5 Teens Saved From Sinking Sailboat In North Shore Harbor

MANCHESTER BY-THE-SEA, MA — Five young teens struggling with a sinking sailboat were saved from Manchester-by-the-Sea harbor Thursday afternoon in a potentially harrowing incident that Manchester Police Chief Todd Fitzgerald said "provides a reminder that anything can happen out on the water, even right here in the harbor."

Fitzgerald said Sgt. Richard Newton was on return patrol in the harbor when he noticed a small sailboat in an unusual place. Upon closer inspection, Newton realized the sailboat had five young teen boys in it, and that the boat was sitting low in the water.

Sgt. Newton quickly got four of the teens onto the MPD Public Safety Vessel. The fifth teen stayed aboard the sailboat to assist efforts by MPD and the Manchester-by-the-Sea Harbormaster to tow the
boat back to shore but was also taken from the boat when it partially sank.

Manchester-by-the-Sea Police and the Harbormaster successfully towed the boat back to shore,
and the boat was able to be raised again as water was pumped out.

There were no reported injuries.

"Both Manchester-by-the-Sea Police and the Harbormaster are on patrol and available to help, but we encourage all boaters to always double-check their boats and to ensure they have proper safety equipment before getting underway," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said Sgt. Newton was on patrol as part of the Manchester-by-the-Sea Police Department’s commitment to 40 hours of marine patrol during the summer months.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)