A crew member abord recalls the event: "[We] left the dock approximately 4:20 AM. All was normal. At 7AM we put 2 lines in and continued to run at cruise speed. At 7:10 AM, Corey Maire, who was on the bridge with me, stated that he thought the boat was smoking abnormally, all of a sudden. I looked and agreed. Immediately, crew came from the cabin and told me smoke was coming through the floorboards. I ran down from the bridge and after a seconds long discussion decided that we had to look in the engine room to see if the fire had been extinguished. With fire extinguishers in hand, hatch in the floor was raised to find a small fire. It was put out with the extinguishers. There was no more fire. Smoke Filled the cabin, but was dissapating. We noticed oil on the STBG engine and in the bilge, but it was had to see anything in the haze. I decided to immediatelly issue a mayday call, but the radio was blinking -- turning off and on. I gathered the lifejackets and instructed everyone toput the on. I instructed that the ditch bag and raft be moved to the cockpit. I activated the EPIRB at approximately 7:20 AM. The port engine would not shut down, but then began to start itself. It was continuous and we couln't stop it. Smoke began to increase now and I felt there was a chance for re-egintion. There was no fire at this time, but it was smoking heavily. We had additional fire extinguishers but there was no fire. We closed all hatches and moved to the cockpit. Smoke continued to increase, so I ordered the raft deployed and everyone in it. We were orderly and fast with no problems. Our safety drill worked as we always discussed it. With four people in the 6-man raft, I saw that [the engine] had re-ignited and flames were shooting into the cockpit from under the gunnels approximately two feet away from me and a crewman. We entered the raft immediately and moved awat from the boat. Flames engulfed it. From the start of the problem until we exited the boat was approximately twenty minutes.
An e-mail from Captain Tim Martin: Today, LIT UP caught fire and sank while on the way to chase wahoo. Something she has gotten good at. No way to really know what happened, but it happened in the engine room. I can say it is not a good feeling to see your boat disappear beneath the waves, but I was glad to stare across the recue raft at 5 alive healthy friends. A sincere "thank you" is not enough for the Reef Raider (who I think contacted the USCG for us), Midnight Entry (who was first on the scene) and Knot So Grand who took us aboard. Thanks guys, I am indebted. I have to thank my crew as well for doing what we were supposed to do. No shouting, no panicking, etc. We all just did the right things. Gathered life vests, put them on, gathered ditch bag and raft. Deployed the raft correctly and got in in an orderely and calm manner. The last thing I saw was while still in the boat as Adrian and I were departing was flames shooting into the cockpit. 2 feet away from us. The timing could not have been better to get off the boat. She burned and sank in about 30-35 minutes. Sad. I am buoyed by the fact that in all of my years of owning boats, no one has been serooiusly hurt oon my boat. In this case, any number of things could have gone wrong but didn't. We all escaped whole, un-injured and alive. No one went into the 66-degeree water. A lot of that is preparation. For those who have fished with me, you know that the day starts with a safety briefing. Well today, it paid off. I am sorry for causing a bad day for my crew and the crews of the boats that assisted us, but I always do what I can to never let that happen. I guess today was not my day. I am not going to get on a soapbox, and tell anyone what to do, but I will ask you to consider the following: 1. Invest in a 406 MHz EPIRB. I don't care which one -- any is better than none 2. invest in a Type 1 Offshore Vest and Strobe Lights 3. Invest in a Rescue Raft 4. Put together an ample Ditch Bag Today, the raft may have saved our lives and is pricless. I truly appreciate all the kind words and well wishes. I am going to try and relax now, if I can. I have had a stressful day.
An e-mail from a friend of the Captain: "I just talked to the wife of one of the crew. They were fishing the NEFMA Wahoo mini Tourney today. EPIRB went off early this AM, Tim's wife got a call from USCG. Boat (as I understand caught fire and sunk. Crew are al safe, picked up by another boat, will be returned to Mayport later this AM...Now does that SUK or what???? I am sure they will all have a story to tell.
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