Latest news with #Grady-White
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
The fishermen who died in a boating accident near Breezy Point loved the sea — and their families
For six friends aboard a 30-foot fishing boat that capsized near Breezy Point off the coast of Queens during its first trip, what was a relaxing and rejuvenating pastime ended up costing four of the men their lives while the surviving two are haunted by the harrowing experience. The boat, a Grady-White owned by two of the men, suddenly overturned in Ambrose Channel Feb. 23 after beginning to take on water, casting the men into the channel. One of the friends still has not been found. Cecilio Javier Adames, 50, nicknamed 'Captain' for his history of boating excursions, was among those killed, 'He enjoyed nature. He enjoyed fishing a lot. He enjoyed being on the boat, which was how he died,' Brian Adames, the victim's son, told the Daily News. Adames was originally from Sabana Iglesia, Dominican Republic, and lived in Howard Beach, where he shared the boat with one of the men who survived, said his son. 'He would always go on a boat. He had a couple boats back in the day, but recently he's been sharing a boat with his friend,' said Brian Adames, 25, who added that the vessel had just been brought up from in Florida. 'If I'm not mistaken that day was the first day they tried the boat,' he said. 'They were just trying the boat out apparently.' Adames, an Uber driver, and Francis Marmolejos, of Cypress Hills, who co-owned a deli, were among the three whose bodies were recovered. Vernon Glasford, a construction worker living in the Bronx neighborhood of University Heights, has not been located but is presumed dead. Surviving the incident were Enrique Diaz, who owns an auto shop in East New York and Sewchand Maniram, of South Richmond Hill. On the day of the accident, the boat departed from a dock on Cross Bay Blvd. near 162nd Ave. in Howard Beach, and began its trip on Shellbank Basin, a narrow inlet leading to Jamaica Bay. The vessel was on its way back to land when it began to take on water near Breezy Point A 911 call was placed at 12:04, said a spokesman from the U.S. Coast Guard. As the men waited for help to arrive, they tried desperately to remove the water that was pouring into the vessel. One of the survivors, Sewchand Maniram, 62, had taken over captaining the boat and told family about the horror that began to unfold. 'One of the guys was feeling seasick, so my grandfather took over driving to go back,' said Maniram's nephew, Sachin Latchman, 18. 'There were a lot of waves, and it seemed unnatural to my grandfather because he owned a boat, too.' The men looked back and noticed the engine was already under water. 'That's when it flipped,' said the nephew. 'It happened all of a sudden. My grandfather climbed onto the bottom of the boat.' As the chaos grew, the friends desperately tried to save each other in the frigid waters off the coast of Queens. 'One minute everything was fine, and then next minute it was chaos,' Asha Maniram, 42, said her father told her. 'He said they ended up in the water, and they were trying to help each other out.' The rescue ended up taking over two hours, during which time four of the men were lost. A Coast Guard spokesman said the agency immediately dispatched two boats and a helicopter to respond to the area around Breezy Pointa s soon as the call came They were soon joined by the NYPD and FDNY. The Coast Guard continued to track the call with help from New York City and Monmouth County 911 and were able to get a possible location around 2 p.m. near the Ambrose Channel, a busy shipping area between Queens and Staten Island. 'At approximately 2:15 pm, Coast Guard crews arrived at the location of the distressed vessel and commenced rescue efforts,' the Coast Guard spokesman said. The co-owner of the craft, Enrique Diaz, 55, was airlifted to safety and treated in the surgical intensive care unit at Staten Island University Hospital North. Diaz's son, Jonathan Diaz, 33, said his father was on the rescue helicopter with Adames. He believed the two friends, both from the Dominican Republic, had met when they were taxi drivers years ago. 'It was too long,' Jonathan Diaz said of the time it took for rescue crews to find the boat, recalling what his father told him. '[The victims] were trying to take water out with buckets, but it was just sinking too fast.' 'I'm thankful,' said Jonathan Diaz of his father's survival. 'I'm happy, but at the end of the day it's a lot of people [who died]. It's unfortunate for the other families. They all went through the same situation.' Adames' devastated son is now left only with memories of his father, who had just become a grandfather. 'My son is two months. He was crazy about my son. He was crazy about him, since the day he was born, since the day he was in the stomach, actually…He was crazy about him. I have a picture of him kissing him,' said Brian Adames. 'Above all my dad was a very humble person. And aside from being humble, he was very kind-hearted. Very down to earth, and tough at the same time, whenever he had to be. Strong person.' 'My heart is aching, and it's just something that's so unbelievable. I just, I think it's so crazy, the fact that he's gone. It's crazy to me. But I'm accepting it. I'm slowly accepting it.' Another of the fishermen who died was 37-year-old Francis Marmolejos, a father of three. 'Fishing was his hobby. I guess he couldn't wait for summer,' said cousin Edward Leonardo. 'Life is crazy sometimes.' 'He was an amazing father. He was like a father to me,' said a relative who gave her name as Jasmin 'He is always going to be remembered in our hearts. He was a loving man. He was amazing.' Marmolejos grew up in La Vega, Dominican Republic and was co-owner of a deli in Ridgewood for 10 years, said family. On Wednesday, there was a memorial to him outside the Best Deli Grocery on Wyckoff Ave. near Halsey St. with votive candles, beer bottles and a newspaper story about the tragic mishap. After searching until 6 p.m. Monday, the Coast Guard suspended the search for Vernon Glasford, 51, who is believed to be dead. 'The decision to suspend a search is always difficult,' said Capt. Jonathan Andrechik, the Coast Guard Sector New York commander. 'Though our active search has ended, our support and sympathy remain with all those impacted by this tragic incident.' Glasford's sister, who has lived in the same building as her brother in University Heights, said the hardworking construction worker originally from St. Kitts and Nevis was a father of two. 'He went fishing all the time. He did it for fun. He'd often give the fish away, that's how generous he was,' said Jenel Bobb. 'I remember his kindness,' she said 'He was loving and dependable.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Search suspended for missing fisherman after 3 killed when boat capsizes near Queens
The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a missing 52-year-old fisherman who is presumed dead after his boat capsized in the waters off Queens Sunday, killing three of his friends. The search was ended for Bronx resident Vernon Glasford at 6 p.m. Monday, with his body still missing. Glasford was on the 30-foot Grady-White boat fishing boat when it began to take on water near Breezy Point near the entrance to the Ambrose Channel around noon Sunday. 'The decision to suspend a search is always difficult,' said Capt. Jonathan Andrechik, the Coast Guard Sector New York commander. 'Though our active search has ended, our support and sympathy remain with all those impacted by this tragic incident.' Six men were on the boat when it unexpectedly capsized, officials said. Two men survived, three died and Glasford was unaccounted for. Coast Guard crews responding to the capsized boat scoured 842 square miles during a 30-hour search, Coast Guard officials said. The search involved vessels of different sizes, helicopters, and small planes. Survivor Sewchand Maniram, 62, was captaining the boat when it began to take on water, his grandson told the Daily News Monday. 'One of the guys was feeling seasick so my grandfather took over driving to go back,' said Sachin Latchman, 18. 'There were a lot of waves and it seemed unnatural to my grandfather because he owned a boat too.' The men looked back and noticed the engine was already under water, according to Latchman. 'That's when it flipped,' he said. 'It happened all of a sudden. My grandfather climbed onto the bottom of the (upside down) boat.' The boat, which departed from a dock on Cross Bay Blvd. near 162nd Ave. in Howard Beach, began its trip on the Shellbank Basin, a narrow inlet leading to Jamaica Bay. The NYPD, FDNY, and New Jersey State Police assisted the Coast Guard in its search. A Coast Guard boat crew recovered three people from the capsized boat and rushed them to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, N.J., for treatment. A helicopter rescue crew dispatched from Atlantic City recovered one victim and an NYPD aviation crew found another within a few hours. Glasford was wearing a gray hoodie, blue jeans and black boots when the boat capsized. 'He went fishing Sunday and he didn't come home,' said Jenel Bobb, who lives in the same building as her brother in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. 'He didn't come home. He didn't call. We called and called and he didn't pick up,' said Bobb. 'It didn't add up. And then the Coast Guard called.'
New York Times
25-02-2025
- New York Times
1 Person Is Still Missing After Boat Capsizes Off the Coast of Queens
Cecilio Adames met up with five friends Sunday morning at a dock in Howard Beach, Queens. The group planned to go fishing on a boat one of them owned. It was not fishing season, and the air was a frigid 36 degrees, but Mr. Adames was 'excited' to be going out in good company, his daughter Alisha Adames, 16, said. Hours later, detectives knocked on the family's door. The boat had capsized and Mr. Adames was at a Staten Island hospital, they said. When the family got there, the police said he was dead. The 30-foot long Grady-White boat Mr. Adames and his friends were on had taken on water around noon on Sunday in the Ambrose Channel, the main shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey, the authorities said. The boat capsized about five miles southeast of Breezy Point, a private beach community in Queens. The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement that five people had been recovered from the boat and that four were unresponsive. The New York Police Department confirmed that at least three of those four had died. As of Monday morning two were still hospitalized, one in critical condition and the other listed as stable, a police spokeswoman said. The sixth passenger was still missing Monday, and divers, boat crews and aircrews were searching the area, the Coast Guard said. The authorities identified the missing man as Vernon Glasford, 52. Jenel Bobb, Mr. Glasford's sister, said that she had spoken to her brother on the phone Saturday evening and that he had been looking forward to relaxing with his friends on the boat. He asked if she wanted to come along, but she declined because of how cold it would be. Ms. Bobb said Mr. Glasford had left for the marina early in the morning and his family had not heard from him again. 'It does not feel real,' she said. 'If I see a body, then it is for real, but for now I don't know.' The Coast Guard was working with New York City's fire and police departments to understand what caused the boat to capsize. The investigation was continuing Monday night. Alisha Adames said that she almost fainted when she saw her father, who was known by his middle name, Javier, at Staten Island University Hospital on Sunday. He was lying lifeless in a hospital bed, she said, with the tube that had been used to drain water from his body still in his mouth. 'I'm not going to feel any better until I find out what happened,' she said. Alisha said her family did not know what exactly transpired Sunday morning. She was supposed to go on the trip, as she often did, but had decided not to because of the cold. Mr. Adames and a second man who was pulled from the water, Enrique Diaz, were airlifted to Staten Island University Hospital, and the other three people were taken to a Coast Guard station in Sandy Hook, N.J. Mr. Diaz was alive and stable on Monday, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Sewchand Maniram, of Queens, was also on the boat and survived, according to his daughter, Asha Latchman. He was taken to a hospital in New Jersey and was recovering on Monday, but was 'traumatized' by his near-death experience, she said. Alisha Adames said the police at the Staten Island hospital had returned her father's wallet and a few other personal belongings, including a silver ring with a blue stone that he always wore. She said her father, who had taught her to pilot a boat, had been a boating and fishing fanatic, someone who was very comfortable in the water and who she never imagined would die at sea. 'I just went to his room and smelled his pillow,' she said while looking down at the silver ring, now on her finger. 'I get the chills talking about him.'
Miami Herald
24-02-2025
- Miami Herald
At least three dead after fishing boat sinks in NY harbor, officials say. One missing
Authorities say they are searching for a 52-year-old fisherman after a boat capsized in a New York harbor, killing at least three and injuring two others. Rescue crews were dispatched after 12 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23 when the New York Coast Guard Sector was notified by emergency operators about a boat sinking near a neighborhood at the tip of Queens' Rockaway peninsula, according to a Feb. 24 U.S. Coast Guard news release. A total of five people were found and taken to hospitals, with four of the five being unresponsive, authorities said. At least three have died as of Feb. 24, WNBC reported. Names of the deceased have not been released. Authorities identified the missing person as Vernon Glasford, who 'was last seen wearing a gray hoodie, blue jeans, and black boots.' Glasford's cousin, David, described him as a frequent fisherman and a 'hardworking father' of three, ABC News reported. 'We don't know what to think. We just know that he's missing,' David Glasford told the outlet. According to the Coast Guard, the 30-foot-long Grady-White vessel left Howard Beach in the morning for a recreational fishing trip with six passengers. The cause of the incident remains under investigation. The water temperature in the search area as of Feb. 24 was about 38 degrees, authorities said.
