Point Pleasant Beach Man Injured, Captain Killed As Boat Capsizes In North Carolina, Reports Say

OUTER BANKS, NC — A Point Pleasant Beach man was injured and another man was killed when the boat they were on capsized while trying to navigate Oregon Inlet on Saturday, reports say.

Taylor Flannery, 29, was a mate on the Moonstruck, a 50-foot yacht that had left from Cape May, New Jersey, and was headed to Florida, CBS 17 reported.

Flannery and Francis Hennigan Jr., 50, the boat’s captain, were planning to stop in Beaufort, North Carolina, for a repair on the boat when the incident happened, WTKR News 3 reported. It was operating with one of its four engines not working, the outlet reported.

Hennigan, of Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, died at the scene, and Flannery was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, the Island Free Press reported. Neither man was wearing a life jacket, the report said.

Winter Custom Yachts, which built the boat, posted condolences on its Facebook page: “Winter Custom Yachts is deeply saddened to learn of the tragic accident involving our vessel ‘Moonstruck’, which capsized Saturday afternoon in the Oregon Inlet while on their journey from Cape May, NJ to Florida.”

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the deceased, Captain Francis Hennigan Jr., and to Crew Member Taylor Flannery, who was injured, as well as to all friends and loved ones who are impacted by this devastating event,” the message read.

Hennigan was an experienced captain, according to friends in the boating community, and regularly took his boat south in the winter to Florida, the Bahamas and other points, then returned the boat north to New Jersey in the spring.

“With them 6 months ago at Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos,” one commenter said on the Winter Yachts post.

Several people who commented on the Winter Yachts post described Oregon Inlet as treacherous, even for captains who are familiar with it.

“So sad!! That inlet is insane to navigate much less if you have never done it or or only have a few times,” one commenter wrote.

“The water there is pure terror,” another wrote. “We lost our tower and rigging and a prop just passing through the channel.”

Another commenter who said he had been through Oregon Inlet “a bunch of times” compared it to Barnegat Inlet in New Jersey, which he said was similarly dangerous.

Capt. Charlie “Griff” Griffin, who appeared on “Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks,” died in 2024 along with his mate and his dog when his boat sank in the inlet.

“He was also an experienced boat captain. That’s one dangerous inlet,” another commenter said.

“Terrible news. That inlet has no mercy,” another man said.