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Prom Party Boat Becomes Rescue Boat in Windswept Jamaica Bay
By
John Del Signore
Published May 11, 2009
Modified May 11, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 11, 2009
Modified May 11, 2009
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A group of anglers whose boat capsized in chilly Jamaica Bay late Saturday night narrowly avoided drowning when a teen prom party boat totally came to their rescue. 24-year-old Lisa Shaver, her boyfriend Anthony Dattolo, 25, and four other friends say their 25-foot, flat-deck Chaparral capsized after extreme winds suddenly picked up around 1 a.m. Shaver tells the Post the waters were so choppy that the vessel "was almost a 90-degree angle...Once it started to go down, it was like the Titanic...My boyfriend and I held on to each other the entire time. I thought the waves were going to carry me into open water, but we kept a tight grip on each other."
Before abandoning ship, Dattolo made a frantic distress call over the radio, which was picked up tugboat captain Salvatore (Captain Cody) Catapano, who tells the Daily News, "I heard a very low 'Mayday, we're sinking." After alerting the Coast Guard, Catapano raced to the capsized boat, arriving a few minutes after "The Capt. Dave II" party boat, which had been summoned by an NYPD helicopter. With spotlights shining down on the scene, the crew of the Dave II rescued four survivors of them from the icy waters. Most virtuous prom ever?
Meanwhile, Catapano managed to rescue Shaver and Dattolo, but he tells the Post Shaver "wouldn't let go of her boyfriend. I leaned in and grabbed her by her belt loop. She finally let go, and I flipped her onto the boat. She was crying, saying her mother was going to kill her. He was blue-lipped; hypothermia was already setting in." All six anglers were rushed to Coney Island Hospital and released on Sunday after being treated for hypothermia.
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jamaica bay
prom party boat
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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