A 40-foot fishing boat sank three miles east of Gloucester Harbor Thursday morning and its captain, the sole occupant, was rescued by a passing sailboat, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The fishing boat, the Dirty Martha, was spotted taking on water by the sailboat, the 37-foot Gloucester-based Alambre, which sent out a mayday call around 11:16 a.m., the Coast Guard said.
Before the Dirty Martha went down, its captain deployed and boarded a life raft. The Alambre then picked up the captain from the liferaft and later turned him over to the Coast Guard, which sent two rescue boats to the scene.
The Coast Guard said the captain is 41 years old and was not injured in the sinking, but did not release his name.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Connie Terrell said the Dirty Martha was registered as a commercial fishing boat out of Brielle, N.J., but did not have any further description of it.
After being rescued, the captain told the Coast Guard he had been having engine trouble, but had no idea why the Dirty Martha started taking on water.
Carrying around 200 gallons of diesel fuel when it went down, the Dirty Martha is now resting on the bottom in 162 feet of water.
Terrell said Thursday that the Dirty Martha had released an oily sheen on the water's surface when it went down, but investigators do not believe that its tanks ruptured or that the diesel is a safety or environmental threat.
Right now, there are no plans to raise the Dirty Martha, Terrell said, adding that could change if the owner chooses to salvage it.
At the time of the sinking, seas were two to three feet and winds were light out of the west.
The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the sinking.
Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or panderson@gloucestertimes.com.
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