Two local fishermen were rescued yesterday morning after a 43-foot dragger, headed home from a two-day trip to Stellwagen Bank fishing for cod and yellowtail, sank two miles south of the Dog Bar breakwater.
The Miss Sonya went down minutes after the two-man crew was safely taken off by the U.S. Coast Guard. Capt. Matteo Ferrara, 52, and mate Joseph Lucido, 54, were unharmed. There was no immediate theory about the cause of the sinking.
The 36-year-old, steel-hulled Miss Sonya was owned by gear supplier Corrado Buccheri, who said Ferrara had been planning to stay out for a third day but decided to head back to Gloucester when weather conditions worsened — with 3- to 5-foot swells and 20- to 30-mph winds in the vicinity of Stellwagen Bank, Buccheri said.
Ferrara radioed the Coast Guard that the Miss Sonya was "taking water" at 7:28 a.m. Twenty-two minutes later, at 7:50, Ferrara and Lucido were taken onto the Coast Guard's 47-foot motor life boat.
A minute later, Miss Sonya rolled onto its starboard side, then capsized four minutes later. Sixteen minutes after that, the boat sank. Diesel fuel spilled, causing a slick about two miles from the harbor mouth.
The time sequence was provided by the Coast Guard from its log. The Coast Guard said yesterday afternoon it was monitoring the spill.
Ferrara and Lucido are veteran fishermen who were working as freelancers, Buccheri said.
The water temperature was 37 degrees. If the crew had gone into the water without survival suits, they could have expected to remain conscious for 15 to 30 minutes and alive for 30 to 90, according to the U.S. Search and Rescue Task Force.
Richard Gaines can be reached at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.
