Two lobster fishermen out of Eastport were fortunate that another boat was nearby to rescue them after their vessel sank off Lubec on Sunday, November 25.
     Will Urquhart and his helper Jacob Fredette were bringing in a load of traps from offshore when Urquhart's boat, Another Notch, suddenly rolled and sank. The 35-foot boat had 60 traps aboard, and Urquhart says he doesn't believe it was overloaded, since that is the usual number he would carry on the boat. When they were in the Lubec Channel between Sail Rock and the Sparkplug lighthouse Urquhart noticed that the boat was listing, and he says waves were washing up on the deck, as the wind was kicking up and the tide was beginning to ebb. About "two minutes later" it rolled over on the port side. Before it rolled, Urquhart was able to get a distress call out to Angus McPhail aboard the High Maintenance.
     Both men were thrown into the water but were able to grab onto balloon buoys to help keep afloat. Although the boat had a life raft, Urquhart notes that they didn't have a chance to get on the wheelhouse roof to pull the cord to release it.
     Urquhart says he and Fredette were in the water between 12 and 15 minutes before they were picked up by Brent Griffin aboard the Triple Trouble. Griffin had also been steaming in from offshore with a load of traps and was just past West Quoddy Head when he heard the distress call and saw the boat go under, about a mile away from where he was. Griffin says, "I wasn't sure when we pulled up whether we'd be pulling bodies out or what." As soon as he got to the scene he threw a life ring to Urquhart and Fredette, and he and his sternmen, Shane Griffin and Chris Wood, hauled them onto their boat. "With the adrenaline going, we got them aboard pretty quick," he says, adding that the two were just wearing their oilskins. "It was not a good thing to witness, that's for sure."
     Noting that Urquhart and Fredette were pretty cold, as the water temperature was 460, Griffin says he got them by a heater to warm them up, and he headed his boat toward Eastport.
     Coast Guard Station Eastport had received a call about the sinking from McPhail at 12:36 p.m., dispatching its 45-foot response boat, which met the Triple Trouble near the Campobello bridge and picked up Urquhart and Fredette at 12:56. They were treated for hypothermia, and when the boat docked at the Eastport breakwater at 1:08 p.m. they were transferred to Downeast EMS ambulance and taken to the Calais Regional Hospital and later released. "It was the best outcome you could wish for, that's for sure," says Griffin.
     Later that day McPhail used his boat to tow the sunken vessel up through the Lubec Narrows back toward Eastport. The tow line parted near Treat's Island, and McPhail went back the next morning to haul the boat to the landing at the Eastport breakwater.
     Urquhart is not yet sure if Another Notch, which is insured, is totalled or not, noting that the wheelhouse, engine and electronics were all damaged. His lobster traps were also lost.
     Saying he feels lucky, Urquhart comments that he is grateful to everyone who helped rescue them and towed the boat to the breakwater. "I can't thank them enough -- those in my life who were willing to lend a hand."

Jonesport boat sinks
     The rescue off Lubec was not the only one that day. Another lobster boat, the 42-foot Overtimer, which was loaded with traps, sank 11 miles off Jonesport in heavy seas. The two fishermen aboard, Josh Kelley and Philip Kilton, donned survival suits before going in the water, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. They were picked up by the Bad Behavior, which was nearby and brought them to shore. The two fishermen did not need medical attention, the Coast Guard reports.