Father and son clinging to cooler rescued from Boston Harbor

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BOSTON — In no time, the Boston Police Department’s Harbor Patrol Unit rescued a father and son who were desperately clinging to a cooler at the end of Boston Harbor after their lobster boat sank.

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Officers Stephen Merrick and Garrett Boyle responded to a call for a boat taking on water around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday near Graves Lighthouse, police said in a statement. The private lighthouse sits on a rocky islet about 14.5 kilometers from the coast.

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As they approached, officers saw only a small portion of the bow of the vessel Glory Days above the water, but as they approached they saw the two men holding on to the floating blue cooler.

« You could see the fear on their faces, » Merrick said. “They were cold. They looked very tired and weak.

The spectacular rescue was caught on police body camera video.

« We are so weak », we hear the young man say.

He then asked the officers to rescue his 76-year-old father, who was wearing a life jacket.

« Please help him, » he said. « Help him first. »

The young man, who was holding a life ring, was then pulled onto the police boat by officers.

The men said their boat’s 28-foot (8.5-meter) engine got tangled in lobster lines and broke down. The current pushed the boat onto the rocks and punctured the hull, police said.

The men were taken ashore where emergency medical technicians treated them for minor injuries. Their boat was towed off the scene.