The Saturday after the WinterCane of 2010, I decided to visit the seawall at Nantasket Beach and enjoy one well deserved cup of coffee. The winds had shifted on shore and were kicking up these enormous waves. When a lull occurred, I peeked over the wall only to see an overturned aluminum rowboat about 100 yds offshore. I was standing on the elevated observation platform 300 yds North of the beach parking lot entrance and 300 yds South of the Jeanette Murray Bathhouse.
As I’m standing there thinking “now this can’t be good” a power walking woman came up behind me and said “I think I saw a man in the water next to that thing out there. We gotta do something.” Hero that I am, I whip out a device called “a mobile telephone” and place a 911 call to the local constabulary.
“You have reached Hull 911, what is the nature of your emergency… police, fire or medical.” I didn’t want to select who would respond so I just gave the most accurate description of my location and what I saw… an overturned boat 100 yards off shore and that another bystander believes she saw a man in the water.
“Sir would you like the Police, Fire or an Ambulance.” I now realize that in the interest of getting a speedy response I will have pick one, so I say “Fire.” I remember occasionally seeing a zodiac on a trailer parked next to the Fire Station
“I will put you right through. May I have your name and the telephone number you are calling from in case we are cut off.” I give both.
“Hull Fire Dept., what is the nature of your emergency.” I relay the same story updating the fact that now the boat is 150 yards offshore because it is apparently caught in an outbound rip current.
“We will dispatch emergency vehicles immediately. Thank you for your report.”
Minutes pass. I can hear sirens put can’t see the fire trucks. Then I spy Hull Ladder One but it’s 500 yards North of where I am. I call 911 again and I tell the dispatcher the Fire Dept is to far North. They thank me and after a three minute delay two fire trucks, an advanced life support ambulance and a cop car go roaring past me and wind up 300 yards to the south by the Ocean Club.
So I’m thinking successive iterations of this process will take all day so I jump in my car and race to where the ten or so fire men are standing with binoculars trained out to sea. As I approach the group on foot, I get a cell call from the duty officer at the Allerton Coast Guard station.
“We hear there’s a report of an overturned watercraft off Nantasket Beach, should we dispatch a rescue craft.” I explain that I am merely a citizen observer and the decision to launch rescue craft is way above my pay grade. Furthermore the Hull FD is on scene they appear to be handling the situation.
By now I’ve caught the attention of one of the firemen and I try to explain that I’m the guy who made the 911 call and that they are looking in the wrong place.
( oh shit, this is turning into a frigg’n novel…. I will finish this in a bit. Now I have to get some real work done.)