prayers needed, cape may nj....fishing boat.....

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. - Coast Guard boats, planes and helicopters searched the roiling ocean off Cape May on Thursday for three commercial fishermen whose boat sank, and colleagues of the missing men prayed for a miracle.
Kenneth Rose Jr., 49, the captain of the Sea Tractor, his 75-year-old father, Kenneth Sr., and 55-year-old crew member Larry Forrest were aboard the 44-foot fishing boat when it sank about 20 miles east of Cape May on Wednesday night.
All are believed to be from North Carolina.


The Coast Guard recovered an empty life raft, but had not found any signs of survivors as of Thursday morning as weather conditions continued to worsen, due in part to the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida, which was churning the sea from North Carolina to Long Island, N.Y.
Weather conditions, with waves up to 20 feet and winds at 40 to 60 mph, hampered search efforts. Visibility was reported at 2 to 3 miles.
"Let's hope for the best and say a prayer for them," said John Cole, general manager of a fishermen's cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach where the Sea Tractor had sold its catch twice within the past year.
He said the North Carolina-based boat operated from the dock in Cape May when it stationed in New Jersey. That's the same place where the Lady Mary, a scallop boat that sank in March, killing six of the seven crew members, was based.
Cole said he has known Rose for nearly 30 years, and believes he lived in North Carolina, though the Coast Guard was not immediately able to confirm that.
"He is a great guy — a good, honest, hardworking guy," he said.
'On their way home'
Cole said he believed the Sea Tractor may have been fishing for fluke during an 11-day season that ended at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
"They were probably on their way home when the incident occurred," he said.


At 7:35 p.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard received a transmission from an emergency radio beacon that is usually activated when water touches it, although they also can be activated manually.
A helicopter crew from the Atlantic City Coast Guard station responded and found an empty life raft with a strobe light attached to it.
A nearby fishing vessel, the Capt. Jeff, arrived at the scene around the same time to help the Coast Guard, and found a debris field floating on the ocean surface with the Sea Tractor's emergency radio beacon, and a cooler.