There wasn’t a mayday call from the commercial fishing vessel Lily Jean on Friday morning as it navigated the frigid Atlantic Ocean on its way home to Gloucester, Massachusetts, the US’s oldest fishing port. The coast guard was notified by the boat’s beacon that alerts when it hits the water.
When rescuers arrived they found one person dead, floating in the water, along with a debris field and an empty life boat. Six people remain missing.
The fate of the Lily Jean, a 72-foot fishing vessel owned by a beloved member of Gloucester’s historic fishing community, is the latest maritime tragedy to befall America’s oldest seaport. The city that inspired The Perfect Storm is tied to its fishing heritage in a way that has brought 400 years of history and, sometimes, tragedy. That book and movie were inspired by the FV Andrea Gail, which went missing at sea in 1991.
“We will continue to search throughout the night,” said coast guard commander Timothy Jones, who is coordinating the search and rescue. He noted that the sea spray was freezing on vessels and caused a serious danger to both the missing fishing boat and rescuers.
The Lily Jean; its captain, Gus Sanfilippo; and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show Nor’Easter Men. Sanfilippo is described as a fifth-generation commercial fisher, fishing out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the Georges Bank. The crew is shown working in dange