Coast Guard calls off search for fishing captain

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff, and Jeannie M. Nuss, Globe Correspondent

NEW BEDFORD -- After more than 30 hours, the Coast Guard ended a search this morning for a 57-year-old fishing captain whose boat capsized 115 miles east of Cape Cod.

Antonio Mesquita

The search for Antonio Mesquita covered a swath of more than 280 square miles of ocean and involved two Coast Guard cutters, a Falcon jet, and a helicopter. The effort was officially suspended today at 9:41 a.m.

"The decision to end a search is one of the most difficult ones to make," said Petty Officer First Class Gerald Welton in a statement. "Our thoughts are with Mr. Mesquita's family and friends."

At about midnight on Thursday, Mesquita rushed into the pilothouse of his foundering fishing vessel and slapped the emergency alarm, alerting his three-man crew to the danger they faced. The crewmen -- Francisco Brito, Joao Matias, and Jorge Talma -- survived. Mesquita, who was last seen inside the pilothouse, apparently did not.

The Costa & Corvo capsized and sank in about 90 feet of water, according to the Coast Guard.

At Mesquita's home in this fishing city's South End, relatives and friends struggled to stay optimistic on Thursday while the Coast Guard search continued. The 71-foot vessel went down in relatively calm conditions--seas were about a foot high, and wind speed was just 5 knots--but the water temperature was 58 degrees, dangerously cold for human survival.

Sandra Silveirinha said her 56-year-old father has been fishing since he was 13 and was a strong swimmer.

"He was a strong man, inside and out," she said in an interview outside her parents' home.

"My heart wants to tell me yes," he is alive, she said. "I would hope that he is. But I don't know."

Silveirinha, 33, of New Bedford, said her father was very safety-conscious. She said the family believed, after hearing from the Coast Guard and other fishermen, that his last act was to run into the wheelhouse, when the boat started to tip, to sound the emergency alarm and to radio for help.

The three weathered survivors, dressed in bright orange jumpsuits and helmets, were brought back to land by the Coast Guard last night, arriving in Sandwich at about 8 p.m. They clambered out of an inflatable rescue craft onto the dock after more than 20 exhausting hours at sea.

Emergency crews evaluated the men, who had been in the water as long as 20 minutes. The fishermen and authorities walked briskly to the nearby Coast Guard cottage, where their families crowded around them, hugging in an emotional homecoming.

One of the survivors was overcome with emotion and several loved ones wiped away tears before investigators took the crewmen away for questioning.

"I imagine they're probably pretty relieved," Petty Officer Connie Terrell, a Coast Guard spokeswoman, said about the families' reaction.

Jorge Palma, a curly-haired, clean-shaven 51-year-old dressed in a flannel shirt, declined to comment on his experience last night. The other two crewmen, identified by the New Bedford Standard-Times as Francisco Brito and John Matias, also asked for privacy.

The men were not wearing life vests when the vessel capsized, Terrell said. "They are very lucky," she said.

The surviving crewmen were plucked from the water by the crew of the Mary K, a sister ship that was fishing 2 miles away when disaster struck.

The New Bedford home of Mesquita, the missing captain, is on a dead-end street, which slowly became clogged yesterday with cars as well-wishers and relatives stopped by to offer support.
Among those was a friend from their shared childhood in Portugal, Antonio Reboca, who captains his own fishing vessel. Speaking in Portuguese, Reboca said Mesquita was a natural leader and a careful fisherman.

"He was a good worker, a good colleague," Reboca said through a neighbor, who translated. "He had all the good qualities that a man out on the ocean should have."

Mesquita's family and friends said they have been told by the survivors that the boat suddenly became unstable. Mesquita reacted quickly, triggering the audible alarm, but might have become trapped by his actions. Crewmen said he was heard frantically calling for help over the radio before it went silent.

Reboca believes that the boat capsized when the crew was pulling up its net and that the net was so heavy with fish that the vessel became unbalanced.

The Costa & Corvo was built in 1977 and is owned by R&P Fishing Corp. of New Bedford, according to Coast Guard records. Owner Carlos Rafael could not be reached for comment.

Coast Guard officials said yesterday that they will investigate the accident in the next few weeks.

Initially, the Coast Guard said, they had been told by the surviving crewmen that they were not sure what happened shortly after midnight yesterday.

Terrell said the vessel had passed a Coast Guard dockside safety inspection on Nov. 6.

Terrell said regulations require life vests to be on board fishing vessels and that the Coast Guard recommends that mariners wear them at all times while on board.

John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.

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