TV star fisherman, crew missing off Massachusetts coast after boat sank in dangerous winter — leaving 1 dead

The search for TV star fisherman and his crew who are missing off the coast of Massachusetts after their boat sank on Friday in the midst of dangerous winter weather plaguing the East Coast, has been called off.

Captain Gus Sanfilippo, his crew, and a fishery observer from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were on board the 72-foot boat, when the Coast Guard received a radio beacon alert shortly before 7 a.m. Friday morning.

The beacon alert — which is a distress device that transmits a signal via satellites to rescuers when a vessel is in danger — was registered to Sanfilippo’s boat, the Lily Jean.

The Coast Guard issued an emergency alert after not being able to make contact with the crew, and sent a helicopter and boat crew to the location, according to the agency.

Rescuers found one person dead, floating in the water amongst debris and an empty lifeboat when they arrived at the location.

The person who died has not yet been identified by officials and six people remain missing at sea.

The search and rescue effort spearheaded by Coast Guard Commander Timothy Jones on Friday, has been suspended, the agency said Saturday.

Jones noted that sea spray was freezing on vessels in the area and caused a serious danger to both the missing fishing crew and rescuers.

Search and rescue crews covered around 1,000 square miles of the ocean trying to locate the missing six crew members — using multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats in the 24 hours since the boat fatefully sank, The Associated Press reported.

After consultation between search and rescue mission coordinators and on-scene commanders, the Coast Guard determined on Saturday that all reasonable search efforts for the missing crew members had been exhausted.

Jamie Frederick, the Coast Guard’s Sector Commander, said that the chilling temps, winter conditions and the vast nature of the ocean makes finding survivors at night a difficult task — and even more so with the incoming nor’easter set to hit the East Coast this weekend.

“That is the equivalent of searching for a coconut in the ocean,” Frederick said.

The National Weather Service said that winds at sea were around 27 mph, with waves reaching around four feet high at the time the emergency alert was issued yesterday.

The temperature at sea where the boat sank was 12 degrees — with a water temperature of about 39 degrees.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Friday it was aware that one of their fishery observers — who collected data on board of fishing boats for the government to use to inform regulations — was on board at the time it sank.

Sanfilippo —- a fifth generation commercial fisherman out of Gloucester, Massachusetts — was featured alongside his crew on the Lily Jean in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show ‘Nor’Easter Men.’

The show documented Sanfilippo and his crew working in dangerous conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days at sea on one fishing trip.

Commercial fishing is often cited as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, especially in New England — with winter bringing even more danger from high waves, chilling temps and unpredictable weather patterns.

Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, warned that deep-sea fishing can be a hazardous and tough living to begin with and that “it’s as safe as the elements and all of the things allow it to be.”

“Gus was a very seasoned experienced fisherman,” Giacalone said, knowing Sanfilippo as a hard worker from a fishing family from his early captain’s days.

Giacalone said that he and the longstanding fishing industry in Gloucester are distraught by the news.

“He did well for himself. I was proud of him,” Giacalone said.

“And now the dock we own, he ties his boat at the dock so we see him every day. He’s been to all my kids’´weddings. That’s how close we were. I feel a sense of loss. A lot of us do.”

Republican State Senator Bruce Tarr — a good friend of Sanfilippo’s — confirmed that seven people were onboard of the boat and was emotional speaking of his missing friend.

“He’s a person that has a big smile, and he gives you a warm embrace when he sees you,’ Tarr said. ‘He is very, very skilled at what he does,” Tarr emotionally said, noting that ‘the fact the vessel now rests at the bottom of the ocean is very hard to understand’ given Sanfilippo’s experience.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy said she was “heartbroken” to hear about the boat’s sinking in a statement.

“I am praying for the crew, and my heart goes out to their loved ones and all Gloucester fishing families during this awful time,” she said.

Everett Sawyer, 55, a close childhood friend of Sanfillippo,said he has known 25 people who have been lost at sea — and noted that dangerous winter conditions can present severe challenges for even the most experienced sailors. 

“Things happen very quickly when you’re out in the ocean,” Sawyer said.