Two men saved from sunken boat in Bristol Harbor

A local resident and the fire department rushed to save the men clinging to the boat’s bow

By Patrick Luce
Posted 8/24/16

Three men are lucky to be unharmed after their boat sunk in Bristol Harbor in the dark Tuesday night, thanks largely to a local resident who heard their screams and jumped into his boat to …

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Two men saved from sunken boat in Bristol Harbor

A local resident and the fire department rushed to save the men clinging to the boat’s bow

Posted

Three men are lucky to be unharmed after their boat sunk in Bristol Harbor in the dark Tuesday night, thanks largely to a local resident who heard their screams and jumped into his boat to help.

Angus Davis was reading a bedtime story to his children in his Poppasquash Road home around 9 p.m. Tuesday when he and his wife heard screams coming from the water. They ran to the shore, Learning from Mr. Davis’ uncle and neighbor that a boat was sinking somewhere in the harbor. 

While Mrs. Davis called 911, Mr. Davis jumped in an inflatable boat he keeps attached to his dock and, guided only by a flashlight, headed out in the dark in the direction of the screaming.

“I discovered two guys holding onto the bow of a boat that was sticking up about two feet out of the water,” Mr. Davis said, coming upon the wrecked vessel about 100 yards offshore. “They had no lights, no life jackets, nothing. Luckily, people could hear them shouting.”

The third man on the boat had swum to shore and knocked on the first door he came upon, which happened to be Mr. Davis’ uncle, who also called 911. The Bristol Fire Department responded within minutes, Mr. Davis said, while he was working to get the two men aboard his boat, which proved a difficult task.

“I got one of the guys in my boat and to shore, but the owner of the boat wanted to go down with his ship,” Mr. Davis said, noting the fire department’s Marine 1 vessel had reached the accident by then. “He didn’t want to leave his boat. It took some coaxing, but eventually they got him in the boat.”

The story didn’t end there. As the fire department boat began pulling away from the vessel, the man became upset about leaving the boat he said he owned for 20 years, and dove back in the water. After about 30 minutes, rescue personnel finally got the man to shore.

“Everybody walked home, which is good. It didn’t seem like anyone was seriously injured,” Mr. Davis said. “The owner’s friend was very happy to be safe. The owner was torn between wanting to be safe and wanting to stay with his boat. It was pretty scary to see two big, strong guys clinging to the boat. It just goes to show you have to be careful on the water.”

The state Department of Environmental Management is investigating the accident, Bristol Police Capt. Brian Burke said. The boat has a hole in the bow, Mr. Davis said, and appeared to have hit a rock in the water.

The Bristol Harbormaster’s Office, Police, U.S. Coast Guard and DEM responded along with the Bristol Fire Department, which Mr. Davis said deserves credit for saving the men with their quick response.

“What’s impressive to me is that the fire department was there in just a couple minutes after they were called. They knew just what to do,” Mr. Davis said. “They’re all volunteer — no one is paying these guys the big bucks to deal with this kind of non-sense. It’s just a good Bristol story.”

Bristol Fire Department, boat sinking, Poppasquash, Bristol Police, DEM, US Coast Guard

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