MANASQUAN, N.J. (PIX11) – A person went missing and two others were rescued when a boat capsized in the Manasquan Inlet in New Jersey Thursday night, according to the Coast Guard.
Manasquan Mayor Ed Donovan showed PIX11 News surf cam video that he said confirms the moment a 10-foot wave capsized the 31-foot boat.
“And that’s the moment when it gets hit by the wave. It can get really dangerous when you have conditions like you had last night. Surf was crazy high. It was pitch black. When they tried to enter the inlet, they were trying to locate something with the spotlight,” said Mayor Donovan.
In the video you can see the moment the ocean dims the boat’s spotlight. Coast guard officials said it happened at around 8:15 p.m. Thursday, as the vessel with a father and two of his sons on board – both said to be in their early 20s – struggled to enter the inlet off the Jersey Shore.
After the boat capsized, Point Pleasant Beach police launched from the south side of the inlet and managed to rescue the father and one of his sons. The second son remains missing, despite a search that includes the use of Coast Guard boats, a helicopter and even a large C-130 plane.
Mayor Donovan said the family is from Brick Township in Ocean County.
“When it’s rough like this, it’s really a no go. Right at the inlet, where those waves are breaking, it can be a dicey situation,” said veteran boater Tom McGinley.
Former surfer Jamie Banse said rough weather can indeed have a big impact at the inlet, and recalled one surfing outing ending with his own rescue.
“Especially with the storm out there. The hurricane is like a couple of hundred miles off shore. I remember one day I was struck in the riptide, and I was only 15 to 20 feet offshore. And I was not getting back in. And there was someone right there,” said Banse.
