VINALHAVEN, Maine (AP) _ The Coast Guard is investigating an incident in which two Maine lobstermen had to be rescued last week after their fishing boat hit a ledge and sank in foggy weather near Vinalhaven.
The Maine Marine Patrol said Monday that Richard Bickford of Vinalhaven and William Deane Jr. of Friendship deployed a life raft but had no radio to call for help. They were exposed to cold and rain for nine hours before occupants of a sailboat heard their cries for help on the afternoon of July 15.
Operators of the 23-foot sailboat said they wouldn't have heard the men if they'd had a motor.
The Maine Marine Patrol collected the pair and they were taken to shore. Marine Patrol Officer Matthew Wyman said neither fisherman was transported to the hospital.