"Horrendous Sea Conditions"
June 17, 2001

Aside from the bumpy seas we had, a boat in my marina was 45 miles offshore in a 35' Viking when the squalls came. The crew (3 experienced offshore fishermen) said they were never so scared in their life and thought for sure they were going to lose the boat, especially after one engine overheated. The squalls came in from the northwest and blew against the 10-15 foot swell they were fishing in. Conditions rapidly deteriorated (in less then 5-10 minutes). Seas quickly grew to 20-25' and were breaking. They estimated the height based on the waves cresting at the height of the outriggers. They spent the better part of an hour just maintaining their position with the boat going almost straight up and then straight down into the waves, with green water burying the bow right up to the fly bridge. Once they were able to start making some headway they were relieved when they got into sea conditions that were "only" 10-15'. The 3 crew members felt as though they just saw the Perfect Storm for real!

Dozens off boats reported difficult if not horrendous conditions offshore, with a few needing assistance, including a 38' Bertram that had its windows blown out, lost electronics and finally losing it's steering. The USCG Cutter Finback out of Cape May made the 100 mile trip out to assist them (the Bertram was also about 45 miles offshore). The Coast Guard also had a Helicopter over many of the boats monitoring their conditions and progress, ready to make evacuations if needed. Why were all these boats fishing 40 -50 miles offshore with the "dooming" forecast. Annual Shark Tournament out of Manasquan.