BOSTON (WHDH) - Two members of the Boston Police Harbor unit are being credited with saving a father, 70, and son, 30, out lobstering after their boat sank.
The officers were out on patrol Wednesday evening when a call came in that a ship was taking on water after striking rocks near Graves Light.
From there, it was a race against time for officers Garrett Boyle and Stephen Merrick, who sped out on their boat and soon caught sight of two heads bobbing in the water.
“As we got closer, we thought we saw about two heads sticking just above water level,” said Boyle.
The officers spotted the two men floating on a cooler and were able to quickly lift them out of the water to safety, a scene caught on their body cameras. The men had been treading water for 10 to 20 minutes, and the younger man was not wearing a life jacket, though he was clinging onto a life ring.
“You want to get them in as quickly as possible,” said Boyle. “You may have eyes on them, you’re like ‘oh, we have them, they’re safe,” but they’re not. It’s very quick – you could even be looking at them and then… they could drop right under.”
“You could see the fear in their face, they were cold,” said Merrick. “They looked very tired and weak – they were really struggling to keep their head above the water. Although it’s summer, the water’s a lot warmer than it normally is, but it’s still, you know, probably mid-to-upper-60s, so it doesn’t take long to get hypothermic in that water.”
The officers also told 7NEWS it was fortunate they were in the Harbormaster boat, the “Robert Guiney,” at the time. The particular model they were sailing came with a ship front that can open up to the water, which allowed for a faster rescue.
Both men who were rescued were treated after arriving back on shore. According to Boston Police, they told officers their boat’s engine had become tangled in lobster lines before it then hit some rocks and took on water.
Their ship was later lifted and towed away.
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