Tragedy off America’s oldest seaport claims 7 lives as fishing boat sinks in frigid waters

The seven victims of a marine tragedy that has devastated the historic fishing community of Gloucester, Massachusetts, will soon have their names added to a city memorial honoring thousands of fishermen lost at sea over generations.

The 72-foot fishing vessel Lily Jean sank in frigid Atlantic waters early Friday while returning to port to repair fishing gear. The Coast Guard announced Monday it was launching a formal investigation into the sinking after suspending its search for survivors on Saturday. While officials have not determined what caused the vessel to sink, they noted on Friday that ice buildup from freezing ocean spray can cause boats to capsize.

“You fish in federal waters, you fish in a Gloucester boat, and you lose your life, you’re forever a Gloucester fisherman,” said Gloucester fisherman Al Cottone. “This is the worst nightmare come true. This community will need a long time to heal.”

Coast Guard officials identified the victims as boat captain Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo and crewmembers Paul Beal Sr., Paul Beal Jr., John Rousanidis, Freeman Short and Sean Therrien. Also aboard was Jada Samitt, a fisheries observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The tragedy is only the latest to befall Gloucester, a close-knit fishing community where the industry’s dangers have been immortalized in the book and film “The Perfect Storm.” The sinking has prompted an outpouring of grief in the town, where fishing is tied to 400 years of history.

Community members were quick to defend the crew against speculation about what might have caused the accident. Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, noted that such incidents are unfortunately not uncommon in the industry.

“We’ve had multiple sinkings. All hands lost. No radio communication at the very last minute. Nobody alive to say, ‘Oh, no, it wasn’t that,'” Giacalone said. “So, it’s just unfair to everyone involved with the folks that were lost feeling like someone did something wrong.”

Cottone emphasized that any vessel leaving port requires a Coast Guard inspection decal, which among other things requires up-to-date safety equipment. Additionally, the fishery observer conducts a safety check before each trip.

“If the observer deems the boat not to be safe or have any piece of safety equipment that’s not up to date, if something is expired by one day, that observer will shut the trip down,” he explained.

Sanfilippo was a well-known figure in Gloucester. A fifth-generation commercial fisherman, he and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show “Nor’Easter Men.” The program portrayed them working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days offshore catching haddock, lobster and flounder.

“We loved each other,” Giacalone said. “He treated me like a big brother and I treated him like my younger brother. To know the tragedy of this and to know the kind of character that Gus had, he’d be mortified to know that these lives were all lost.”

The crew represented a mix of experienced fishermen and relative newcomers. Giacalone said the Sanfilippo and Beal names were synonymous with local fishing going back decades. “Sanfilippo followed in the footsteps of his dad,” while the Beal family has built boats and has other family members in the fishing industry.

“Those two families are absolutely etched in centuries of these multiple generations of fishermen,” Giacalone added.

By contrast, Samitt, 22, was undertaking her first job at sea as an observer. Her family said she was originally from Virginia and had developed a deep love for Gloucester’s fishing community. In a statement, they noted she “conveyed to us how critical it was to protect the seas and fisheries.”

NOAA offered its condolences, saying: “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Jada’s family, the families of the six fishermen, the NOAA observer community, and everyone affected.”

Therrien, 44, was also relatively new to commercial fishing, working his first season aboard the Lily Jean after his close friend Rousanidis told him the boat needed another crew member, according to his partner Becky Carp. He had been on about half a dozen trips so far.

“He wanted to make sure his family was safe and taken care of, which is why he was busting his butt so he could make as much money as he could so we would be comfortable and wouldn’t struggle,” Carp said.

She last spoke with Therrien on Tuesday before he headed out to sea. Carp had wanted him to take the week off to spend time together, but he felt he needed to work. She learned about the boat’s sinking only when alerts started appearing on Friday.

“You always want to hold out hope that they are found. Come Saturday morning, I kind of knew at that point that they wouldn’t find any survivors,” Carp said. “I feel like it’s a nightmare that I am going to wake up from. It’s just a bad dream and everything will be OK. But unfortunately, it’s not.”

Former Lily Jean crew member Gryphon Orfanos, who worked a year on the boat early in his career, praised captain Sanfilippo as a mentor who looked out for his crew. On Monday, Orfanos and his friend Nate Dennen, a longtime friend of Sanfilippo, fastened a stainless steel memorial cross with the name “Lily Jean” to a wooden beam at the dock where the vessel used to berth.

“Out on the ocean, it teaches you everything,” Orfanos said. “But as far as I want the word to spread, Gus was the best guy ever.”