At about 2100 hours on August 12, 2006 the M/V Gold Fish, a 28-foot Albin, ran into the west breakwater inside the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge at high speed. Safe/Sea's Captain Don Johnson was immediately sortied aboard the M/V Safe/Sea Point Judith by the Safe/Sea Emergency Response Center, and arrived on scene with the M/V Gold Fish at the same time as Coast Guard personnel from Station Point Judith.

Upon arriving on scene, Captain Johnson observed that the M/V Gold Fish was hard aground with almost the full length of the vessel lying on top the rocks that make up the breakwater. The Coast Guard personnel removed the injured passengers from the casualty and brought them to shore for medical attention, while Captain Johnson began the arduous task of surveying the stranded vessel and formulating a plan for its safe removal.

After surveying the vessel, Captain Johnson reported that there was a crack down the center of the hull, and the bow was severely holed, with the hull surrounding the bow thruster crushed and pushed upward into the boat. Captain Johnson then asked for additional assistance, and other Safe/Sea resources were sent to help.

Approximately 25 minutes later, Captain Doug Gould arrived on scene in the M/V Safe/Sea Block Island and Captain Peter Andrews arrived at Point Judith Marina with Safe/Sea’s salvage trailer, which carried the additional patching and pumping equipment necessary to carry out the rest of the salvage operation.

Arriving back on scene, the three Safe/Sea captains proceeded to secure the damage in the bow of the M/V Gold Fish. Working rapidly under the time constraints of the falling tide, and using epoxy, closed-cell foam, plywood patches and hydraulic jacks, the crew drastically reduced the amount of water that was entering the hull of the stranded vessel. The M/V Gold Fish was then carefully pulled from the rocks. After being removed from the breakwater, with several salvage pumps in service to control the flooding, the casualty was towed to the nearest trailer ramp where Captain Andy Casey was waiting with Safe/Sea’s largest bunk trailer. The vessel was hauled from the water and trailered to Point Judith Marina for storage and repairs.