Town of Cape Elizabeth Fire-Rescue Department
Boat Rescue Incident Report (01/13/24)
On January 13th, 2024, at approximately 01:21AM, Portland Regional Communications Center received a 911 call regarding a boat that had run aground off the coast of Trundy Point in Cape Elizabeth. The boat — a 49-foot fishing vessel — reportedly had 4 souls on board.
E62, L65, A61, CR601, CR603, and the WETeam responded to the scene at Trundy Beach off Reef Rd. On arrival, crews found the vessel was grounded on the rocks about 100 yards off the point. The Coast Guard was notified, and mutual aid was also requested from Portland Fire Department’s Marine Division.
While the WETeam’s Marine 68 was en route to the boat launch, Support 608 responded to Trundy Beach to attempt to launch their inflatable from the shore. Radio contact was made with the vessel’s captain who confirmed there were four souls on board.
The WETeam’s inflatable was launched from the beach and was able to make two trips to the vessel and successfully transport all four souls back to dry land. All four were safely on shore within 45 minutes of the Fire Department response.
Chief Young would like to commend the WETeam’s tremendous effort to bring the vessel’s crew to safety under hazardous conditions!
The Coast Guard was notified of the status of the crew and the scene was transferred to them. Fire department units cleared the scene around 02:30AM.
The United States Coast Guard is leading the investigation of this incident and all further inquiries should be directed to them.
