A whale of a tale, as engine emergency cuts short fishing trip

Rescued anglers make do with viewing leviathans

PLYMOUTH - Thirty-six passengers who embarked from Plymouth Harbor for a day of deep-sea fishing wound up instead on a whale watch yesterday, after the engines on their chartered boat started pouring out black smoke and they had to jump to a sister ship.

About an hour into the trip, passengers were told to quickly move to the upper deck of the 77-foot Capt. John & Son, owned by Capt. John Boats of Plymouth. There, they were instructed to put on life jackets.

The vessel was about 6 miles out, where the water is more than 100 feet deep.

About 10 minutes after distress calls were sent, the passengers were transferred to the Tails of the Sea, a sister boat of Capt. John & Son, which had headed out on a morning-long whale watch. That vessel continued on its excursion after rescuing the fishing boat passengers.

Those who had signed up to deep-sea fish for the day were treated to a number of whale sightings on the jaunt, but passengers said they were refunded their $60 fare when they returned to shore shortly after 1 p.m.

"We had a great time," said Eric Gensler, who fully enjoyed the whale watch, even though he had hoped to fish. Passengers, he said, remained calm as they suited up with life jackets. "When it happened, the captain was really professional," Gensler added.

Several private boats had quickly responded to the distress call, made about 8:30 a.m., along with several Coast Guard boats and harbormaster boats from Plymouth and Duxbury.

The Capt. John & Son, the oldest of the boats run by Capt. John Boats in Plymouth, was towed back to the harbor, where it was inspected by the Coast Guard.

Bob Avila, principal of Capt. John, said two new engines had been installed in the Capt. John & Son early in the spring. One of the gaskets in the turbocharger let go, Avila said, causing the problem.

Black smoke poured from the engines, but the crew was able to contain the situation before the vessel could catch fire, Coast Guard spokeswoman Lauren Jorgensen said yesterday afternoon.

While many would-be fishermen didn't mind the change of plans yesterday, Paul Allen of Raynham said he was disappointed. "I came to fish, not to watch whales," he said.

Bill Jacobs had come from Ontario for his annual fishing trip out of Plymouth Harbor, as he has for the last 35 years. Jacobs remained undaunted yesterday afternoon. "I'll just go out fishing tomorrow," he said, loading his gear into the trunk of his sport utility vehicle.

The two engines in the Capt. John & Son had been installed by Capt. John employees while it was moored on the Town Wharf. Jorgensen said the boat company notified the Coast Guard about the engine change, as is required when equipment is replaced on such large vessels.

"On April 18, that boat was inspected, and it passed that inspection," Jorgensen said.

She added that the inspection would not have turned up potential problems with the engines' inner workings because its purpose was mainly to determine that stability had been maintained.

Avila said the engines had been problem-free. "We've been using that boat with the new engines since spring with no problems," he said.

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com