4 fishermen rescued after waves swamp Portsmouth-based boat

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Four fishermen were rescued from the waters off the Maine coast after waves swamped their boat Friday.

“It was like a tornado went through,” said Geordie King, owner and captain of the Sea Witch, which operates out of Portsmouth. King, 45, is from Eliot, Maine.

According to the Coast Guard, waves at the time were about 20 feet, and the winds measured 50 to 65 mph.

King said it was a single wave that blew out windows in the front of the 55-foot boat, destroying most of the vessel’s electronic systems. One radio survived, dangling from wires on the boat’s ceiling.

King radioed for help and got an answer from a nearby fishing vessel.

“We were very fortunate; we hadn’t seen a boat in two days,” King said. The boat, the Michael & Kristen, contacted the Coast Guard.

King said the Sea Witch was hit by the wave just after he and his crew had sat down to dinner. On board were Andrew Barcomb of North Hampton, John Rosa of Bridgewater and John Emerton of Portland, Maine.

King and his crew quickly donned survival suits. With the Coast Guard on its way with a helicopter, one man jumped and made it to the Michael & Kristen about 50 feet away. The other three were pulled from the water about 30 minutes later by the Coast Guard.

The crew members aboard the Michael & Kristen took the man they rescued back to their homeport in Gloucester, Mass., the Coast Guard said.

The other three were flown to Pease International Airport for a medical evaluation. None of the men was injured.

King said a friend was expected to try to locate the Sea Witch on Saturday and bring it back to port. He said he lost about 10,000 pounds of fish and doesn’t know if his boat can be repaired.

This was the fifth ocean rescue in less than a month off the coast of New England.