Three men were rescued from the water south of the Vineyard Saturday after their 20-foot pleasure craft began taking on water and sank, the Coast Guard said.
As discussion continues about cleanup and a still-incomplete investigation into the July 12 Menemsha fire, the Chilmark selectmen are set to meet with spokesmen for the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday evening.
The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.
A huge fire erupted in the U.S. Coast Guard boathouse in Menemsha yesterday afternoon, completely destroying the 68-year-old building along with an extended wooden pier that leads to the west dock on the Menemsha harbor. Also destroyed in the blaze were at least one truck and an unknown number of small boats nearby. Miraculously there were no injuries save one minor injury to a volunteer fireman, a Coast Guard public affairs spokesman confirmed last night.
On March 25, 1990, the call came over the marine radio channel 16. “This is the fishing vessel Sol e Mar,” said a frantic male voice. “We’re sinking. We need help now!” Then the line was cut and there was only static.
Coast Guard radio monitors on the Vineyard and Nantucket tried to raise the caller without success. A short time later another distress call came in, and this time caller was laughing.
Thinking now that the call was a hoax, the Coast Guard ended the matter.
Five Coast Guardsmen were rescued from a submerged 25-foot response boat on Wednesday during a training exercise 10 miles south of Noman’s Land. The Coast Guard said one of the men suffered an ankle injury while another was treated for hypothermia. They were transported quickly to Menemsha where they were met by paramedics, according to Coast Guard spokesman James Rhodes.
The accident occurred at 11:31 a.m. Seas were three to four feet high. A number of boats were involved in the training exercise.
Menemsha Coast Guardsmen played a large role in a rescue attempt following a collision between a sailboat and power boat in Buzzards Bay on Friday that left an experienced sailor dead.
Coast Guard personnel aboard the Menemsha-based 25-foot rescue boat responded to a mayday call for help shortly after 1:45 p.m.
Senior chief Stephen Barr of the Menemsha Coast Guard station said the boat crew arrived on scene in less than 35 minutes and found another patrol boat already there.