Matinicus, again

A while back I posted a Shameless Plug for a book I was enjoying at the time - Well Out to Sea, by Eva Murray, which is a collection of her columns about living year-round on a remote island. 

Three of the recurring themes in her work:

First, the challenges of getting oneself and assorted stuff - groceries, vehicles, garbage, mail - on and off Matinicus.  Options are limited when the weather is nice; options are nil when the weather is not, which is a lot of the time.  Besides the ferry, which runs once a month, you have your neighbors with boats who might or might not be making a trip to the mainland, and Penobscot Island Air, which runs Cessnas between here and there.  Fog, wind, high seas, malfunctions, miscommunications, storms, your neighbor's change of plans - any one of these can mean your kids don't get home from college for Thanksgiving dinner or, worse, your Thanksgiving turkey doesn't get delivered in time.

Second, how islanders pull together to help each other in times of need.  Regardless of whether in real life the people involved actually like each other, when there is a crisis, it is all hands to the rescue, sometimes at great personal risk.  Look up the Harkness tugboat rescue sometime.

Third, the danger.  She tends to downplay it but it's a constant, steady undercurrent in her stories.  It's not the lobster wars (she doesn't write about that, because that's not what defines Matinicus, despite the place's reputation for lawlessness).  Rather, it's the daily reality of living twenty-some miles off shore and making a living from the ocean.  Buildings catch on fire; boats sink; men are lost overboard; planes crash.

All three came into play yesterday with the news that a Penobscot Island Air Cessna had crashed 200 yards off the Matinicus shore.  It lost power shortly after takeoff and ditched in the North Atlantic. There were four people on board, including the pilot. 

People on the island saw the crash and called 911. 

Fishermen on their vessels heard the emergency radio traffic and raced to the site. 

It was the fishermen who found four survivors, with injuries ranging from moderate to critical, clinging to the sinking wreckage, and hauled them out of the 60-degree water to safety. 

The outcome should have been much worse.  The pilot was able to level out before the crash and then was able to assist the injured passengers out of plane before it sank; the guys in their boats were able to get to the site within 20 minutes, before hypothermia set in.  As of this evening, local news is reporting that the three passengers are in hospitals in serious or fair condition and the pilot was treated and released. 

Eva Murray was one of the passengers.  All these years she's witnessed, and written about, stuff like this from the point of view of a participant, not a recipient.  I hope she is able to come home soon and start writing again, now that she's seen it from the other side.

To the pilot whose experience and quick thinking are credited with saving four lives, the people on the island who reported the crash, and the as-yet unnamed fishermen, my profound admiration and respect. 

And to the injured passengers, a speedy recovery.  Many thoughts are with you.