Perhaps more than any other New England fishing community, Gloucester has a tragic history of losses at sea; the best known is the sinking of the Andrea Gail, whose six-member crew went down in a Nor’easter in 1991, later immortalized in the book and movie “The Perfect Storm.”
The everyday reality of the dangers of a life at sea were on the minds of everyone Friday from public officials monitoring developments on the waterfront, to fishermen and their families who paused for a moment of silence at the St. Peter’s Club Friday evening.
“There are a lot of us that go to work every day pretty assured that we’re going to come home at night to our families,” Governor Maura Healey said at a briefing. But, “in a fishing family, sons and fathers and daughters leave early in the morning, and there’s no telling what’s going to happen on any given day,” she said.
The emergency beacon on board the Lily Jean was activated shortly before 7 a.m. Friday, about 22 miles off the waters of Gloucester, Coast Guard Commander Tim Jones said Friday. Search and rescue operations were quickly launched, including a helicopter, small boat, and a cutter.
Early Friday, ocean winds were blowing up to 30 miles per hour, with seas of about 4 feet and a temperature of about 12 degrees, said Emily McMinn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norton. A freezing spray advisory was in place, and pockets of accumulating ice were possible on vessels, she said.
“Certainly within those conditions, there was an elevated concern,” McMinn said.
Within an hour, rescuers found a debris field, where they recovered the body of an unresponsive person, along with an empty life raft. Officials have not released the identity of the person whose body was recovered.
“We will search as hard as we can and as long as we can, until we believe that we get to a point where there really is no reasonable expectation of survival,” said Captain Jamie Frederick of the Coast Guard Sector Boston. “We are 100 percent in search and rescue mode.”
A fisheries observer was among those on board. Rachel Hager, a spokesperson for National Marine Fisheries Service, said the agency is working closely with the Coast Guard as the search continues.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragedy,” Hager said in an email.
News of the lost vessel spread quickly in this small city of about 30,000 people.
State Senator Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester native, spoke of the city’s tragic turns and resilient people. . “Most of all, we stand together with those families, sustained by the enduring strength, unity, compassion, and faith that have long defined the Gloucester community since its earliest days.”
The St. Peter’s Club, founded by the fishing community, soon filled with patrons by Friday afternoon, and immediately the sinking of the Lily Jean was all anyone wanted to discuss.
Many speculated the harsh, frigid weather likely meant they would have died within minutes.
Some, apparently unaware the boat was returning to port, wondered why anyone would go out in such weather.
“It’s absolutely nuts that they go out there in these conditions,” said Scott Amero, 57, a longtime Gloucester city employee who went to high school with the skipper and owner of the Lily Jean. “We’re all in shock. But everybody here knows someone who went down in a boat.”
David Leveille, Gloucester’s fisheries commission director, said the fishing community is incredibly close, and the impact of the loss is already being felt.
“It’s devastating. Everybody is going to be in mourning,” said Leveille, 68, who worked as a fisherman for nearly two decades.
Commercial fishing is dangerous work, with a fatality rate more than 28 times higher than the national average for occupations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hazards include vessel disasters, falls overboard, and injuries involving gear and equipment on board.
“It’s dangerous to start with in calm weather,” he said. “It’s happened in the past, and it will happen in the future.”
”It’s tragic, and we’re all going to grieve in different ways. The pain isn’t going to go away,” Leveille said.
Inside the Captain Courageous Room at Minglewood Harborside, everyone was talking about the Lily Jean. Several patrons mentioned that such disasters are all too common, citing the sinking last year of the “Miss Sandy”, a 56-foot fishing boat that went down about 7 miles off Gloucester Harbor.
Inside the St. Peter’s Club, a statue of a praying St. Peter, the patron saint of fishermen, sat above the bar taps. The walls of the club are festooned with photos of local fishing vessels.
Much of the talk was about the many things that could have gone awry, as well as the treacherous nature of their profession. Some suspected that ice must have built up on the boat’s riggers — the ropes and hardware that support and control the mast, causing the boat to collapse.
Others were too upset to speak.
“It’s too raw, much too raw,” one said. “Everyone here is grieving.”
During the moment of silence, fishermen and their wives stood with their hands clasped, heads down as if in prayer. One thing everyone agreed on: The sinking was sudden.
“We’re all in mourning here,’” said Alfonso Ciolino, 58, a mason and part-time fisherman. “All we know is it musta happened fast. Once a boat gets too heavy and lists to one side in this weather, you’re in trouble. There’s no calling 911 out there.”
John R. Ellement can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @JREbosglobe. Shannon Larson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @shannonlarson98. Chris Serres can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @ChrisSerres.
