One of three fishermen who were rescued off the South Shore of Massachusetts said he is feeling thankful to be alive after the vessel he and the others were on capsized in frigid seas.Joe Roderick, the mate of the surf clam boat “Bing Bing” out of Gloucester, spoke with sister station WCVB on Wednesday as Roderick sat in his bed at South Shore Hospital.Roderick and two others were fishing off the coast of Scituate, about 40 minutes outside of Boston, Tuesday afternoon. The crew was on its third or fourth haul when Roderick noticed that their 55-foot vessel was leaning hard. “Normally, boats will lean to one side when you’re hauling back, and this boat just kept leaning,” Roderick said from his bed at South Shore Hospital. “The next thing I know, the rail — which is about five or six feet from the water — was touching the water. So he turns around and he goes to run inside the wheelhouse to go let out a Mayday/SOS call to the Coast Guard, and he didn’t make it to the door.”Roderick said that is when the entire boat flipped over, which sent him and the other two fishermen into the ocean.Scituate Town Administrator James Boudreau said the town’s emergency dispatch center received a 911 call shortly after 2:35 p.m. Tuesday from a woman who reported that she saw a boat sinking off the coast of Humarock Beach.That woman, Pam Harght, told WCVB on Tuesday that she saw the sinking vessel while walking the beach near her home that overlooks the water. She said the boat went down in a matter of about 90 seconds.”A lot of black smoke and then the boat just disappeared. I was like: ‘This is not good,'” Harght said. Members of the Scituate Harbormaster’s Office; Scituate police and fire departments; Marshfield Harbormaster’s Office and U.S. Coast Guard responded to the scene. “We had three victims clinging for life,” said Scituate Fire Chief John Murphy. “They were in the water close to 45 minutes to an hour already.”Murphy said the water temperature was 42 degrees with about 4- to 6-foot seas. The fire chief also noted the fishermen had ingested a lot of water and diesel fuel as they clung to an inflatable black hose, which is used by fishermen use to churn up the bottom of the ocean.Roderick suffered deep bruises on both of his arms from clinging to the inflatable hose for nearly an hour in the ocean.”We were in the water just making small talk, just to keep each other alert,” Roderick said. “A million things ran through my head: ‘Am I going to make it home to see my daughters?'”Drone video recorded by the Scituate Fire Department showed that the ocean water near the scene had a deep red hue, likely the vessel’s diesel fuel.”It was a tough situation for them. We were fortunate to get all three out,” Murphy said.Two of the fishermen were brought aboard a Scituate Harbormaster’s Office boat, while the other was brought aboard a Scituate Police Department rescue boat.Murphy said all three fishermen were suffering from “severe hypothermia” when they were brought aboard those rescue boats at about 3:10 p.m.Three ambulances were waiting onshore to provide medical treatment to the fishermen. Murphy said those ambulances ended up transporting the fishermen to South Shore Hospital.Roderick and one other fisherman remain hospitalized in Weymouth, but Roderick said their prognosis is good. The third fisherman had already been discharged from the hospital by late Wednesday afternoon.Murphy said Harght was the only person to call 911 to report the sinking fishing vessel and that if she had not made that call, the fishermen likely would not have survived.”We probably would have found them on the beach (Wednesday). Realistically, nobody would have found them,” the fire chief said.”A lot of people say, ‘You’re a hero. Blah, blah, blah.’ I’m not. I’m just glad I made the phone call,” Harght said. “I would not sleep tonight knowing otherwise, knowing that nobody else had.” “For whatever reason, God put her on this beach in the middle of the cold, for whatever reason, but she was the only one. If it wasn’t for this woman, I probably wouldn’t be here,” Roderick said.What exactly caused the “Bing Bing” to capsize Tuesday afternoon remains under investigation.
One of three fishermen who were rescued off the South Shore of Massachusetts said he is feeling thankful to be alive after the vessel he and the others were on capsized in frigid seas.
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Joe Roderick, the mate of the surf clam boat “Bing Bing” out of Gloucester, spoke with sister station WCVB on Wednesday as Roderick sat in his bed at South Shore Hospital.
Roderick and two others were fishing off the coast of Scituate, about 40 minutes outside of Boston, Tuesday afternoon. The crew was on its third or fourth haul when Roderick noticed that their 55-foot vessel was leaning hard.
“Normally, boats will lean to one side when you’re hauling back, and this boat just kept leaning,” Roderick said from his bed at South Shore Hospital. “The next thing I know, the rail — which is about five or six feet from the water — was touching the water. So he turns around and he goes to run inside the wheelhouse to go let out a Mayday/SOS call to the Coast Guard, and he didn’t make it to the door.”
Roderick said that is when the entire boat flipped over, which sent him and the other two fishermen into the ocean.
Scituate Town Administrator James Boudreau said the town’s emergency dispatch center received a 911 call shortly after 2:35 p.m. Tuesday from a woman who reported that she saw a boat sinking off the coast of Humarock Beach.
That woman, Pam Harght, told WCVB on Tuesday that she saw the sinking vessel while walking the beach near her home that overlooks the water. She said the boat went down in a matter of about 90 seconds.
“A lot of black smoke and then the boat just disappeared. I was like: ‘This is not good,'” Harght said.
Members of the Scituate Harbormaster’s Office; Scituate police and fire departments; Marshfield Harbormaster’s Office and U.S. Coast Guard responded to the scene.
“We had three victims clinging for life,” said Scituate Fire Chief John Murphy. “They were in the water close to 45 minutes to an hour already.”
Murphy said the water temperature was 42 degrees with about 4- to 6-foot seas. The fire chief also noted the fishermen had ingested a lot of water and diesel fuel as they clung to an inflatable black hose, which is used by fishermen use to churn up the bottom of the ocean.
Roderick suffered deep bruises on both of his arms from clinging to the inflatable hose for nearly an hour in the ocean.
“We were in the water just making small talk, just to keep each other alert,” Roderick said. “A million things ran through my head: ‘Am I going to make it home to see my daughters?'”
Drone video recorded by the Scituate Fire Department showed that the ocean water near the scene had a deep red hue, likely the vessel’s diesel fuel.
“It was a tough situation for them. We were fortunate to get all three out,” Murphy said.
Two of the fishermen were brought aboard a Scituate Harbormaster’s Office boat, while the other was brought aboard a Scituate Police Department rescue boat.
Murphy said all three fishermen were suffering from “severe hypothermia” when they were brought aboard those rescue boats at about 3:10 p.m.
Three ambulances were waiting onshore to provide medical treatment to the fishermen. Murphy said those ambulances ended up transporting the fishermen to South Shore Hospital.
Roderick and one other fisherman remain hospitalized in Weymouth, but Roderick said their prognosis is good. The third fisherman had already been discharged from the hospital by late Wednesday afternoon.
Murphy said Harght was the only person to call 911 to report the sinking fishing vessel and that if she had not made that call, the fishermen likely would not have survived.
“We probably would have found them on the beach (Wednesday). Realistically, nobody would have found them,” the fire chief said.
“A lot of people say, ‘You’re a hero. Blah, blah, blah.’ I’m not. I’m just glad I made the phone call,” Harght said. “I would not sleep tonight knowing otherwise, knowing that nobody else had.”
“For whatever reason, God put her on this beach in the middle of the cold, for whatever reason, but she was the only one. If it wasn’t for this woman, I probably wouldn’t be here,” Roderick said.
What exactly caused the “Bing Bing” to capsize Tuesday afternoon remains under investigation.
