Mass. Police Sergeant Rescues 5 Teens from Sinking Sailboat in Harbor

While on a marine patrol, a Manchester-by-the-Sea police sergeant spotted a small sailboat in an unusual area of the harbor and found it was sinking with five teenage boys still aboard.

By Charlie McKenna

Source masslive.com

July 18, 2025

2 min read

A Manchester-by-the-Sea Police, MA, sergeant rescued five teen boys from a sinking sailboat in the harbor Thursday.

A group of five teenagers were rescued from a sinking sailboat in Manchester-by-the-Sea Thursday afternoon, police said.

A sergeant on a routine marine patrol on the harbor noticed a small sailboat in an unusual area around 3 p.m. Thursday, Police Chief Todd Fitzgerald said in a statement. Upon further investigation, the sergeant, Richard Newton, determined the boat was occupied by five boys in their early teens and that it was sitting low in the water.

Newton got four of the teens off the boat and onto a Manchester-by-the-Sea Police Public Safety Vessel. The fifth teen stayed with the boat to help police and the harbormaster tow it back to the shore, police said.

While it was being towed, the boat partially sank, so the fifth teen was brought aboard the public safety vessel, police said.

The boat was eventually towed back to shore and was able to be raised as water was pumped out of it.

None of the teenagers were injured.

“This incident provides a reminder that anything can happen out on the water, even right here in our harbor,” said Fitzgerald in the statement.

_______________

Visit masslive.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.