Partial Devastation, Questions Follow Maritime Disaster
Though western Massachusetts emergency response units are typically unprepared to deal with trouble at sea, when a 911 call from a Northampton apartment alerted them to a nearby ship in distress, an admirable sense of duty, as well as curiosity, must have gotten the better of them. (This, combined with the absence of Coast Guard units in this part of the state). A soggy Northampton medic reported that an individual, identifying himself as “the captain,” had frantically called 911, shouting the signal “S - O - S!” into the phone. When the distressed individual calmed down slightly, he told the 911 operator that his vessel, an “airplane carrier,” had capsized during a routine exercise, and was sinking fast. He added, amidst splashing noises, that he was in “open water.”
Several EMS teams, perplexed but determined, rushed to Northampton center. Had they obtained proper coordinates, some of the following harm might well have been prevented. However, the captain was vague with regards to his location. Additionally, ambulance drivers were frustrated to discover that most oceanographic charts completely neglected Northampton and its surrounding area. When the responders finally reached the small apartment, they quickly found the captain, who, young for his stature, was splashing vigorously in an overflowing bathtub. A white captain’s hat dangled precariously from his small head. With a finger, he motioned to his charter, the ‘airplane carrier,’ which was at this point halfway submerged under unforgiving waves. The captain’s face reddened and he began to sob. First responders on the scene donned anoraks as the splashing intensified. The captain was only a few feet from the ship as it sank, and thus was in little danger. Tragically, though, the rescue team was not able to save any other crew members. In an official statement the next day, they were all declared dead.
What ultimately sealed the carrier’s fate was not the harsh current, which bashed the ship this way and that as it passed from one end of the tub to the other. Instead, what finally did the ship in was an unexpected collision with a disproportionately sized yellow waterfowl, identified later as some kind of duck, which slipped downwards from the rim of the tub, and almost in slow motion, dealt the ship one final blow. Being almost half of the ship’s total size, it easily overpowered the carrier in its weakened state. EMS team members surveyed the area for the sunken vessel, but high levels of foam prevented recovery. (It later came out that a large-scale soap spill nearby had contaminated the water. The environmental impact of this is currently being investigated). A more extensive effort is slated for the near future, once the tub is sufficiently drained.
The captain’s mother then burst into the bathroom and pulled the drain plug. She proceeded to berate the boy for both calling a number of ‘strangers’ into her apartment, and for neglecting his sworn duty to not flood the bathroom floor again. She stripped her son of his captaincy then and there, and apologized to EMS, imploring them to leave amid phrases of ‘I got it,’ and, ‘no, it’s fine, Forrest is just acting up because I made him take a bath.’
Though the sunken vessel will likely never weigh anchor again, the shocking event has raised questions about the future of maritime disaster prevention in the Pioneer Valley.
In a press statement the next day, EMS Chief Walter Quincy emphasized his frustration at the “astonishing lack of marine exploration in the area,” adding that if the area was charted accurately, perhaps the “entire event” could have been avoided. The city government has assembled a task force comprising members of law enforcement, Northampton Fire & Rescue, and several hobbyist oceanographers to rectify the grave oversight. In his closing remarks, Quincy implored citizens to exercise caution, for, “though we may turn our prow towards a safer valley, this tragic event is a reminder that much of western Massachusetts remains uncharted water.” As for Forrest? his seafaring days are pretty much over.
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