commission scheduled a work session to discuss extending slip transfers with the sale of these commercial enterprises. Board of Selectmen Chairman Ed McManus was the only member present for the discussion.
Harbormaster Thomas Leach said at the onset of the meeting the setting of annual slip fees for the D permit was postponed by selectmen until a determination is made on how to handle the right of these commercial entities to sell the businesses.
Leach cited concerns from recreational boaters for the absence of parking due in part to the ferry and party boats and the adjacent restaurant. The harbormaster said the passenger boats should be paying more for those slips.
The owner of Freedom Ferry, Alan McMullen, is interested in transferring his slip if he decides to sell the business, Leach told the commission. But he also said commercial fisherman Mark Smith, who has a slip, said he will make the case that all commercial slips should have that right.
Leach said a lot of hard work has gone into establishing the ferry operation and there is a sentiment from the board of selectmen they would like to ensure its continued operation.
Sandra Davidson, executive director of the chamber of commerce, said the ferry is a good resource for Harwich, drawing people here and supporting businesses and restaurants. She also pointed out if the ferry is lost, this opportunity to reestablish the business is not likely in the future.
Leach said using a bid process might be the way to approach commercial slip use. Assistant town administrator Rene Read concurred. But McMullen said while the concept is good, it would not be an easy process for a successful bidder to obtain the Steamship Authority license necessary to operate the ferry. Commission member Murray Johnson also cited the logistics of establishing a lease to operate from Nantucket as an additional impediment.
McMullen recommended his operation be separated from the D permit and made an F Permit.
“The general intent is the solution that allows the ferry to operate from Harwich to Nantucket ,” McManus said. “In general we see the business transfer as a benefit in town. There are things we treasure in town like Brooks Academy, the 400 Club and in addition we’d like to see the ferry continue to operate in town.”
The board chairman said he’d like to see the operation enhanced with a different dockage location and ticket booth and urged the waterways commission to continue over the next several years to come up with a way to accomplish it.
“What we ought to be about is not trying to dismantle an operation that is running well and throw a monkey wrench into it and make people jump through hoops,” Johnson said.
Member William McShane put forth a motion to establish the “ferry permit” category. Discussion continued as to whether selectmen “will” or “may” transfer the slip with the sale. It was agreed selectmen “may” transfer the slip upon sale.
McMullen told The Chronicle he does not have any intention of selling the ferry in the near future. He also said he has had offers in the past, but no one has approached him in a long time about purchasing the enterprise.
Johnson-- who had prepared language for three motions, the ferry permit, commercial vessel permit and the D permit waiting list-- asked what the commission wanted to do with the three remaining D permits. The language within the commercial vessel permit identified the function of the vessel as promoting fishing and tourism. Members of the commission supported retention of those vessels for that purpose, agreeing those permits should also be transferred with the sale. There was even discussion about allowing more of those permits in the future. McManus requested a language change so that selectmen “may” transfer the slip, pointing out if someone plans to not use the vessel for fishing or tourism they might not wish to make the transfer. That motion was approved unanimously.
“That Freedom slip and the others as well are worth $100,000 to $150,000 and to allow it to be transferred surprised me,” Harbormaster Thomas Leach said of the commission’s decisions after the meeting.
As for the D permit waiting list, the commission agreed to freeze it, disallowing the addition of names. The list bears seven names: Carl Shoote, Alan McMullen, Peter Spalt, Frank Greiner, Sean McMullen, Jill Shoote and Greg Greiner.
“Don’t use the business to hold those people on the list hostage to buying into it,” Leach cautioned the commission.
The commission recommended those people should have a first refusal provision based on the price of the sale of the commercial enterprise and the list be discontinued when the names on it have been exhausted.
There was discussion about setting the fee scheduled for these newly designated slips, but Leach said he was not prepared at that point to make recommendations. McMullen challenged an earlier proposal that would have increased the D permits by 41 percent, stating $4,000 to $5,000 for the ferry boat is a lot of money. The commission planned to continue that discussion on Wednesday.
Scuba diver drowns near mouth of canal - Posted on Nov 06, 2005
SANDWICH - (11/06/05) The body of a scuba diver was pulled from the frigid waters alongside a jetty at the easternmost mouth of the Cape Cod Canal yesterday afternoon. Bruce J. Switzer, 42, of West Yarmouth drowned in the Cape Cod Bay area near Town Neck Beach - a location notorious for strong currents, officials said.
For almost two hours, rescue crews from the Sandwich fire department and the U.S. Coast Guard combed the area surrounding Scusset Harbor for a man reported missing by his wife around 4 p.m. It was unclear to authorities yesterday how Switzer drowned, but he was diving alone. Switzer might have become entangled in some line, possibly attached to an underwater buoy or lobster trap, according to Timothy McMahon, the fire captain in charge of the rescue effort.
Wareham Harbormaster responds to Cadet swim prank - Posted on Nov 02, 2005
BUZZARDS BAY - (11/2/05) Two Massachusetts Maritime Academy cadets whose late-night Halloween swim triggered a search-and-rescue operation that lasted into early yesterday could face disciplinary action. Along with the Wareham Harbormaster vessel, the Coast Guard mobilized two aircraft and two boats for the mission, which lasted just under two hours. Other agencies responding were the Bourne Fire Department, which deployed a dive team, engine company and rescue unit, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Onset Fire Department, and local police units.
The Coast Guard received an emergency call at 11:58 p.m. Monday about two men in the water off Taylors Point, the western tip of Buzzards Bay where the academy is located. The cadets, both seniors in good standing at the state college, were picked up early yesterday morning by a Wareham police cruiser while they were walking along Onset Avenue in Onset Village. The intelligent duo, believed to be 21 and 22 years old, swam/floated several miles in powerful current westerly into onset harbor from the campus now face disciplinary action pending the outcome of an internal investigation of the incident.
''Their core temperatures were around 94 degrees, so it wasn't much longer that they could have survived,'' according to Coast Guard authorities. Water temperatures in Buzzards and Onset bays have hovered in the low 50s for the past few days.
Salary sought for harbor master - Posted on Oct 28, 2005
TRURO - (10/28/05) A sea change in the status of the town's harbor master position may be the biggest draw for voters at Truro's special town meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Truro Central School. Voters will be asked to change the position's classification from hourly to salaried, at an increased cost of $7,100.''It's a matter of trying to retain a good employee,'' said Town Administrator Pam Nolan. Former Harbor Master Stephen Roderick resigned Aug. 19 for a job with the U.S. Merchant Marine, leaving town officials scrambling to cover the end of the busy boating season at Pamet Harbor.
The result is Article Seven on the Truro meeting warrant, which would set the harbormaster's job at a starting salary of approximately $34,000, and provide for flexibility in scheduling according to weather and other conditions at the harbor. The new position would be an addition of 178 hours over the current position, for a total of 1,600 hours for the year, including 10 hours per month from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28 each year.
$80,000 Patrol boat capsizes at Pier - Posted on Oct 27, 2005
PROVINCETOWN - (10/27/05) Another boat has joined the list of casualties on the pier - the Marine One, the town's patrol boat. It filled with water last Saturday night and turned upside down while efforts were being made to rescue it. Harbormaster Rex McKinsey said Chris Fiset, an assistant harbormaster, checked the boat at 9 p.m. last Saturday and it was fine. But when he made the rounds at 10:30 p.m., he noticed that the boat, a 24-foot Edgewater, had capsized with water awash at the rails. "It was not sunk, not sitting on the bottom, but it was a bad situation," McKinsey said. He and others tried to rescue the boat and in the process, it turned over. With rain coming down hard and with the wind was blowing at 25 miles per hour from the northeast, McKinsey called off the rescue.
McKinsey said the boat was purchased for $80,000 two years ago. He said that since the outlet for its bilge pump is only two inches above the water line, waves could have pushed water into it from where it was berthed. "We've had no problems before with it, and I don't' think this problem is weather related," McKinsey said. "The boat should have been more durable, and the weather should not have been a problem," he said.
No phone, No radio, No brains? Commercial boat rescues drifting fishermen - Posted on Oct 26, 2005
HARWICH - (10/26/05) Two recreational fishermen were rescued Monday by a Chatham commercial fisherman after their 16-foot skiff ran out of gas and went adrift off Harwich. Harwich Harbor Master Tom Leach said Robert St. Pierre was transferring his fishing vessel from Chatham to a safer mooring in Harwich, ahead of yesterday's storm, when he spotted a light flashing across the water. He found two men, Peter Spencer of Amherst and an unidentified passenger, adrift in their skiff, waving a flashlight. The two men had motored out of Bass River Monday and had fished for striped bass off Monomoy.
On the return trip, they encountered a steady wind of around 25 mph that made it hard for them to continue in their small boat. They turned around and headed back to Monomoy, intending to make their way, using the shore of Monomoy to break the wind, into Stage Harbor. But they ran out of gas, drifting for hours until St. Pierre picked them up at about 10 p.m. Monday. He towed them into Harwich. ''They probably have no clue how lucky they are,'' Leach said yesterday.
Harbor Assistant critical after Route 28 hit-and-run - Posted on Oct 25, 2005
HARWICH - (10/25/05) Police continue to investigate a hit-and-run accident that took place Saturday night on Route 28. Police and fire departments responded to a report of a bicyclist struck by a motor vehicle at around 8 p.m. Fire personnel found the victim, harbor master dockhand William Lawrence Chandler, Jr., lying on the roadway. According to Harbor Master Thomas Leach, Chandler was hit on a dangerous S-turn along Route 28 where he was probably walking his bike in the heavy rain that night. ''Larry Chandler is an avid bicyclist. He hasn't owned an automobile for 12 years. He lived on a bicycle,'' said Leach. Chandler is well known around town for his hobbies. Models that he built are displayed in the harbormaster's offices and he likes to read a wide variety of science magazines those around him ''only wish they could read and understand,'' according to Leach. ''He's a very stable part of the harbor master's office,'' said Leach. ''He doesn't know it but he is a very public guy.''
Leach is hoping some publicity will lead to a break in the investigation. ''We're kind of hoping that would leverage finding who did it,'' Leach said. Chandler was transported to Cape Cod Hospital and then on to Boston Medical Center where he remains in critical condition. The police are working to reconstruct the accident scene and looking for anyone who may have been in the area of Route 28 and Brooks Road at the time of the accident. Larry's Journey
Harbormaster Fronzuto receives Charles E. Gould Award - Posted on Oct 11, 2005
SANDWICH - (10/11/05) Dave Fronzuto Nantucket's popular harbormaster has been awarded the Charles E. Gould Service Award at a recent meeting of the Cape Cod Islands Chapter of the Massachusetts Harbormasters Association at Sandwich. At the well attended meeting Chapter president Tom Leach (Harwich) recognized Mr. Fronzuto for his nine years of service with distinction as the President of the Cape & Islands Harbormasters Association. In his tenure, he led the movement to create a harbormaster training academy for Massachusetts. He spearheaded the re-organization of the harbormasters association into four regional chapters promoting cooperation and liaison between units for a common cause.
Cormier is named new harbormaster - Posted on Oct 07, 2005
MARION - (10/07/05) The selectmen last night named a new harbormaster, retired Marion police sergeant and assistant harbormaster Michael H. Cormier. The town received more than 40 applications for the position, all of them screened by the Marine Resources Commission and the town administrator. "The number of qualified people who applied was nothing short of amazing," said Selectman Jonathan F. Henry. The selectmen said they chose Mr. Cormier because of his outstanding references and his ability to follow through on tasks. His salary was not made available last night.
Two boats sink in P'town harbor - Posted on Oct 05, 2005
PROVINCETOWN - (10/05/05) Two mainstays of the local fishing fleet sank early yesterday morning and are expected to be raised sometime this week. The Pat Sea and Joan Tom, two wooden Eastern rig draggers, went down sometime around 3 a.m. according to Provincetown Harbor Master Rex McKinsey. The two fishing vessels are ''part of our traditional fleet. They've both been around a while,'' McKinsey said. ''What happened here is a darned shame.''
No one is sure what caused the boats to go down while berthed in Provincetown Harbor, but it is possible heavy rain could have been a factor. The two vessels were tied to one another or ''rafted up'' in the vernacular of seamen, prior to sinking, according to McKinsey. It is theorized one of the fishing vessels might have taken on water and begun sinking, pulling the other vessel along. McKinsey said the Coast Guard contacted Chris Fortune, owner of the Pat Sea around 3:15 a.m. yesterday when the vessel's electronic locating device emitted signals, alerting the Coast Guard something was wrong. McKinsey said at that time there had been no high wind in the harbor, but rain was falling at a steady rate before and after the call. McKinsey said Fortune arrived at the town pier a short while later, ''but there's nothing much that could be done in the dark.'' Michael Silva, owner of the Joan Tom, arrived a little later.
The Coast Guard assisted the harbor master's staff with initial efforts to contain fuel spilled from one of the vessels. McKinsey estimated 500 gallons of fuel spilled from one of the boats.
A private environmental waste-management and clean-up company was on scene yesterday and expected to return today to mop up. McKinsey said he anticipated the boats will be raised ''as soon as humanly possible.'' Until that happens, the cause of the sinking cannot be determined, he said.
Body of missing boater found - Posted on Sep 14, 2005
HYANNIS - (09/14/05) Officials confirmed that a body found floating near a buoy in the Hyannis channel yesterday afternoon is that of Paul Bertolozzi, the Sandwich boater missing for nearly two days. The 38-hour search for Bertolozzi covered almost 900-square nautical miles of Nantucket Sound and involved state and local police, Good Samaritan boaters and aviators, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and several harbor masters.
Bertolozzi hadn't been seen since Sunday night when his 35-foot pleasure boat Bon Gusto was discovered run aground on Tidewatch Beach in Mashpee. An autopsy will be performed today. However, authorities have said they don't suspect foul play. ''There are no indications of anything other than an accident,'' said Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe.Two local boaters spotted his body shortly before 4 p.m. yesterday about 1½ miles off Gammon Point, according to the Coast Guard. Police yesterday theorized that he may have gone overboard in choppy waters Sunday night.
Bertolozzi, 58, was last seen leaving Edgartown aboard his boat earlier Sunday. He and his wife had gone to Martha's Vineyard from Osterville aboard their boat. Bertolozzi started back to the Cape alone after allegedly quarreling with his wife. The boat's navigational gear on board was running and the engine in gear when the vessel ran ashore in Mashpee on Sunday, according to Coast Guard documents. Bertolozzi's body was recovered by Hyannis firefighters and Barnstable police yesterday, accompanied to the scene by a Coast Guard crew from Woods Hole.
Two Gloucester lobstermen rescued by Harwich Port boater - Posted on Sep 10, 2005
GREAT ROUND - (9/10/05) Coming back from breakfast on Nantucket, J. Shamus Flemming and his girlfriend saw something in the water north of the island approximetaly 1.5 miles northeast of G "15" in Great Round Shoal Channel. ''As I got closer,'' Flemming said, ''I saw two guys waving in the water, hanging onto a piece of wood.'' They were from the 30-foot lobster boat VENTURE out of Gloucester, which sunk north of the island yesterday afternoon, according to the Coast Guard.
The VENTURE had issued a mayday call at 12:53 p.m. from about five miles north of Nantucket's Great Point, said Coast Guard Ensign Nicholas Anderson The 38-year-old boat's steering had malfunctioned, leaving it vulnerable to the five-foot swells that ultimately overwhelmed it, according to the Coast Guard. As their vessel began to sink in more than 40 feet of water, the fishermen deployed their liferaft and set off their emergency radio beacon, according to the Coast Guard.
However, the fishermen were unable to get into the liferaft, Flemming said. Harwich Harbormaster Tom Leach who later talked with Flemming said "this recovery was nothing but remarkable as their life expectancy in the the 60F water was less than one hour with loss of dexterity at 15 minutes according to the tables." "Plus the odds of the happenstance that Shamus decided to take a detour past Great Point Light that afternoon and spot a waving arm is beyond all probability. A million to one shot!" Leach said.
He came across the men and wreckage about 1 p.m. as he was navigating the his boat SHAMUS a 25' Larson to Harwich's Saquatucket Harbor and happened into the area just a short time after the fishing vessel VENTURE had gone down and before the Coast Guard had time to prepare and announce an official Pawn Pawn message on channel 16 the VHF marine radio calling and distress frequency. ''Right place, right time,'' said Fleming, a stockbroker from Paxton.
Flemming brought the men to meet a Coast Guard vessel in Chatham's Stage Harbor, Anderson said. The Coast Guard then brought the fishermen to shore where rescue crews were waiting.
The captain, a 36-year-old Gloucester man, suffered a minor case of hypothermia, the Coast Guard said in a statement issued late yesterday. However, the Chatham Fire Department took his 48-year-old crewman to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis with a possible broken wrist, officials said. The Coast Guard would not release the fishermen's names.
The Venture is owned by Peter C. Marshall of Essex, according to Coast Guard records. The Marine Safety Office in Providence will investigate the incident, the Coast Guard said.
Harwich Asst. Harbormaster Frank Kunz wins USCG Award For Inspections - Posted on Sep 09, 2005
HARWICH - (9/9/05) Harwich Assistant Harbormaster Frank Kunz was honored in August with the First Coast Guard District Bob Childs Auxiliary Award for superior performance while serving as a fishing vessel examiner for the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Kunz, a South Harwich resident, qualified a decade ago to serve as an examiner, He was recognized for providing outstanding leadership, exceptional service and an unwavering commitment to the commercial fishing vessel voluntary dockside examination program. The mission of the program is to improve safety conditions aboard commercial fishing vessels.
Among his services, Kunz implemented a program in Chatham with the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association mandating all members receive an annual dockside examination as well as critical drill training every year. The number of vessels participating in this program in the Chatham/Harwich fleet has increased more than 300 percent in the past two years and is considered remarkable compared with the national participation rate of 10 percent. Kunz was recognized for conducting more than 650 examinations from 1995 to 2004.
Coast Guard weighs options - Posted on Sep 04, 2005
''Without Otis, it would change the climate of the fishing community on Cape Cod,'' predicts Tom Leach, the Harwich harbor master and president of the Cape and islands Harbormasters Association."
OTIS - (9/4/05) For months Coast Guard officials said they wouldn't be able to afford the operation of Air Station Cape Cod without the help of Otis Air National Guard base - and the $17 million in airfield maintenance the Air Guard pays each year. So now that a federal commission has approved plans to close Otis, Coast Guard officials are looking at their options. And they include leaving Cape Cod.
Among the options being considered informally are finding the funds to stay on Otis, transporting the station to Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, or even to Hanscom Air Force Base, a Coast Guard spokesman said. Hanscom is a 1,120-acre base overlapping four eastern Massachusetts suburbs - Lexington, Concord, Bedford and Lincoln - located northwest of Boston.
The critical factor is money. If the Air Guard leaves, the Coast Guard would have to become host of the airfield and base infrastructure, and assume the costs. That would require a budgetary increase of about $15.8 million, or about 300 percent more than the $5.06 million budget in 2005, according to a recent state-funded report. ''Either you move or you take it over,'' said Chief Petty Officer Scott Carr, a Coast Guard spokesman based at First District headquarters in Boston.
The loss of the Coast Guard air station, an Upper Cape institution seen as critical to the region's safety on the water, is what many Cape leaders dreaded as soon as Otis was recommended for closure in May. Even as state officials now prepare a legal fight to save Otis, the home of the Air Guard's 102nd Fighter Wing, many are turning their attention to at least saving the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard station employs more than 400 people. ''I guess this has been our ultimate fear about the Air National Guard issue, that the Coast Guard would be next,'' said Wendy Northcross, CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. ''And it's not just the jobs. It's the system of protection so important to the way of life we lead down here.'' Unless state officials can prevent Otis from being closed, the process will unfold over the next two to six years.
From the Upper Cape air station, Coast Guard pilots for three decades have flown missions over the waters from the Canadian border to New Jersey using a fleet of HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and Falcon jets. While their resources in recent years have been shifted toward homeland security, the traditional mission remains search-and-rescue.
''Without Otis, it would change the climate of the fishing community on Cape Cod,'' predicts Tom Leach, the Harwich harbor master and president of the Cape and islands Harbormasters Association. Nearly 200 commercial fishing boats - from local crews to roving tuna fleets to charter boats - depart from the docks of Harwich alone during the year, Leach said. ''There's lots of traffic out there. Sometimes they'll take a bit of a risk. And they have to because the weather window in New England is so narrow. ''And every other week, we hear stories about the Coast Guard pulling a fisherman off a boat.'' ''It's like cutting off your right arm, for crying out loud,'' he said.
Running an airfield The Upper Cape base has long been viewed by Coast Guard leaders as an ideal location, largely because of the Air Guard's presence. Like other tenants on the Cape's Massachusetts Military Reservation, the Coast Guard relies on the Air Guard to provide electric utilities, wastewater treatment, road maintenance and, most critically, maintenance of the airstrip. That's common for the Coast Guard. In fact, not one of the Coast Guard's 28 air stations nationwide operate their own airfield, Capt. David Brimblecom, former commander of the Cape air station, said earlier this summer. Six stations share their airstrip with a military installation, and the other 22 are located on commercial airports.
If the Coast Guard assumed the role of host, agency officials told the BRAC commission in June, it would have to hire another 100 employees. ''We are not in the business of running airfields,'' Brimblecom said. ''It's out of our league budget-wise.'' What also makes the Cape an ideal location is the geography: It sits squarely in the middle of the Coast Guard's first district. ''If we had to move farther to the south, it would affect our ability to cover the western gulf of Maine,'' Carr said. If the air station moves north, he said, it will take longer to reach points in Long Island Sound and New York.
The Coast Guard's own standards require air station crews to reach their targets within two hours of notification 95 percent of the time. In choosing a location for an air station, Carr said, ''that's one of the things they have to consider.'' ''Helicopters and aircraft can get there faster than boats can, and they can cover more ground.'' U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, the Cape's congressman, has called the Pentagon's plan to move Otis without considering the effects on the Coast Guard ''bordering on unconscionable.'' He warns that moving the station off Cape threatens the safety of boaters and fishermen in area waters. ''Let's just say there was a transformation of some of the (station's) assets to Rhode Island,'' Delahunt suggested this week. ''That makes a huge difference for a boat off the coast of Maine.
If the Coast Guard loses its military host, however, there is the potential of gaining a municipal host. On the Mid-Cape, Frank Sanchez, deputy manager of Barnstable Municipal Airport, said the Coast Guard has not yet asked airport officials about the possibility of establishing an air station there. But Sanchez said space could be made available for an air station at BMA, although the Coast Guard would need to build a hangar. Coast Guard helicopters and jets have used Barnstable's runways for years during emergency operations. ''The Falcon jets come in here all the time,'' he said. Martha's Vineyard Airport Manager Scott Flynn also said his airport could offer the Coast Guard space, but not a hangar. Flynn said Vineyarders would probably welcome an air station, because of their geographic isolation.
Man drowns in treacherous water, Chatham Harbormaster recovers - Posted on Aug 27, 2005
CHATHAM - (8/27/05) After a dramatic two-hour air and sea search yesterday afternoon, rescuers located the body of a 25-year-old Chatham man who had drowned in waters notorious for treacherous rip currents. Chatham harbor master patrollers pulled the body of Matthew Matsik from an area known as the Break or the Chatham Bars shortly before 6 p.m. The Break is the water east of what locals call the Tombolo, a swath of sandy land mass that connects South Beach and the popular Lighthouse Beach. Matsik's body was found less than a mile from the Chatham Lighthouse and Coast Guard station.
Several hundred beachgoers watched as at least three dozen rescuers from Chatham, the Coast Guard and the Mid-Cape dive team combed the waters that hug Lighthouse Beach, the Tombolo and the northern tip of South Beach. ''This was a very unfortunate accident,'' said Chatham Fire Captain Peter Connick, who headed rescue efforts. Connick said Matsik, a graduate of Nauset High school and avid Red Sox fan, was last seen alive shortly before 4 p.m. as he was swimming roughly 50 to 100 feet offshore from the southern section of the Tombolo near South Beach. ''He was the most loving, kind and caring person in the world,'' said his sister Carly, 21. ''He loved spending time with his family and would do anything for anybody.''
Matsik grew up in Chatham with his sister, brothers Andrew, Jeff and Nicholas and his parents, Marcia and Gary. ''My brother was the biggest Red Sox fan, he watched every game,'' Carly said. ''He called me the night they won the World Series and he was so unbelievably happy.'' Matsik's sister said Matt also relished attending cookouts with his family. ''He loved to talk about everything,'' she said. ''He was a great, great person.'' It can take more than 20 minutes to walk from where people typically swim at Lighthouse Beach to the coastline where Matsik apparently entered the water. ''It appears that he got caught in a dangerous area where the water is very cold and there's a significant current, Connick said. ''He was out a pretty far distance.''
Lighthouse Beach, the Tombolo and South Beach are not officially designated as town swimming beaches because of the rip currents that can form during both low and high tides, according to Chatham Harbor Master Stuart Smith. Still, this area is one of the more popular places to swim in town because of the vistas of the Chatham bars. No lifeguards are stationed at Lighthouse Beach, and there are two clearly visible hazard signs that warn people about the unforgiving currents. There were only a few beachgoers who actually saw Matsik flail for help as he was apparently unable to fight the currents, according to witnesses. Paul Blanco of Carlisle was boogie-boarding with a friend on the north side of Lighthouse Beach, a few hundred feet from where Matsik was last seen. Blanco and his friend became tired and flagged a nearby patrol officer from the harbor master's department to take them back to land. Smith said at least one patroller spends a significant amount of time in the waters in front of the Chatham Lighthouse every day. As the trio rounded the northern tip of Lighthouse Beach toward the shore, they spotted a unidentified man who said he had heard distressed calls from a man now identified as Matsik. Matsik was swimming near the man around South Beach when he apparently started calling for help, according to that man's wife, who only identified herself as Henrietta from Lexington. ''He was further out than my husband was, and I heard him yelling something from where I was on shore,'' Henrietta said. ''At that point, I couldn't get whether he was saying hello or help.'' The woman said she called 911. Her husband, who also heard the distress calls, stayed in the water to search for Matsik.
Four harbor patrollers and one Coast Guard rescue boat were dispatched into the water. The Coast Guard also deployed a rescue helicopter that scoured the area, according to Connick. The Mid-Cape dive team, which includes rescuers from Chatham, Harwich, Brewster, Dennis and Orleans, aided in the search. Matsik's body was eventually found 50 to 75 feet from where he was last seen, Smith said. Matsik's body was taken to the Chatham Fish Pier area while rescuers broke the news to about a half-dozen family members gathered on the deserted beach.
Only a few days before, a near death was avoided near ''The Break'' after several boaters pulled a man with hypothermia from 13-foot swells. Both Smith and the fire captain warned that currents can form even if the surf doesn't appear to be rough. They recommend that beachgoers never swim alone and tell people where they are swimming at all times.
Gridlock meets grid work - Posted on Aug 23, 2005
Mattapoisett uses GPS to increase number of harbor moorings
MATTAPOISETT - (8/23/05)) Harbormaster Steven T. Mach spent last summer physically counting every town-owned mooring and then inputting the exact locations into a database using a GPS tracking system. It's a high-tech process for a wharf best marked by a white-and-green harbormaster shack and an ice cream stand called The Slip. But this systematic mapping will produce additional town-owned moorings -- a commodity in great demand as the mooring waiting list stretches year after year.
Already the initial re-organization of the harbor -- called "re-gridding -- has yielded 10 to 12 new moorings, Mr. Mach said. "There will be new openings in other locations," he recently told the Board of Selectmen. "This will eliminate lots of headaches for us." It will also allow the town to take people off the waiting list and give them their long-awaited moorings. The Mattapoisett mooring list has stretched to roughly 150 people, with waits averaging 10 to 15 years, according to Town Clerk Barbara Sullivan. The town expects to complete the re-gridding project within the next three years with the pro bono help of the Mattapoisett Boatyard, Mr. Mach said. Mattapoisett is one of the first SouthCoast towns to undertake a harbor re-gridding. More...
Harwich man survives shipwreck on The Chatham Break - Posted on Aug 23, 2005
CHATHAM - (8/23/05) Garry Stephens could see little through the dense Chatham fog suffocating the treacherous area known as ''The Break'' Sunday morning. Stephens an assistant Harbormaster for Harwich does not often look for trouble but somehow he has a knack for finding it. But it wasn't the fog he was worried on his day off. Instead, he was focused on navigating the 13-foot ocean swells knocking his 28-foot cruiser WHITE CAP back and forth like a pendulum. Soon, he had another problem.
His grandson, Peter Whitman Stephens Jr., caught sight of a limp figure floating among bottle shards, empty gasoline cans and shattered wood, about one mile east of the Chatham Lighthouse. The crew - which also included Stephens' son Peter and family friend Chris Doolan - would later learn that who they saw was Jeffrey McCarty, a father, husband and Chatham town employee. But at that moment, all they knew was that something terrible had happened. Stephens cautiously brought his vessel closer to the wreckage, negotiating the treacherous seas to avoid a similar fate. It was a roller coaster ride, the bow pointing skyward then slamming back into the sea as the crew held on for their lives. At times, the waves were forceful enough to lift the WHITE CAP completely above the water. When they reached the wreckage, they saw a bloodied and blue-faced McCarty, who had somehow wrapped both arms in life jackets and managed to shove one arm into a cooler, staying buoyant.
The barely conscious 56-year-old town worker still doesn't know how he was able to keep his head above water after unwillingly guzzling several pints of seawater. ''It was an absolute disaster in there,'' Stephens said about the area surrounding the cut known as The Break, separating North and South (Nauset) beaches before entering the Atlantic Ocean. ''Any rational thought would have been to leave immediately to save yourself,'' he said.
McCarty knows he wouldn't be alive today if his four rescuers were thinking rationally. Stephens and his mates soon got close enough to hoist an incandescent orange buoy toward McCarty, and then drag the waterlogged man from certain death. McCarty estimates that he was in the 59-degree ocean for about 30 minutes after the engine of his white, 19-foot sport fishing boat failed. ''If they had come just 10 minutes later, I wouldn't have made it,'' said McCarty, who lives in Harwich with his wife and two children. He's been a building maintenance worker in Chatham for eight years. Like Stephens' group, McCarty had his sights set on a day of fishing when he left around 7 that morning. But unlike the Stephens crew, which also set out around 7 a.m., McCarty was a novice boater who said he should've taken more precautions. Stephens, his son, and grandson are experienced boaters and left from Round Cove. Unlike some boaters who turned back after encountering the rough surf, the group wanted to make it to the prime fishing grounds in the Atlantic. Fate could not have delivered a better crew to McCarty. Stephens is a part-time Harwich wharfinger. His son Peter was a paramedic in West Virginia for many years. Once they dragged McCarty aboard, Peter wrapped him in extra clothing to increase his body temperature. While this was happening, Doolan coordinated rescue efforts with local authorities and the Coast Guard. It wasn't an easy task for his first boat trip. ''I wanted to catch something but I didn't know I'd help pull in a 230-pound man,'' he said of his voyage.
Sea conditions were too rough to transfer McCarty to a Coast Guard vessel, so two assistant harbor masters arrived around 8:15 a.m. and escorted the weary boaters to land. One of the harbor masters, Lee Tallman, later urged boaters to check tides and boating conditions before setting out to sea. McCarty doesn't recall too much about the incident, though he remembers his head repeatedly smashing against the boat's side. ''I don't know how cosmic to get,'' he said. ''But I was just trying to put one foot in front of the other, trying to do whatever it took to stay alive.'' Miraculously, the unlucky boater had only a few bruises and returned to work yesterday. ''If there is ever a guy who needs a day off, it is him,'' joked Stephens.
After McCarty's rescue, Stephens and his group made the most of their fishing excursion by reeling in three stripers and nine bluefish later that day. Stephens and his wife, Suzanne, invited McCarty and the rescue crew to his Harwich home for mesquite-soaked seafood last night. McCarty greeted his rescuers with hugs at the first reunion since his accident. ''These fellows are my heroes,'' he said. ''I owe my life to them.''
Loss of Dinghy Dock will cause harbor access problem - Posted on Aug 05, 2005
EDGARTOWN (8/5/05) When most towns recognize the importance of improving landing space Edgartown is about to lose theirs, effecting access to the water for hundreds of boaters. A proposal by the new owners of the Navigator Restaurant in Edgartown to relocate the dinghy docks outside the restaurant has commercial and charter fishermen up in arms. "This is the biggest move the town has made on the harborfront since I've been the harbor master," said Charles J. Blair Jr., who has been in charge of the Edgartown harbor for 10 years. "This is a pretty big deal," he said.
Slated to go into effect in May of 2006, the plan saw quick approval with little or no public discussion this week. It surfaced for the first time at the weekly selectmen's meeting Monday and was approved by the park and recreation department yesterday morning. More...
Marion Harbormaster calls it quits - Posted on Aug 01, 2005
MARION - (8/1/05) Somewhere in the Gulf Stream during the recent Marion-Bermuda Race Charles Bradley turned to his crewmate and friend John Potito and said "that's it I'm not going back". What Charlie meant was he had made his mind up that he was about to pull the plug on his career as the harbormaster of busy Marion Harbor. After a frustrating year and a half of dealing with directives and changes in management style which can come with a new Town Manager, Charlie, age 62, has decided to retire from the job and tight-knit community he truly loves. He was recently replaced by his friend John Potito who has agreed to act as harbormaster for the balance of this season until a full selection process can begin at Town Hall.
During mooring inquisitions in 2003 Bradley expounded that "Some people seem to assume (their mooring) is a god-gifted right, but you have to be fair to everyone". Bradley was known as the "keeper" of the 1819 Bird Island Light and worked hard for three years in a preservation effort the Bird Island Lighthouse Preservation Society. For many years he had served as a Marion police officer and shellfish constable and later an assitant harbormaster. He was appointed as the harbormaster in 1999 when George Jennings retired.
The Cape & Islands Harbormasters Association wishes Charlie and Priscilla the very best in his retirement.
Dozens Rescued From Chatham Spit - Posted on Jul 28, 2005
CHATHAM (7/28/05) On Friday, Donald St. Pierre, a member of the town’s waterways committee, was having lunch near the Coast Guard station when he noticed 40 to 50 people on a newly formed sand spit near Lighthouse Beach, watching the seals. A number of the people were in the water, and as St. Pierre watched, two children were swept out to the channel. Crowds on Lighthouse Beach. “Two grown-ups went out and grabbed one of the kids and pulled them back,” St. Pierre said. And the small Lighthouse Beach patrol boat, which was on station nearby, promptly retrieved the other. “And then 10 minutes later, two more kids got swept out,” St. Pierre said. The assistant harbormaster on the patrol boat picked up those two kids, “and unbeknownst to him, three more people got swept out behind him.” The assistant harbormaster noticed the other people, retrieved them, and brought all five back to the beach. St. Pierre said he was mystified that, even as children were being rescued just offshore, other parents were allowing their kids to keep playing in the dangerous water. Wind and tide conspired to create perilous conditions at Lighthouse Beach over the weekend.
By Sunday, nearly two dozen swimmers and waders who entered the water from the end of the sand spit were sucked into the harbor channel, and had to be rescued by the harbor patrol. A number of swimmers were exhausted and frightened, but there were no injuries. A number of other rescues took place Saturday, according to Harbormaster Stuart Smith, and on Sunday, two boats were needed to retrieve all of the swimmers in distress. Many of the victims were young children on boogie boards, Smith said. On Monday, two or three kayakers had to be brought ashore when they started having trouble navigating the surf, currents and high winds near the beach. No one was hurt.
HYANNIS - (7/18/05) A bomb threat called in to Hy-Line Cruises Sunday night put a freeze on all ferry travel in and out of Nantucket, stranding at least 170 people on the island while officials scoured vessels and luggage in search of explosives. No evidence of bombs was found in the search and the investigation into the origin of the threat continues today. The call came in to the boat line's Nantucket ticket office at 8 p.m. from an adult male who gave an unspecific threat about a Hy-Line vessel blowing up if it left the Nantucket port, a Hy-Line vice-president said.
Between 30 and 40 of the stranded riders spent the night in the Nantucket High School gymnasium, where they slept on cots and ate donuts and peanut butter sandwiches. Others stayed at local motels or with friends. The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority was also forced to cancel at least one trip from the island to Hyannis Sunday night. Passengers - some weary from a night on the gym floor and others rushing to get to work - arrived back in Hyannis Harbor on the Hy-Line's high-speed boat Grey Lady this morning.
U.S. Coast Guard officials said last week that ferry security would be elevated indefinitely following the July 7 London bombings, which cost 55 people their lives.
Harbormaster Certification Bill makes it out of Committee - Posted on Jul 14, 2005
BOSTON - (7/14/05) Thanks to the strong effort by MHA president David Fronzuto (Nantucket) the Senate Bill 506 has made it out of the "Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture". In his impassionate speech before the State House Committee July 11th, Fronzuto said that "in today's heightened public safety environment, harbormasters have a great responsibility to ensure the safety of those using the Commonwealth's harbors and those living or working near them. As such, harbormasters should be required to receive minimum amount of initial and in-service education as established by an appropriate certifying body".
"The need for this legislation cannot be overstated. Harbormasters and assistant harbormasters are now in a greater risk position in the post-9/11 environment. As the United States Department of Homeland Security has recognized, harbors are a potential entryway for terrorists threats. As such Harbormasters and assistant harbormasters now assume greater risk in carrying out theirs duties. They must be educated to appropriately respond to changes in enforcement due to such threats - education that can be only provided through initial and continuing education."
We talked with Dave the following day. He was very positive knowing that, in his new position of president of a unified harbormasters association, he represents the entire harbormaster community. As he said, "standing before a joint committee of senators and representatives it was very powerful when I told them that I represented all Massachusetts Harbormasters".
Harbormasters testify for Homeland Security - Posted on Jun 29, 2005
BOSTON - (6/29/05)The State House Committee on Public Safety heard Bill 1882 which says "a harbor master shall be considered a first responder for the purpose of qualifying for any federal homeland security funds provided to the commonwealth". The Bill sponsored by Wareham State Representative Susan Gifford(R) pushes the opportunity for the Harbormasters Community to gain valuable resources that both police and fire have enjoyed. Bourne Harbormaster George Weinert who pressed Gifford to sponsor the bill and CIHA president Tom Leach (Harwich) were on hand to speak about the positive points of making Harbormasters eligible.
Cape's lost explorer is found - Posted on Nov 11, 2005
An archeologist and anthropologist announced yesterday morning in Historic Jamestowne that he and others can't find a close family member of Gosnold's with which to compare DNA to positively identify his remains. Archeologists uncovered an unmarked grave two years ago in Jamestown, where Gosnold died soon after the village was founded. The body was in a coffin - unusual for the time - and had a captain's staff beside it, leading researchers to believe they had found the explorer and settler. It's a notion they still hold to. ''We have never found any other ceremonial objects in Jamestown burials, so we know this was someone very special,'' said Dr. William Kelso, director of archeology for Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. They tracked down where Gosnold's sister and niece were supposedly buried in England. And the Church of England gave permission to uncover their remains, the first time such a scientific endeavor had been approved there. But the niece could not be located beneath her memorial stone and the suspected burial site of the sister turned out to hold a younger woman, perhaps a relative, though not one who would share the same mitochondrial DNA. But rest easy Gosnold lovers, all is not lost. 
CHATHAM - (8/23/05) Garry Stephens could see little through the dense Chatham fog suffocating the treacherous area known as ''The Break'' Sunday morning. Stephens an assistant Harbormaster for Harwich does not often look for trouble but somehow he has a knack for finding it. But it wasn't the fog he was worried on his day off. Instead, he was focused on navigating the 13-foot ocean swells knocking his 28-foot cruiser WHITE CAP back and forth like a pendulum. Soon, he had another problem. 
EDGARTOWN (8/5/05) When most towns recognize the importance of improving landing space Edgartown is about to lose theirs, effecting access to the water for hundreds of boaters. A proposal by the new owners of the Navigator Restaurant in Edgartown to relocate the dinghy docks outside the restaurant has commercial and charter fishermen up in arms. "This is the biggest move the town has made on the harborfront since I've been the harbor master," said Charles J. Blair Jr., who has been in charge of the Edgartown harbor for 10 years. "This is a pretty big deal," he said.