LUBEC, Maine — A Lubec man was rescued Thursday after his small aluminum skiff capsized in Lubec Narrows in dangerous sea and wind conditions.
Bracy Ashby, who is in his 40s, had been out urchin fishing and was returning from his fishing boat in a 12-foot aluminum skiff when he encountered a swell, Maine Marine Patrol Spc. Russell Wright said. The high winds at the time picked up the bow of Ashby’s boat “just like a kite” and caused it to flip, he said.
Wright and Officer Brian Brodie, also of the marine patrol, conducted the rescue.
“He was headed for way off shore,” Wright said of Ashby. “He’s very lucky to be alive.”
The rescue operation happened about 1 p.m.
Wright said he and Brodie were in Lubec checking boats when someone who saw Ashby go into the water called for help. The two marine patrol officers got into their own boat and headed out after Ashby.
Lubec Narrows is known for its depth and strong tidal currents and eddies, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
When Wright and Brodie reached Ashby, he had been in the water for about 20 minutes, Wright said.
“He was clinging to his outboard,” Wright said, adding that Ashby was barely able to move by that point.
He said that Ashby had somehow managed to hang on even after the outboard struck an abutment that is part of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Bridge, which links Lubec to Campobello Island, New Brunswick.
Wright said that when Ashby was taken to shore and placed in an awaiting ambulance, his body temperature had dropped to 87 degrees Fahrenheit.
Normal body temperature is about 98.6 degrees. Hypothermia occurs as your body temperature passes below 95 degrees, according to the Mayo Clinic’s website.
Despite that, Ashby declined a trip to the hospital and was treated by emergency medical personnel, Wright said.