Hail Mary II (2/3)
Lloyd's Casualty Week:
January 13 2006
London, Jan 4 - A press report, dated today, states: Commercial fishing Hail Mary II (79 gt, built 1993) capsized in Shinnecock Inlet (approximately lat 40 52N, long 72 28W) yesterday morning in high winds and rough seas, dumping more than 30,000 pounds of fish, 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and three crew members into the frigid water, Coast Guard officials said. Shortly before 0500 hrs, the 63-foot Hail Mary II capsized after its owner, John Windels of East Quogue, lost control of the boat while hauling up an outrigger, police said. Windels, was on board with Jerzy Bogucki and Richard Gardiner, according to Southampton Town police.
The boat capsized 30 yards from Soleaus Pier, near the fishing station dock, police said. A neighboring vessel, Cindi Sea, contacted the Coast Guard minutes after the capsizing and was able to rescue Bogucki. The Coast Guard arrived and transferred him, Windels, and Gardiner to shore, Coast Guard Lt. J.G. Robert Skinner said. All three men were taken to Central Suffolk Hospital by Flanders Volunteer Ambulance for hypothermia symptoms, police said. A spokeswoman for Central Suffolk Hospital said the men were later released. The State Department of Environmental Conservation was notified of the diesel spill, Skinner said. The vessel remained 95% submerged in the Shinnecock Inlet last night.
January 20 2006
London, Jan 9 - A Coast Guard New York press release, timed 1130, Jan 7, states: Salvage operations to raise the capsized fishing Hail Mary II from Shinnecock Inlet, Long Island, will commence at 1400 today. The vessel capsized in heavy seas shortly after 1700 Tuesday (Jan 3) while returning to port with 30,000 pounds of fish and 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel. The fuel remains contained and very little sheening has been reported. It remains 95% submerged about 50 feet from Shinnecock Inlet's western jetty.
The salvage plan calls for Hail Mary II to be towed inshore today, then prepared to be hoisted by a barge-loaded crane tomorrow. It will then be taken to a commercial dock for dewatering. A Unified Command consisting of Coast Guard, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Town of Southampton, Environmental Conservation Police, Sea Spill, and Sea Tow officials, was established Tuesday to monitor the salvage operations and prepare to recover any potential pollution. Gale force winds and heavy surf have prevented salving Hail Mary II until today.
January 27 2006
London, Jan 16 - A press report, dated Jan 13, states: Fishing Hail Mary II was partially raised Jan 8 by a massive crane barge, and towed into the bay and out of the rough inlet seas. The following day, the crane raised the vessel from its watery hold and officials began dewatering it. Officials ended dewatering operations on Jan 10.
And on the Seventh Day the Coast Guard Rested
U.S. Coast Guard | Steve Sapp
January 12, 2006 | www.military.com
Long Island Sound - The prayers of three fishermen were answered with their rescue in Shinnecock Inlet, N.Y. shortly after 5 a.m. Jan. 3 after their ship Hail Mary II capsized in rough seas. Seven days later, the Hail Mary II herself was rescued.
As Capt. John Windels and his crew of Richard Gardiner and Jerzy Boucpoulki were returning to port with a successful haul of 30,000 pounds of squid, the Hail Mary II capsized in rough weather when one outrigger retracted before the other and destabilized the 72-foot steel dragger. The crew of a nearby vessel, the Cindi Sea, rescued Boucpoulki, while a Sea Tow operator rescued Windels and Gardiner from atop the hull of the overturned vessel.
With the crew safely ashore, the focus shifted to salvaging Hail Mary II., 95-percent submerged about 150 feet from the mouth or Shinnecock Inlet and 50 feet from the western jetty. "Following the rescue of the crew the safety of the environment was our next concern, " said LT Bill Grossman, Supervisor of Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Coram. "Not knowing the exact amount of fuel and lube oils that remained on board we needed to develop a plan to safely mitigate the threat."
Officials from the Coast Guard, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Town of Southampton, Environmental Conservation Police, Sea Spill, and Sea Tow immediately established a Unified Command at Soleaus Marina in Shinnecock to monitor the salvage operations and prepare to recover any potential pollution. Pollution Response officers from Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound traveled from New Haven, Conn., to join forces with Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Coram, N.Y.
Gale force winds and rough seas delayed any immediate salvage operations. "Everyone in the Unified Command knew that the fuel onboard was difficult to recover in the vessel's present state, but we still went ahead to develop a plan to protect the environmentally sensitive areas nearby in the event of a complete release of the fuel tanks, " said Grossman.
Unified Command officials were concerned for the 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel that remained contained aboard the Hail Mary II. According to Grossman, they feared the vessel's hull breaking in half and experiencing a complete loss of all fuel from within the tanks. "Since we did not have a complete hull survey from the divers we were not able to determine the exact nature of the hull, ' said Grossman. "We [placed] harbor boom surrounding the vessel during the salvage, as well as pre-staged [oil containment] boom protecting the environmentally sensitive areas."
The Unified Command members were relieved when overflights conducted by Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary aircraft reported that only a light, unrecoverable sheen was visible. Overall, there was limited impact to the environment.
A massive crane barge arrived Jan. 8 to partially raise the Hail Mary II and tow her into the bay and out of the rough inlet seas. The following day, the crane raised the fishing vessel from its watery hold and officials began dewatering it. On the seventh day, Jan. 10, officials ended dewatering operations.
I found this interesting post on thehulltruth.com, 11-30-2012:
My father, who is currently the captain of F/V Mary Rose, was the owner and captain of the Hail Mary II. Saw this here thread and figured I would just clarify some things to anyone who thought they had the right story from this ((redacted)) ((redacted)) who apparently thinks he is enlightening anyone who read the papers.
First of all, the boat capsized as a result of the combination of three things. Firstly, while my dad was busy bringing the boat over to the dock ((redacted)) crewmember ((redacted)) for some godforsaken reason decided to lift one outrigger all at once, instead of doing them both a little bit at a time, which was the standard procedure on this boat (since its outriggers were gigantic). This, combined with the fact that it was extremely windy on this night, caused the boat to lean over. Lastly, my father had on the boat one of the biggest catches of his life, which was boxed down in the fish hold. When the outrigger combined with the wind took place, the 30,000 lbs of squid down below slid to one side of the boat, completely tipping it over.
That being said, where this ((redacted)) got his facts wrong is the preposterous statement that SeaTow salvaged my father's boat. As I remember SeaTow was the reason it wasn't salvaged and sat in the inlet being beaten against the western jetty for about a week until it was basically destroyed. My father was advised by his lawyer to not sign any documents SeaTow was asking him to sign because they were liable to sue him because of the fuel spill and other things that were out of his control.
Now, last but not least, my father was not rescued from the water. He and his other crew member walked up the side of the boat as it tipped over and were retrieved from the bottom of it (which was afloat). ((Redacted)) ((redacted)), who later on tried to sue my father, was the only one rescued from the water.
I cleaned it up a bit. The author later apologized for his language. I can understand.
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