With rough seas expected, and conditions ripe for trouble, Newburyport Harbormaster Paul Hogg knew it was time to be proactive.
So on Sunday, he had two crews positioned near where the Merrimack River and the Atlantic Ocean collide, knowing the outgoing tide, easterly winds, and waves peaking over 8 feet could cause trouble.
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It didn't take long for all that planning to pay off, after a mayday call came in just before 3 p.m. Sunday for a capsized boat.
"Your heart starts pumping and you are excited, you try and think of what to do and what to expect," said Deputy Harbormaster Joe Grande.
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Those harbormaster crews arrived within 2 minutes of that mayday call, finding the two boaters tossed in the water. They were not wearing life jackets.
"For a short period of time, they were both trapped under the boat also, and one may have hit his head under the boat, it was pretty, they seemed pretty shook up," said Assistant Harbormaster Michael Maillette.
Maillette and his coworker, Jalen Howard, pulled both of them onto their boat. One had an apparent rib injury, and the other showing signs of hypothermia.
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"You never know what is going to happen," Howard said.
Both victims were rushed to shore to a waiting ambulance and taken to a local hospital. They're expected to be OK.
Hogg said this is an important reminder that it is always a good idea to wear a life jacket.
"We train for stuff like this, but in real-life situations, when adrenaline is up and it is really happening, they couldn't have done a better job," Hogg said. "Could have been a totally different situation, could have been, instead of recovering them, could have been a fatality."
