A 36-foot Marine Trader sank off Penfield Lighthouse after striking what might have been a log Sunday, and local police report an unusual amount of floating debris in Long Island Sound near Fairfield and Bridgeport.
The photo above, taken by the Fairfield police, shows the vessel sinking bow-down, consistent with a hull-breach forward.
According to local news outlets, six people were rescued after the Mary Kirby began taking on water. “The Bridgeport Fire Department was training in the area and one of their boats was able to get to the boat, retrieve all six passengers and bring them back to their home port of Captain’s Cove Seaport,” The Fairfield Daily Voice reported.
“The boat’s owner, Brian McDonald, of Hulls Highway, put out a mayday call on the radio. He was unable to give a latitude and longitude, but said the boat was going down quickly,” the Fairfield Citizen reported. McDonald told police the boat struck an object near Sunken Island and one of his crew saw a large log. The boat came to rest just west of the lighthouse.
