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A commercial fishing boat capsized yesterday in choppy waters near an inlet off the Hamptons, killing an 85-year-old man who was tossed overboard, officials said.
Authorities managed to rescue a crew member, Scott Finne, 42, who was tossed from the 45-foot trawler and found clinging to a flotation device. But they were unable to save the older man, Stian Stiansen.
Witnesses said the boat, the Pauline IV, was just short of Shinnecock Inlet, still in the ocean attempting to plow over the rough seas to make it through to the bay, shortly after 2 p.m. when disaster struck.
“I saw it go over,” said Ron Bendfelt, 67, of Patchogue, who was camping in Shinnecock East County Park.
“I noticed the boat was out there, and the inlet was really kicking hard. The next thing I know, I look, and the boat is gone. The waves were really high, 6 or 7 feet. One of them flipped it over.”
Bendfelt said he saw rescue workers pull the elderly man out of the water.
“I was looking out with my binoculars,” Bendfelt said. “Two guys grabbed the old guy. They were trying to revive him, but they couldn’t. He was in the water for at least 25 minutes.
“He had his rain-gear pants on. His boots were off. It’s a shame. They were out there on Mother’s Day just doing their job.”
The younger man had been pulled to safety about 15 minutes earlier.
The spot where the boat capsized is just down the road from pricey summer homes.
Several hours later, two Coast Guard officers were surveying the boat, which had washed up on the beach.
“It’s pretty bad out there,” one of the officers said. “We don’t really know what they were attempting to do yet.”
Rescue crews from Station Shinnecock, Southampton Marine Unit, Suffolk County Police Helicopter Rescue and SeaTow had responded to the scene.
A small-craft advisory was in effect at the time, but there was nothing to prohibita fishing vessel of that size from going out safely, a Coast Guard spokesman said.