Two stranded by ice rescued in Addison

ADDISON – Two men who became stranded on a boat in Eastern Harbor were rescued Sunday by a fellow fisherman.

Petty Officer Aaron Draper of the U.S. Coast Guard station in Jonesport said a girlfriend of one of the men called the Coast Guard about 8 a.m. to say the men were stuck on the ice.

Draper said the woman reported that the men, including the boat’s owner, Bruce Dawes, went out to check on the fishing vessel Oh Baby about 2:30 a.m.

The boat was approximately 300 feet from shore and was iced in, so they left their skiff a short distance away and walked to the boat, Draper said.

By the time the men were finsished securing the vessel, the skiff had also iced in and they were unable to get back to shore, the petty officer said.

The ice was so thick that the Coast Guard vessel couldn’t get into the area, and a call was put out to the Addison Fire Department and law enforcement agencies, including the Maine Warden Service, he said.

Draper said the men had a heater and water, but no food.

Northern Contender, a scallop dragger in the area, broke through the ice and its crew took the men to shore at approximately 11:30 a.m., Draper said.