5 Rescued as Boat Sinks off Greenwich Coast

A weekend fishing excursion aboard a friend’s new 26-foot Bayliner motorboat ended when the boat sank and the five men were rescued by a Greenwich Police Marine unit.

According to Greenwich Police spokesman Lt. Kraig Gray, it was about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, members of the Greenwich Police Marine Section heard a may-day call over VHF channel 16. , “It was their belief that the call was in Rye (NY) city waters and they immediately went out there to render assistance if needed.”

Rye NY Police Department’s marine units were enroute to the area outside Port Chester Harbor. Rye Police also received a 911 call from occupants of a vessel who reported their boat was sinking, but it their location was unclear, police said.

Greenwich Marine officers joined the search further out from the mouth of Port Chester Harbor. Greenwich Officers then observed a 26-foot long Bayliner flash its cockpit lights repeatedly. Greenwich Police Officers made contact with the vessel and confirmed that they were in fact the distressed boaters. “Lo and behold, they found the boat in Greenwich waters,” Gray said.

Officers advised Rye Police Boat (PB) 1, along with a Mamaroneck PD marine unit, and the Coast Guard that they had located the vessel directly west of Captains Island, in the area of “Four Foot Rock,” which is within Greenwich waters.

All five passengers — residents from New York State ranging in age from 36 to 51, were wearing life jackets, Gray said. The stern of the Bayliner was sitting precariously low in the water and water was observed flowing over its transom into the boat, police said. The Greenwich officers brought the five passengers onto Greenwich PB 125. Officers deployed a gas-operated de-watering pump onto the Bayliner, but were unable to stop the vessel from sinking.

The vessel began to list to its starboard side and within moments the Bayliner sank with only an approximate two-foot section of its bow pulpit sticking out of the water. Officers then tied a large round white buoy to the Bayliner’s bow pulpit to help identify its location. GPD Marine Officers contacted the Coast Guard and advised them of the sunken vessel. The Coast Guard issued a “Pan-Pan” over Channel 16 advising boaters of the hazard to navigation. It is the owner’s responsibility to have the vessel salvaged.

The boat owner, only identified as a White Plains, NY resident, told that he had bought the Bayliner two weeks ago and that he took four friends out on the boat around 2 p.m. when they dropped anchor and began fishing. The owner said that at about 9 p.m., when they were getting ready to return to their boat slip, he realized his bilge was full of water. He related that this is when he called 911 for help. It’s not known what caused the boat to take on water and the owner said he had not collided with anything.

All five were transported back to their dock slip in the Byram River.

Photo: The bow of the 26-foot Bayliner that sunk off Greenwich’s Captain’s Island on Saturday, Aug. 16. Photo courtesy of Greenwich Police.