Vigil continues for fishermen lost at sea

CAPE MAY, N.J. - Stacy Greene stared out at the horizon, where rescuers were searching the Atlantic Ocean for survivors of a sunken fishing boat yesterday, and considered what would happen if her fiance, Roy Smith Jr., didn't come home.

Smith, his brother, and their uncle were among six crew members dead or missing from the vessel, which was owned by Smith's father, Roy Smith Sr., of Bayboro, N.C.

"I don't know what I'll do," said Greene, of Cape May, choking back tears. "I'm living my worst nightmare right at this moment.

"I don't know where my strength is going to come from to go on," she said, as she waited with more than two dozen family members and friends at Cape May Harbor for word about the men aboard the Lady Mary.

The 71-foot scallop boat sank in rough seas 75 miles off the Jersey Shore yesterday morning, leaving at least two commercial fishermen dead.

One man was saved when he was found bobbing in the water, clinging to a piece of driftwood.

According to a Coast Guard spokeswoman, the vessel apparently began to take on water about 5 a.m. in an area known as the Elephant's Trunk, a prime scalloping spot where the boat was hauling in its catch. Such boats routinely bring in up to 18,000 pounds of scallops after a week at sea, according to fishermen who gathered at the dock yesterday.

A distress call was not received until around 7:30 a.m., when the vessel's Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon alerted authorities, and a crew was dispatched from the Coast Guard's Atlantic City station.

Two of the unit's C-130 turboprop transport planes arrived at the scene around 8:30 a.m. to find an empty life raft near the sinking craft. The rescuers were able to pluck three crew members from the icy water.

Only Jose Arias was found alert and unharmed. He was transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center's Mainland Division and released several hours later.

A second man, who was unconscious at the time of the rescue, died at the hospital during the afternoon. A third man was dead when the Coast Guard found him. Officials did not release the name of either crew member yesterday, pending notification of their families.

Two Coast Guard cutters, a pair of helicopters, and a plane were dispatched to the area where the Lady Mary went down to search for the four missing men. They spent the day combing a 225-square-mile grid, according to Crystalynn Kneen, the Coast Guard spokeswoman.

A pilot involved in the operation said that ocean swells of 10 to 15 feet had made the search difficult.

In a brief interview with reporters at the Coast Guard station, Arias said he was afraid that none of his coworkers had survived.

"Seven people . . . only me," he said.

Arias told rescuers that all seven of the crew members had time to put on Neoprene survival suits, which could improve their chances of remaining alive in the 40-degree water.

Without a life suit, which adds a moderate layer of insulation, a person is likely to survive no longer than 90 minutes, according to the U.S. Search and Rescue Task Force. Survival estimates for those wearing the suits varies widely - from a few hours to more than a day.

The Lady Mary was the second commercial fishing vessel to sink off the coast of New Jersey in a week.

Family and friends of the missing men stood vigil all day, crying and talking near where the boat had left from last week. It had been due back any time, they said.

For a few minutes, they formed a prayer circle, and a minister from a local Baptist church offered repeated petitions for the men's safe return.

"We're all like family here," said Edith Jones, who was on hand waiting for information about Bernie "Capt. Tarzan" Smith, the Lady Mary's captain when it went down. He is engaged to her mother, Jones said.

"He's a nice man - a fighter, a survivor - and we're all just hoping for the best," Jones said.

"That movie The Perfect Storm, that's our life. That movie is just like what is like out there," said Stacy Greene, as she tried to come to terms with the tragedy.

Her fiance, Roy Smith Jr., was aboard with his brother Tim Smith. Bernie Smith is their uncle.

The Smith brothers' father, Roy Sr., rushed from his home in North Carolina to Cape May yesterday afternoon, according to an employee at the Cold Spring Fish & Supply Co., which purchases fresh seafood from the Lady Mary.

"Nobody really understands just how dangerous this line of work really is," said Wayne Greene, who stood by his sister Stacy.

Wayne Greene, of Cape May, said he was aboard the Amy Marie, a scallop boat that helped rescue three commercial fisherman on March 17 when their craft, the Miss Dollie, sank 30 miles off Cape May.

"I never would have believed that a week later I'd be standing here doing this," he said. "But that's how big and unpredictable that ocean is. You never know what is going to happen out there."

Cape May is home to the second-largest commercial fishing fleet in the nation, behind Gloucester, Mass. Point Pleasant, N.J., ranks third.

Commercial fishermen face a risk of death on the job 20 to 30 times greater than any other occupation, including police officers and firefighters, according to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sooki Mathews, of Cape May, whose father is a retired fisherman, was among those gathered on the dock yesterday. She was one of several parishioners from the First Baptist Church of Woodbine who came to support the families whose loved ones were missing.

As a sign of respect, she said, the fleet "stood down" yesterday, meaning none of the other vessels left the harbor.

"We know the men who were out there. We sit with them every Sunday at church. We know their mamas and their sisters," Mathews said.

"Now all we can do is pray for all of them, that God delivers them and gives their family strength to get through this."

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