FISHING BOAT SINKS OFF MATINICUS ISLAND, MAINE; ONE FISHERMAN RESCUED, TWO MISSING

The 45′ fishing vessel NO LIMITS, based out of Cushing, Maine, sent out a radio beacon distress signal off of Matinicus Island, Maine the afternoon of November 1, 2014. When the NO LIMITS crew did not answer the Coast Guard’s many response calls, the Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine Command Centers coordinated a wide-scale, multi-agency rescue effort.

The Coast Guard newsroom reported that crew in a Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod spotted a flare fired from one survivor inside a life raft. They safely hoisted him aboard and flew to Maine Medical Hospital in Portland. According to WMTW 8 TV in Maine, the survivor is the boat’s captain, Chris Hutchinson, who has been released from the hospital.

The Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol searched for the remaining two crewmembers for more than 17 hours, covering 130 nautical square miles. Weather conditions included high winds, freezing spray and the first winter storm of the season. There were no signs of the two missing fishermen, and the search was suspended Sunday, November 2 pending further developments.