PORTSMOUTH — Christopher Blake and Joseph Walkden were just minding their own business at Safe Harbor’s South Marina in Common Fence Point on Friday, Feb. 9, when they heard a commotion.

They occasionally reside on their boats in the marina and were planning a night out to hear music at the VFW Hall on Anthony Road. 

Walkden had just turned off the evening news when he heard a man plead for help. It was a former tugboat captain in his mid-80s who had returned to his boat and had accidentally fallen into the icy waters and could not climb back onto the dock.

Walkden rushed to the man’s assistance as did Blake, who was just about to walk his dog. Walkden dialed 911 and soon a Portsmouth Police officer arrived to join the efforts in keeping the man’s head above water until a rescue team from the Portsmouth Fire Department came to the scene. The elderly man was treated and is now recuperating.

On Monday night, the Town Council officially commended Blake and Walkden for saving the man from a potential drowning on Feb. 9. Council member David Gleason, who lives in Common Fence Point, read the commendation to Walkden and Blake before Council President Kevin Aguiar signed the document.

“It is with great pride that we thank two of Portsmouth’s own, Christopher Blake and Joseph Walkden, for their ability to respond under these difficult circumstances,” Gleason read.

Abby Brown, who chairs the Harbor Commission, referred to the rescued person as “Doug,” and said he was a man of few words. However, he wanted to get a message to his rescuers, she said.

“I was told this morning to tell you both, he’s very grateful for what you did — saving him from Davy Jones’s locker,” Brown told the two men.

Gleason summed up the event as a “story of two people being in the right place at the right time.”

— Jim McGaw