In the pre-dawn ocean darkness 60 miles off the New Jersey coast, the captain of a Massachusetts fishing boat heard a brief, panicked radio transmission, lasting less than a second.
The voice, with a southern accent, sounded scared and appeared to say a single word: "Mayday!"
It may have been the lone cry for help that anyone heard from the Lady Mary, a scallop boat based in New Jersey and North Carolina that sank March 24 off Cape May, killing six of the seven crew members aboard.
Antonio Alvernaz, captain of the Kathryn Marie, testified yesterday at a Coast Guard hearing investigating the cause of the disaster. The panel has heard several theories, including the possibility that the Lady Mary’s gear might have gotten snagged on something on the ocean floor, or that the vessel may have been struck by a passing boat.