# Scalloper 'Lady Mary' owner's theory says ship's wave sank boat



## shamrock (May 16, 2009)

This is a tragic story, although I suspect not an uncommon one. 

On March 24 a scalloper 'Lady Mary' was sunk after being swamped by a wave that the owner suspects came from a passing containership in heavy seas, the 'Cap Beatrice'...

http://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/article_8394d01a-62c9-11de-8bd6-001cc4c03286.html



> LOWER TOWNSHIP - Royal "Fuzzy" Smith Sr. believes a big wave may have killed his two sons, a brother and a distant cousin, as well as two missing crewmen, in the pre-dawn hours on March 24 far from his dockside home here on Schellenger's Landing.
> 
> Smith, however, doesn't believe that wave came from Mother Nature.
> 
> ...


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## Michael Taylor (Aug 31, 2008)

For a number of years I was employed at Maritime Terminal New Bedford. This Massachusetts port is the principal scallop producor in the US and is home to many scallop vessels. Basically there are two types. The more common are draggers which in off season convert their gear to drag for shellfish which are then opened on deck and bagged then kept on ice during the short time at sea. The other vessels are purpose built and have very heavy stuctures on deck which support the hose system used to blow away the bottom mud clearing the way ahead of the drag gear. These vessels have a system of tanks and valves in the operation and it requires skill in their management. The vessels are low in the water and frankly unstable in unskilled hands. I suspect that a heavy swell with the gear overboard would certainly contribute to a sinking.


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