CHATHAM – A father and son were rescued on the Chatham Bar this morning after they were ejected from a capsizing boat.
Chatham Harbormaster Stuart Smith and a Coast Guard crew responded to the entrance of Chatham Harbor just after 11 a.m. after hearing radio calls from fishing boats who could see the people in the water.
Smith, along with the assistant harbormaster, was able to pull the two men out of the water. The two victims were evaluated by Chatham EMTs on shore but were not taken to the hospital.
Derek Seehagen, a Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Chatham Station, praised the work of the harbormaster in the rescue.
Sheehagen said the bar was seeing a two to four foot break today with a water temperature of 61 degrees.
Smith said there was a lot of heavy surf and was told by other fishermen that it was a rough place to be today.
Terry Nugent, a captain with Riptide Charters, raced his boat to the scene after hearing the radio call and said the harbormaster and Coast Guard were there in minutes.
“In a situation with 60 degree water and high surf those poor guys didn’t have much more than minutes,” Nugent said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the harbormaster crew and the Coast Guard crew saved two lives today. There’s no question about it.”
Tow crews and the harbormaster will work to get the capsized 23-foot boat to shore.
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