(Dennis Clark)
ANGEL: Victoria Gaines, who perished in the boat tragedy, in her First Communion dress in May.
“There was no time.”
The anguished grandmother of one of the three children who perished in a capsized Oyster Bay cabin cruiser yesterday relived the first horrific seconds as the boat tipped tragically into the dark waters.
“You couldn’t get life preservers,” heartsick Joan Treanor, 74, recalled of the panic that ensued as she and the other passengers were tossed into Long Island Sound.
“A wave came, and it just hit us. It was just one second and the boat was over. There was no time,” the Long Island grandmother told The Post.
Treanor — whose 11-year-old granddaughter, Harlie Treanor, died after being trapped in the cabin of the family boat — recalled how she desperately clung to Harlie’s little sister, Madyson, 8, to help save her after the shipwreck before handing her off to a rescuer.
“That young fellow, I don’t know his name, he picked up my granddaughter” and plucked her to safety, Treanor said.
She said the Coast Guard and a swarm of other rescuers did everything in their power to help.
“There was nothing else that could be done,” she said.
“We tried, believe me, we tried [to save everyone],” said Candi Treanor, Harlie’s aunt and the woman for whom the doomed 34-foot Silverton Convertible cruiser Candi One was named.
It would be almost a full day before Madyson’s parents could bear to tell the little girl the fate of her look-alike big sister, relatives said.
Harlie had gone to the boat’s cabin with cousin David Aureliano, 12, and longtime family friend Victoria Gaines, 7, to play games and cards as the boat headed back to shore after watching a July 4 fireworks show.
The parents of all three children yesterday made funeral plans — while Victoria’s family and friends also sadly marked what would have been the child’s eighth birthday.
The fireworks trip was an annual tradition for the extended Treanor and Aureliano clans.
The group — 27 in all, on a boat that experts said had a suggested maximum capacity 10 to 15 — set out to watch the fireworks at about 7 p.m.
“We went just for the fireworks, because the kids love the fireworks,” said Joan Treanor.
They were headed back when, according to Candi’s brother and boat captain Sal Aureliano, the vessel was hit by a wave and went belly up.
As it sank, witnesses said they heard the adults screaming the kids’ names into the dark.
Harlie’s grandfather, Sal Ambrosio, said the children in the cabin didn’t stand a chance.
“Part of the reason the girls were allowed to get on board is because both can swim. Of course, that didn’t make a difference for Harlie, who died. And I don’t think life vests would’ve helped. I think David had a life vest on, and it didn’t help him.”
David, the youngest son of Greg and Debbie Aureliano, had special needs and nearly didn’t survive after birth, family members said.
“David did a lot to stay in this world. He was a survivor,” his aunt Candi said. “We’re just heartbroken over this.”
Ambrosio said Harlie’s dad, Kevin, who owns the boat, is an experienced seaman.
“I know my son-in-law very well, and I know he did everything he could,” said Ambrosio. “ I know he and Sal [Aureliano] are going through hell right now.”
Investigators yesterday were still finalizing plans for a recovery operation of the Candi One, which came to rest about 70 feet down.
“That vessel is a key piece of evidence,” said Nassau County Homicide Squad commander, Detective Lt. John Azzata. “We want to surface that vessel and do a complete inspection.”
Authorities have said they are looking into whether the boat was overcrowded, whether it was smacked by a wave or wake from another boat, and whether there were enough life jackets aboard.
State law requires there be a Coast Guard-approved life vest for every passenger aboard a vessel, and kids under 12 must wear one unless they are in a completely enclosed cabin.
James Mercante, a veteran marine casualty lawyer hired by Kevin Treanor’s insurance company to represent him, said speculation that the boat was unsafe and had too many people aboard is “a rush to judgment.”
“The life-jacket issue has no bearing on the cause of the rollover or the cause of the fatalities,” Mercante told The Post.
He said he has spoken with Kevin Treanor and that “there were a sufficient number of life jackets as required by the Coast Guard” aboard.
Michael Della, a lawyer hired by Victoria Gaines’ family, yesterday suggested there were safety issues.
He said “preliminary research” indicates that the boat had “a maximum of 10 passengers recommended.”
“There were a lot more than 10 people on that boat — namely 27 people, which could be a sure sign of negligence,” Della told News Channel 12.
The lawyer spoke as Victoria’s mom, family and friends marked the child’s birthday and paid tribute on Facebook to the brown-eyed angel who dreamed of being a dancer and adored her older brother, Ryan.
One friend posted a moving video featuring photos of Victoria minutes after she was born, followed by photos of her in dance recital outfits, on vacation with her family, and in the white dress she wore to make her First Holy Communion just two months ago.
Gaines family has also set up a trust fund in her name to help them with expenses associated with the tragedy, their lawyer told Newsday.
Additional reporting by Selim Algar and Kate Kowsh