Local News

2 people rescued from water in Marshfield after being ‘ejected’ from boat in ‘circle of death’

The two men were not wearing life jackets, police said.

Marshfield police

July 6, 2022

Two men were rescued off the coast of Marshfield on Tuesday after police say they were ejected from their boat, which went on to travel in a “circle of death” for more than an hour.

Marshfield police said the town’s harbormaster received a call around 10 a.m. from Dana Blackman, captain of the Finest Kind, a fishing boat homeported in Green Harbor. Blackman reported seeing a 24-foot boat circling at a high rate of speed near the Farnham Rock buoy, about 3/4 of a mile from Brant Rock.

The captain also told the harbormaster they’d pulled two men, one of them waving a white t-shirt, from the water shortly after.

“The two males were somehow ejected from the vessel and not wearing lifejackets, nor tethered to a vessel kill switch, luckily the two males were not injured,” police said.

Their boat, meanwhile, continued to go in the tight circle pattern police said is known as the “circle of death,” headed toward Green Harbor and Brant Rock. Police said a one-mile security zone was established by the department and the beach was temporarily closed in the event that the boat’s direction quickly changed.

After 90 minutes, the boat was stopped by Sea Tow using a nylon tow line, according to police.

“This is a stark reminder of how fast incidents can occur on the water without notice … These incidents can happen to the most experienced mariners,” police said.