The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Marcus Hanna towed the 55-foot fishing boat Miss Emily, with four people aboard, after it became disabled Thursday about five miles off Kennebunkport, Maine.
The Marcus Hanna, a 175-foot buoy tender homeported in South Portland was nearby working on aids to navigation when the Miss Emily's rudder post was damaged and started taking on water.
Miss Emily’s pumps kept up with the flooding and at approximately 2 p.m. the Marcus Hanna took Miss Emily in tow with a course for Portland.
The Marcus Hanna passed the tow to a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Station South Portland at approximately 5:30 p.m.
They brought Miss Emily and crew safely to the Portland Yacht Club at 8 p.m.
“The type of damage and the potential for it to quickly get much worse was our biggest concern” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jessie Johnson, a watchstander at Sector Northern New England’s command center. She said the boat crews monitored the flooding closely until the boat was safely at the pier.