long night- friend in trouble

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Yesterday I got a call around sunset that a friend of mine was in the middle of being rescued off the NJ coast.

F/V Jesse James of Point Judith, RI was reported to be having troubles offshore.

My friend Barry had made radio contact with him earlier the day before and he was complaining of extreme seas and very high winds. You have to know this captain to get the jist of this. This is one of those hard core captains,..15 ft seas and 40 mph winds are just another day at work for this crew. When he comes over the radio with a worried sound in his voice about the "weather",....it's time to worry.

His wife was a complete mess all night, my g/f slept over there to help with the kids and just lend moral support. I met Frank on the docks, years ago and my g/f went to school with his wife and they stayed friends after. We usually do dinner there once every couple months, often times, Frank is out to sea.

Many Rhode Islanders make their living on the water. When one is in trouble, the whole state is on alert. We are a small state but that is not neccessarily a bad thing. when trouble comes we pull together.

Frank and crew are safe, the coast guard saves the day once again. The boat is currently being towed to a Jersey port. More good news. If that boat went down, so would his means to support his family.

All is well, Truly making this a time of year for giving thanks.

Coast Guard- We LOVE YOU guys and keep you all close to our hearts!!!!!

[5bass]

Glad to hear everything turned out ok.The ocean takes no prisoners on its bad days and thats the exact reason that I dont leave the beach.You gotta be one brave "you know what" to be on the ocean for a living.

[Panamoka_Bassin]

I hate to hear stories like this.  After spending 5 years on a trawler and basically my whole life around the docks, I know exactly what these guys went through.  I also know all about fishing thorugh 15ft seas.  There is nothing comfortable about it.  You really can't explain it well enough to convey to people that haven't been through it.  Even steaming home though that stuff is a mess, and there's no chance for any rest at all.

In my years on boats, I was in 2 mid-sea collisions on 2 different boats (it was after the second one that I decided to call it quits...too many close calls, ya know?).  Neither crash was truly life threatening, but if there was any kind of sea for the first, we would have gone down for sure as the other boat put a 3 foot hole about a foot above our waterline on the transom.  Luckily it was flat calm for the 13 hour ride home.

I'm glad your buddy and his crew are safe, and again we'll thank the Coasties for the great job they do it these situations.  If anyone here ever wants to get into commercial fishing, I'll give you the same advice my father gave me when I started:  There's nothing on that boat that won't kill you.  Remember this, and you'll still be lucky to get home alive.

[Guest the_muddy_man]

Glad to hear everything went well for your friends. The Coast Guard is really an example of an "invisible service" we all take for granted

[Catt]

Aint you glad God answers prayers!  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Well, Frank isn't a big religious person but I know he's happy the Coast Gaurd answers their radio!!lol.  

Who knows, he may be slightly more religious this week than he was last week,lol.

[Panamoka_Bassin]

Reminds me of another of my father's pithy sayings: The are no atheists at sea.

[fishingrulz]

Good to hear everything is ok. Thanks to the Coast Guard...they are a group of life savers...literally. Good job guys!

[Guest avid]

Great story.

We anglers need reminders that being out on any body of water can be hazardous.

Let's be safe out there guys.