Details Emerge in Freighter’s Rescue of Nathan Carman

MIDDLETOWN, CT — Middletown native Nathan Carman was described as being very tired and “very sad” but was otherwise healthy when he was brought aboard the Orient Lucky freighter during his rescue from a life raft after being lost at sea for more than a week, according to the Hartford Courant.

The captain of the Orient Lucky told the Courant that Carman, 22, told the crew that he was fishing with his mother and his vessel started sinking and he “jumped off and then couldn't find his mom.”

Nathan’s 54-year-old mother, Linda Carman of Middletown, was never found and is presumed dead, according to officials.

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Until Nathan was found by the Orient Lucky about 100 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Linda and Nathan hadn’t been seen since they left Ram's Point Marina in Point Judith on Sept. 18 for a fishing trip on a 31-foot aluminum center console boat, the Chicken Pox.

In audio released by the Coast Guard last week, Nathan Carman spoke with Search and Rescue Controller Richard Arsenault while he was aboard the freighter Orient Lucky and described what happened on his boat.

“Mom and I were fishing on Block Canyon and I heard a funny noise in the engine compartment. I looked and saw a lot of water. I was bringing the line and had my mom bring in the reel. I brought the safety stuff forward. And I was bringing one of the safety bags forward, the boat just dropped out from under my feet. When I saw the life raft, I did not see my mom. Have you found her?"

After being informed they haven’t found her yet, Nathan Carman said “so, I got to the life raft after I got my bearings and I was whistling and calling around and I didn’t see her.”

Listen to the full audio here.

See photos and video from Nathan Carman’s rescue, and details from the captain of the Orient Lucky, at the Hartford Courant here.

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