3 missing after commercial fishing boat sinks

[surferman]

I hope they come home safely.

3 missing after fishing boat sinks off coast of NJ

CAPE MAY — Coast Guard helicopters and boats continue searching in foul weather for a commercial fishing boat that sank off southern New Jersey.

Three people are missing.

An emergency electronic signal alerted authorities that the 44-foot Seatractor had sunk about 20 miles east of Cape May around 7:35 p.m. Wednesday.


Petty Officer 3rd Class Crystal Kneen says seas are 10 to 15 feet in the area and winds are over 30 to 50 mph. Visibility is 2 to 3 miles.


There's no word yet where the vessel was based.

The scallop boat Lady Mary sank 60 miles off Cape May in March, killing six of the
seven crewmen.

[cowherder]

Wow, I hope they had they had the cold weather suits on.:scared:

[clamchucker]

Thoughts and prayers.

[finchaser]

May they rest in peace:(, they never should have been out there in a boat that size with gale and storm warnings up.

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. - Coast Guardhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif boats, planes and helicopters searched the roiling ocean off Cape May on Thursday for three commercial fishermen whose boat sank, and colleagues of the missing men prayed for a miracle.
Kenneth Rose Jr., 49, the captain of the Sea Tractor, his 75-year-old father, Kenneth Sr., and 55-year-old crew member Larry Forrest were aboard the 44-foot fishing boat when it sank about 20 miles east of Cape May on Wednesday night.
All are believed to be from North Carolina.


The Coast Guard recovered an empty life raft, but had not found any signs of survivors as of Thursday morning as weather conditions continued to worsen, due in part to the remnants of Tropical Stormhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif Ida, which was churning the sea from North Carolina to Long Island, N.Y.
Weather conditions, with waves up to 20 feet and winds at 40 to 60 mph, hampered search efforts. Visibility was reported at 2 to 3 miles.
"Let's hope for the best and say a prayer for them," said John Cole, general managerhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif of a fishermen's cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach where the Sea Tractor had sold its catch twice within the past year.
He said the North Carolina-based boat operated from the dock in Cape May when it stationed in New Jersey. That's the same place where the Lady Mary, a scallop boat that sank in March, killing six of the seven crew members, was based.
Cole said he has known Rose for nearly 30 years, and believes he lived in North Carolina, though the Coast Guard was not immediately able to confirm that.
"He is a great guy — a good, honest, hardworking guy," he said.
'On their way home'
Cole said he believed the Sea Tractor may have been fishing for fluke during an 11-day season that ended at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
"They were probably on their way home when the incident occurred," he said.


At 7:35 p.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard received a transmission from an emergency radio beacon that is usually activated when water touches it, although they also can be activated manually.
A helicopter crew from the Atlantic City Coast Guard station responded and found an empty life raft with a strobe light attached to it.
A nearby fishing vessel, the Capt. Jeff, arrived at the scene around the same time to help the Coast Guard, and found a debris field floating on the ocean surface with the Sea Tractor's emergency radio beacon, and a cooler.

[DarkSkies]

No way they're going to find those guys alive. I hate to be so negative, but it is what it is. My sincerest wish is that you could turn back the hands of time, and some mechanical problem would have happened to keep those guys in port, and therefore saving their lives. But it didn't happen that way, too sad. :(

Here's something I threw down a while ago, my prose about the sea. It rings true for a lot of guys I know. We realize the beauty and power, and can't stay away from it for very long. I don't know how I would live my life if I couldn't be near the ocean or at least visit it once in awhile.
The Sea is a jealous mistress:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=1754

Thoughts and prayers to the families of those fishermen, and special prayers for them to be able to recover the bodies so they have closure. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.gif

[storminsteve]

May they rest in peace:(, they never should have been out there in a boat that size with gale and storm warnings up.



I know a guy who's a comm fisherman, He checks the weather forecast for a week before he goes out and has about 5 sites that he uses to make his decision from. I agree they should never have been out there. Thoughts and prayers for their families.

[voyager35]

They found one of them in NC.

Body from sunken NJ fishing boat found on NC beach

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/nws/p/ap_logo_106.png (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/brand/SIG=br2v03/*http://www.ap.org)
By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer Wayne Parry, Associated Press Writer – Tue Nov 24, 3:21 pm ET
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – A body that washed ashore at a North Carolina wildlife refuge over the weekend has been identified as the owner of a commercial fishing boat that sank off the New Jersey coast on Nov. 11.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday that a visitor collecting seashells Saturday discovered the body of Kenneth Rose Sr. at the north end of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Rose was one of three crew members on board the Sea Tractor when it sank in bad weather off Cape May. Also aboard were his 49-year-old son, Kenneth Rose Jr., and 55-year-old crew member Larry Forrest. They have not been found.
A life raft from the Sea Tractor had washed up at the wildlife refuge several days before Rose's body was found.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091124/ap_on_re_us/us_fishing_boat_sinks_1