Tag Archives: F/V Caitlin & Mairead
Offshore Wind Farms: As turbines rise, small-scale fishermen have the most to lose
David Aripotch is 65, a weathered man with gray hair, just tall enough to see over the helm. He has been fishing for almost a half-century, but he still gets excited every time the net is lifted from the ocean. It’s all the other things that eat at him. The federal fishing quotas that sometimes make him steam as far south as North Carolina to catch fish he can find off Long Island. The mind-boggling expenses of running a fishing boat: $5,000 a month for insurance, $30,000 for a new net, $60,000 for a paint job. Worst of all are the wind farms. “There’s so many things going against you as a commercial fisherman in the United States,” he said. “And now these wind farms, it’s almost like that’s the final nail in the coffin.” >click to read< (2nd article of 2 parts, >part 1<) 09:20
Coast Guard Suspends Search For Two People Missing After Plane Crash
The U.S. Coast Guard and East Hampton Town Police have announced that the search for the Piper Navajo and its two missing occupants has been suspended due to “rapidly detiorating sea conditions.”,,, The cause of the crash is still under investigation but many have commented on the strong thunderstorm that had swept across the South Fork at almost the same time as the crash. The captain and crew of the Montauk-based fishing boat Caitlin & Mairead, which was one of the first vessels on the scene of the crash yesterday, said that the strong squall had blown through right before reports of the crash. “The weather was awful savage,” said David Aripotch, the captain and owner of the Caitlin & Mairead. “There wasn’t a lot of wind, but there was a lot of rain and lightning, a lot of lightning. It went by quick and right after that the Coast Guard came on [the radio] and said there was a plane crash. We were 4 to 5 miles east so we headed there. >click to read<18:04
Montauk fishermen rescue dovekie, a tiny sea bird
A Montauk fishing boat traveling 60 miles south of Long Island rescued a penguin-like sea fowl called a dovekie struggling in the waters Thursday. Doug Davidson, a crew member of the Montauk-based Caitlin & Mairead, saw the tiny bird “having trouble in the waves” and used a shovel to help it aboard, said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. Brady said 30-mph winds had whipped up 13- to 15-foot seas the night before, perhaps disorienting the dovekie. Her husband, Dave Aripotch, captains and owns the boat. >click here to read<18:28
F/V Caitlin & Mairead safe after taking on water, Coast Guard assists, towing to Montauk
On Wednesday night, the Coast Guard is towing a commercial fishing vessel back to Montauk that was taking on water about 30 miles south of Montauk Point. Petty Officer Alissa Flockerzi said the crew aboard Caitlin & Mairead reported the 65-foot boat was taking on water at about 2:25 p.m. At the time, the four-person crew had engaged pumps, which were keeping up with the water. The boat is registered to David Aripotch. more@easthamptonpatch 04:40
Coast Guard press release here 09:38
