Misty Blue Fairhaven

12/4/2017

Misty Blue, a surf clam harvester, left Fairhaven for Nantucket Shoals at 9 p.m. on Saturday, December 2, 2017, with four men on board: Captain Eric Arabian, First Mate Jonathan Saraiva, and crew members Michael Roberts and Colby McMullen, At 3 p.m. on Monday, December 4, the ship reported that all was going well, but at 6:10 the Coast Guard received a distress call. Nearby fishing vessels rushed to the scene.

According to a statement by Atlantic Cape Fisheries, "the captain of the F/V Enterprise, which was working nearby, noticed the lights of the F/V Misty Blue going out, and steamed over to investigate. The F/V Enterprise was able to rescue from the water the F/V Misty Blue's captain, Eric Arabian, age 44, and one of the vessel's crewmen, Colby McMullen, age 22."

The Enterprise and two other fishing vessels, the Marriette and the Lauren, began searching for the missing crew members, and the vessel's life raft was found empty. The Coast Guard sent a motor life boat, an Ocean Sentry helicopter, and the cutters Albacore, Steelhead, and Tybee. They were joined by boats from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office and the Dennis Fire Department. The search for survivors was discontinued at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 5.

The vessel was located by sonar in 80-90 feet of water, 10 miles off Nantucket.

Two weeks after the sinking, on December 18, state police divers recovered the bodies of Michael Roberts and Jonathan Saraiva from the Misty Blue.