February 5, 2016 — BOSTON — The Jocka, a fishing boat with a crew of four aboard, had to be towed to port by the Coast Guard from 45 miles southeast of Portland, Maine, after the engine became disabled.
“It was a pretty rough night, but they’re almost in and everybody’s OK,” ship owner Terry Alexander said late Thursday afternoon. “They just had to sit it out because of the weather.”
At approximately 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, a crew member aboard the Jocka used a VHF-FM radio to contact Coast Guard watchstanders to report the ship’s engine was disabled and the crew needed assistance, the Coast Guard said in a press release.
The boat is owned by the corporation Jordan Lynn Inc. is which headed by New England Fishery Management Council member and former chairman Terry Alexander. The home address for the corporation is Harpswell, Maine, though Alexander said Thursday the Jocka’s hailing port is Boston. He said none of the crew was from Cape Ann.
Alexander said the boat, which is registered in Massachusetts and permitted for off-shore, non-trap lobstering, experienced general engine failure Wednesday and had to stay out on the water overnight because of the harsh weather conditions made it difficult for the Coast Guard to get a line to the 61-foot trawler.
The crew aboard the 110-foot Coast Guard cutter Ocracoke, homeported in South Portland, Maine, responded to the hail for help. Ocracoke had arrived on-scene at approximately 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, but, as Alexander said, was unable to get Jocka in tow due to the weather, the Coast Guard reported.
Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times