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Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boston area
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|  Mouth of Merrimack..Two very lucky guys.
Here's an article on that boat that capsized:
Fishermen rescue two from capsized boat
By James J. Allen
Staff
NEWBURYPORT - Two boaters were rescued from the Merrimack River by a group of recreational fishermen yesterday after their 17-foot Boston Whaler capsized a half-mile beyond the river's mouth.
The three fishermen aboard the Pamela II pulled Eric Delacoste, 45, of Andover and his father Philippe, 71, of Cambridge, from the 48-degree river water, after calling the Coast Guard for help at 12:15 p.m. Both men were wearing life jackets.
The father and son were taken to the Coast Guard's Newburyport headquarters by the fishing crew, then to Anna Jaques Hospital by an ambulance sent by American Medical Response.
Speaking from home last night, Eric Delacoste, who did not require extensive medical treatment, said his father was being kept overnight at the hospital, recovering from hypothermia and heightened blood pressure, likely due to the stress of being in the icy water for nearly 10 minutes.
"He does appear to be fine," Delacoste said of his father. "Really, the saving grace for us was timing. If it hadn't been for those folks ... ."
After the weather turned colder yesterday, the two men and one woman trolling aboard the Pamela II decided to head back up river. Phil Lee, the vessel's 63-year-old captain, said he was motoring north near Plum Island when friend Dennis Dinsmore, 53, of Dracut, first noticed something adrift.
"But the swells were so high I didn't see them at first," said Lee.
In the water was Eric Delacoste, who said he was worried less about himself and more for his father, who was shivering and appeared to be in shock.
His brand new 2004 Whaler, which he bought knowing its safety record, had been hit by a wave head-on, then hit a moment later on one side by another, upending the craft. For about 15 seconds, Eric Delacoste said he was trapped beneath the overturned boat before he was able to swim to safety.
As the waves hit him and his father from all sides, "I thought, I couldn't believe a boat of this size could flip so easily."
In the area where they overturned, about 100 yards south of the No. 2 river buoy, rough waters are often generated as river meshes with ocean. And the spot is known to boaters for what Eric Delacoste described as "intense turbulence."
As he watched a bigger boat move closer and the people aboard fling a mooring line to him, Eric said he felt he and his father were going to be OK.
"But really, we were more at risk than I imagined because of the water temperature and the waves," he reflected later. "They literally saved our lives."
Pulling the Delacostes aboard, Dinsmore, Lee and 25-year-old Christine Lonegan of Stowe saw that the older man was in more danger. They stripped the wet clothes off him, took their own dry sweatshirts off and covered him up.
Lonegan held on to Philippe Delacoste, repeatedly asking if he was OK to keep him conscious.
"She did what a girl does best," said Lee. "She hugged the hell out of him."
"We were just hopeful -- they had said it just happened," said Lonegan. "We were glad we were there at just the right time."
The boat took off up river and met the Coast Guard's boat just minutes later. But after having trouble moving Philippe to the other boat, he stayed aboard the Pamela II as it made its way to the waiting ambulances.
From a low body temperature of 87 degrees, Eric Delacoste said nurses last night told him his father is doing well.
Both men wearing life vests "is a big contributing factor to them surviving this ordeal," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Dan Mills.
"Inexperience, not understanding the characteristics (of the river) and overestimating a boat's capabilities can get you into trouble really easily," said Mills. "And that seems to be the case with this boat."
Lee, who has launched his boat in Newburyport for 10 years after trailering it up from Westford, said after his initial shock wore off, he was happy he could help.
"I guess the word to the wise is always be afraid of that river," he said.
At home last night in time to watch his son leave for high school prom, Eric Delacoste said he wished to thank all those involved, especially his rescuers aboard the Pamela II.
He said he still has the sweatshirt Lonegan took off and gave to his father.
"They stood there in T-shirts and gave us the clothes off their backs," said Eric. "That's the kind of people they were."
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