FV Pelican
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FV ''Pelican'' was a party boat, or head boat, operating out of Montauk,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, which capsized on September 1, 1951, killing 45 passengers and crew, including the captain Eddie Carroll.


Background

''Pelican'' was originally constructed as the passenger
fishing vessel A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to fishing, catch fish and other valuable nektonic aquatic animals (e.g. shrimps/prawns, krills, coleoids, etc.) in the sea, lake or river. Humans have used different kinds of surface vessels in commercial ...
''Bellboy III'' in 1940 in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. The vessel was constructed with an enclosed cabin. At 14 gross register tons, she was not subject to
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
regulations and annual inspection, which were required only of vessels more than 15 gross register tons. She was powered by twin
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
engines. At the time of the accident, ''Pelican'' was owned by Eddie Carroll, who held a U.S. Coast Guard
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
's license. She operated as a party boat from the Fishangrila Dock at
Fort Pond Bay Fort Pond Bay is a bay off Long Island Sound at Montauk, New York that was site of the first port on the end of Long Island. The bay has a long naval and civilian history. History New-York Province and the American Revolution Fort Pond Bay wa ...
in Montauk, New York, taking customers fishing for the day in the waters around Montauk. The Fishangrila Dock was within walking distance of the
Montauk station Montauk is the terminus of the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road – as well as the easternmost railroad station on Long Island and in New York state. The station is located on Edgemere Street (CR 49) and Fort Pond Road, in Montauk, ...
of the
Long Island Railroad The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. The railroad currently operates a public commuter rail ...
. On weekends, the railroad ran "Fisherman's Special" trains from
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to Montauk; passengers would exit the train and climb aboard one of the waiting party boats and pay their fare for a day of fishing.


September 1, 1951

On September 1, 1951, as the Fisherman's Special emptied its passengers, 62 fares climbed aboard ''Pelican'', as did her captain, Eddie Carroll, and
mate Mate may refer to: Science * Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in: ** Mate choice, intersexual selection *** Mate choice in humans ** Mating * Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins Pers ...
. ''Pelican'' left Fishangrila Dock at 7:30 AM, carrying 64 passengers and crew, which was grossly in excess of her safe carrying capacity. Weather forecasts posted at Fishangrila Dock called for a line of approaching storms and changing winds. After rounding
Montauk Point Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in East Hampton and Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The CDP encomp ...
and fishing on the south side of Montauk in the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
for several hours, ''Pelican'' began to return to Fishangrila Dock, due to rough seas, at approximately 11:30 AM. Encountering engine trouble on the way, which lengthened the trip, ''Pelican'' began to have difficulty making way against the conditions, with only one working engine. The weather changed suddenly as the
squall A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes, as opposed to a wind gust, which lasts for only seconds. They are usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to the ...
line approached, with a strong northeast wind developing against an outgoing tide. The wind has been estimated at and the waves as high as in the
rip tide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal f ...
s near Montauk Point. While rounding Montauk Point at approximately 2:00 PM, ''Pelican'' was hit by two successive waves on the starboard quarter and capsized to port, spilling most of her passengers and crew into the water while trapping others inside the cabin. The vessel then foundered. The accident occurred within sight of
Montauk Lighthouse The Montauk Point Light, or Montauk Point Lighthouse, is a lighthouse located adjacent to Montauk Point State Park at the easternmost point of Long Island in Montauk, New York. The lighthouse was the first to be built within the state of New Yor ...
, approximately north off the point in the area known as
Endeavor Shoals Endeavour or endeavor may refer to: People Fictional characters * Endeavour Morse, central character of the ''Inspector Morse'' novels by Colin Dexter * Endeavor, the hero name for the character Enji Todoroki from the anime series ''My Hero Ac ...
. Two private fishing boats, ''Betty Ann'' and ''Bingo II'', were the first to respond and rescue passengers. The U.S. Coast Guard picket boat that responded approximately one hour later was only able to rescue one passenger found clinging to ''Pelican''s hull. In all, 45 passengers and crew, including Captain Carroll were killed.


Aftermath

The hull, foundering beneath the waves, was first secured near Montauk Point by legendary Montauk fisherman Captain
Frank Mundus Frank Mundus (October 21, 1925September 10, 2008) was an American fisherman and charter captain based in Montauk, New York who is said to be the inspiration for the character Quint in the book and movie '' Jaws''. He started out as a shark h ...
on his vessel ''Cricket II'' and
Carl Forsberg Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...
, founder of the
Viking Fleet Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9â ...
, the largest fishing fleet in Montauk, on his ''Viking V'', and was later transferred to the Coast Guard picket boat, which towed it into
Lake Montauk Lake Montauk is a 900-acre (360 ha) artificial embayment in Montauk, New York that is home to the largest commercial and sporting fish fleets in the state of New York. History The lake was originally referred to on maps as Lake Wyandanch and com ...
. As a result, several additional bodies were recovered which otherwise might have been lost if ''Pelican'' had been allowed to sink. Following the disaster, a U.S. Coast Guard investigation was conducted. The investigating board estimated that ''Pelican'' could not have safely carried more than 30 passengers and that her overloaded condition contributed to the capsize and loss of life by causing her to ride low in the water and exaggerating the rolling motion caused by the waves. The failure of Carroll to keep himself aware of the weather conditions and to properly distribute his passengers on the vessel were also cited as reasons for the capsize. The investigation concluded that more stringent safety regulations were necessary for such boats. The "T-boat" regulations, 46 CFR, subchapter T, which included routine inspections of all vessels for hire carrying seven or more people and strict regulation of passenger capacity went into effect in 1957.


In popular culture

The
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
band Brand New wrote the song "Play Crack The Sky" about ''Pelican''s demise and included it on the 2003 album ''
Deja Entendu ''Deja Entendu'' (French for " already heard") is the second studio album by American rock band Brand New; it was released on June 17, 2003, by Triple Crown Records and Razor & Tie. It was widely praised for showing the band's maturation from ...
''.


References


Pelican disaster
{{coord, 41.0708, -71.8421, type:event_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title Montauk, New York Maritime incidents in the United States Maritime incidents in 1951 Fishing ships of the United States