Fishing Vessel Gets Assistance: Towed To Safety
With assistance from a number of vessels, a fishing vessel with three people on board was eventually towed to safety on Monday {Aug 10] after experiencing engine difficulties.
A Bermuda Maritime Operations spokesperson said, “On Monday 10th August 7:58am, Bermuda Radio receives a VHF radio call from the fishing vessel ‘Ordinary People’.
“The 3 crew onboard report being at a position roughly off of Wreck Hill in the western reef area and being unable to start the boat’s engine due to a flat battery. They are in no immediate danger.
“Through the use of VHF radio direction finding equipment and radar, the Maritime Operations Centre is able to accurately pin-point the Ordinary People’s position as actually being some 4 miles West of Eastern Blue Cut.
“Bermuda Radio undertakes a marine assistance request broadcast in an effort to locate a vessel nearby able to assist with either a tow or a jump start.
“A short while later the charter fishing vessel ‘Reel Addiction’ reports to Bermuda Radio that they have sighted a distress flare that they are proceeding to investigate. The flare is determined to have been fired by the ‘Ordinary People’ who had seen the ‘Reel Addiction’ in the distance.
“The ‘Reel Addiction’ agrees to tow the disabled fishing vessel into shallower water and she is safely anchored in 10 fathoms of water – meanwhile other commercial fishing and dive vessels with passengers in the Eastern Blue Cut area offer to assist if the situation deteriorates.
“The dive boat ‘Modern Sinbad’ prepares for a battery drop-off, but during the course of the afternoon the ‘Ordinary People’ makes contact with a family member who responds to the scene in the vessel ‘Nibbles & Bits’ from Dockyard – eventually towing her back to shore after it is discovered that ‘Ordinary People’ is also suffering from dirty fuel.
“Bermuda Radio would like to thank the Reel Addiction, Ellen B, Modern Sinbad and the Nibbles & Bits for their efforts on the water associated with this incident.”
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The open ocean is a dangerous place to go, even for experienced fishermen like myself. When venturing out even for just a pleasure trip like Commodore JB enjoys, one must have emergency plans in place and have redundancies for almost every potential situation. I once ended up just off the east coast of Cuba on a fishing trip but was able to make it back to Bermuda safely in part thanks to a fantastic and experienced crew. As for dirty fuel, people please check and change filters often and use a quality fuel stabilizer. Also it pays to have extra batteries aboard or a power pack and solar battery tender. Stay safe fellow Mariners and fisherman!