Crew member: Scallop boat needed work Man lists ills of Candy B II

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ROCKLAND – The fishing vessel Candy B II handled seas well but had its share of safety-related problems, according to a Rockland man who was a crew member on the previous three trips made by the scallop dragger.

The Candy B II is presumed to have sunk one week ago off Nantucket with four local fishermen on board.

Roger “Punk” Simmons, 34, said that among the problems he saw, the hatches on the 46-foot wooden-hull boat did not seal right, a problem that was brought to the attention of boat owner Scott Knowlton of Waldoboro, he said.

Two family members of one of the deceased fishermen this week also complained of safety problems on the vessel, but other relatives of the fishermen called the missing scallop dragger a safe boat.

Knowlton said Thursday that the vessel was in good repair.

“All the necessary equipment was on board,” he said.

According to the national Marine Fisheries Service Web site, the owner of Candy B II, built in 1950, was KPW LLC. The three members of KPW LLC are Knowlton of Waldoboro, Dave C. Witham of Waldoboro and Douglas P. Pittelko of Mountain Green, Utah, according to the state Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions.

When contacted Thursday, Dave Witham’s wife, Jen, said he was away and she did not know when he would return. She had no comment about the missing boat.

Simmons had sailed with some of the missing crew, including Howard “Cappy” Crudell, 38, of Warren, whom Simmons called “a smart captain” and an able seaman “who knew what to do.”

Also missing are: Adrian Randall, 25, of Rockland; Ralph “Bubba” Boyington, 34, of Waldoboro; and Brandon “B.J.” Feyler, 17, of Union.

The boat’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon, or EPIRB, was set off about 11:15 p.m. Friday, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials.

The beacon, which Knowlton said had global positioning capability, was retrieved approximately 42 miles southeast of Nantucket by a Coast Guard helicopter in waters more than 200 feet deep. A boot also was retrieved, according to Knowlton, who said he is traveling to Portland today to see whether he can identify the footwear.

U.S. Coast Guard officials have said they will review the boat’s inspection history and licensing as part of its investigation into the incident.

The U.S. Coast Guard First District public affairs office had no new information to report Thursday in its investigation, Petty Officer Amy Thomas said. The Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in Providence is the lead investigator in the case.

There is no vessel inspection requirement for that type of boat, a Coast Guard official said earlier this week. The only inspections that the Candy B II might have had would be by random boarding by the Coast Guard or by a voluntary dockside inspection, he said.

Coast Guard records show that in 1994 the boat underwent an inspection administered by Portland Coast Guard officials, but details have been unavailable.

A loss of friends

Simmons, a seasoned fisherman who lately has been diving for sea urchins, was glad he hadn’t made the most recent trip with the Candy B II crew, and was dismayed at the likely fate of his friends.

Calling them rugged men, Simmons said that if anyone were going to survive, it would be that crew. Nonetheless, he didn’t hold out much hope for them.

It has been a difficult week, Simmons said, losing his friends on the scallop dragger as well as his best friend and next-door neighbor, Robert Nason Jr., 31, of Rockland, who died Saturday after being injected with the wrong dye during an outpatient diagnostic procedure at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport.

For the past year, Candy B II was working out of Provincetown, Mass. The trip to the deep-water fishing grounds took eight hours out and eight hours back, he said. The crew would fish for two or three days, sometimes staying on task for 28 hours straight.

“It’s brutal work,” Simmons said, referring to the conditions and dangers involved in fishing.

Speculating on what may have gone wrong, Simmons said that the lazaret hatch was not sealing properly, as well as other hatches. The lazaret is usually the last compartment on the stern of a boat where the rudderpost comes up.

“The lazaret hatch did not seal,” Simmons said. “I told the owner of the boat [Knowlton] to fix it.”

Something Simmons also never noticed during his three fishing trips on the Candy B II was a life raft.

“I don’t remember seeing one,” the former crewman said.

The radar did not work properly, he also said, explaining that when the computer was being used for charting a course, it “screwed up” the radar.

Another problem he noted was the storage of survival suits, which Simmons said were “wedged” tightly between bunks rather than being accessible. Also, the automatic pumps did not work, he added.

Even with a full load of scallops, the Candy B II rode well, Simmons said, but another possible cause for sinking is an overloaded boat.

“We was fishing right in the tanker lanes,” Simmons said, describing the area where they dragged for scallops as a spot where “giant tankers” operated.

The Candy B II might have been hit by another vessel, he said, or been overtaken by a wave. While Simmons was on the boat, he said, the scallop drag, a large steel net that scoops up scallops, “never fetched up on anything,” but that was another scenario of what can happen. A drag that catches on the bottom can pull the boat under, he said.

Whatever happened to the vessel, it was “something that overtook them quick,” Simmons speculated.

Bubba Boyington’s sister Patricia Boyington and his cousin Tammy Boyington said Thursday they were not trying to cast blame on anyone for the boating casualty, but that there were problems with the boat that should have been corrected.

Many of the safety issues they cited were the same ones Simmons pointed out. They also said Candy B II was too small, especially because of its wooden construction, to be fishing that far out at sea.

According to Patricia Boyington, her brother took his 14-year-old daughter, Danielle, on a fishing trip recently and the boat took on water. The teen got scared and asked for a life jacket, Boyington said, and was told there was none.

A safe boat

Contrary to what Simmons and the Boyington family members had to say about the condition of the Candy B II, relatives of Randall, Crudell and Feyler believe the boat was safe.

On Thursday, Adrian Randall’s father, Rick, said his son “never would have stepped foot on a boat that wasn’t safe.”

Brandon Feyler’s dad, Jay Feyler, said Thursday, “We asked [Brandon] extensively if he ever felt unsafe.” The boy never indicated he was at risk, Jay Feyler said.

Knowlton, 36, said he carries no guilt about the condition of the boat.

“I don’t know how safer I could have made that boat,” he said.

Knowlton, who noted that he is related to two of the missing crew members and was close to all of them, previously said in a published report that he had invested everything he had to buy and overhaul the 53-year-old boat. He said the Candy B II was seaworthy even though the insurance company dropped its coverage about a year ago, saying it would not insure wooden vessels.

A month after the purchase, Knowlton said, new restrictions aimed at speeding the recovery of groundfish cut the number of Candy B II’s fishing days from 88 to 24. More rules later limited the boat to eight days a year.

Knowlton said he had to file for bankruptcy because he couldn’t make the payments on the boat, his house and car. He also said he was forced to take the boat to Massachusetts to try to make a living dragging for scallops.

Knowlton said he couldn’t imagine what could have happened to the Candy B II to make it sink without any distress call from the crew and without leaving behind any of the wood and equipment that was on its deck.

He said fishery regulations force small-boat fishermen to take increased risks to make a living.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.