A stricken Long Island mom whose 7-year-old daughter died in a Fourth of July yacht tragedy recalled yesterday frantically screaming for her child in the darkness as the boat sank.
“I couldn’t see a thing. I was just screaming her name to see if she came up because I know she was below us,” said a tearful Lisa Gaines of daughter Victoria.
The grieving mom, appearing on the “Today’’ show, described how her daughter and two other children — David Aureliano, 12, and his cousin, Harlie Treanor, 11 — were playing cards in the ship’s cabin when they became fatally trapped after the 34-foot vessel capsized off Long Island.
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“Victoria was in the cabin because we felt it was the safest place’’ during the cruise, the mom said.
Gaines said she had no idea that the yacht Kandi Won — which had 17 adults and 10 children aboard — was overcrowded when it left the dock heading toward a fireworks display.
“I really didn’t see all of [the passengers] at one time,’’ she said. “I didn’t know exactly how many were on.”
Gaines said she was on the deck of the vessel with her son Ryan when the yacht ran into trouble off Oyster Bay.
“It was very fast. The boat started to lean, and it didn’t recover, and then it went over,” she said. “I don’t know if we slid off or I fell off. I don’t remember.”
But she said Ryan, 12, saved her life because she can’t swim.
“We separated for a little while. I was going under . . . so he grabbed me. He said, ‘I got you, Mom!’ and I grabbed onto him,” Gaines said. “He helped me swim to a chair that was floating before people got us out.”
She said she shouted her daughter’s name while floating in the darkness, hoping someone would say they had rescued her.
She said Victoria and David were the only passengers she saw wearing life jackets.
The Gaines family wants to avoid a repeat of the tragedy by having the state institute “Victoria’s Law,’’ which would require boat owners to be licensed and to undergo continuing education. Currently, there is no New York state requirement that boat owners be licensed. Owners are only required to take a boating-safety course.
Gaines’ lawyer would not say if the family plans to sue the boat’s operator and its owner.
“With regard to a civil lawsuit, that’s the furthest thing from this family’s minds at this point in time,’’ Michael Della said. “Their mission right now is ‘Victoria’s Law.’ ’’