A partial collection of people, places and events that have made
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Wilmington News Journal - Saturday March 8, 1968
Skipper Missing and Boat Pilot Drowns In Canal Swamping
CHESAPEAKE CITY, MD
One man was drowned and another is missing this morning after the pilot boat
they were operating was swamped in the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal here.
About 1:30 a.m. the 40-foot, 10-ton boat skippered by E. O. Mitchell, 67, of Chesapeake City and carrying pilot Richard Maslin, 37, of Perryman was helping the 44,087-ton 510-foot Danish cargo freighter Heering Lotte through the canal when, according to Chesapeake City Fire Company officials, the engine of the boat quit.
When the engine stopped, fire officials say, the boat settled in the water and allowed the freighter's wash to sweep over it. The boat then filled with water and sank immediately.
Chesapeake Fire Company was not called to the scene until 3 a.m. because, as one fireman said, "We couldn't have done anything until then anyway."
When the accident was discovered the tugboat Sumter was dispatched to bring the boat to the dock.
Bilge pumps soon had the boat floating again. At this time rescue workers found the body of Maslin draped through a broken side window. Mitchell was apparently washed overboard.
The owner of the pilot boats, John F. Schaefer, said Mitchell "was with me for over 20 years and had been in the Coast Guard long before that. He was an expert boatman."
Schaefer said the boat was a year old.
Dragging operations began this morning. However, rescue workers did not expect results for several hours. The body is thought to be in a part of the canal 28 feet deep.
Maslin's body has been sent to Baltimore for an autopsy.
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