Mother Nature is not a being many feel comfortable defying, including Department of Natural Resources Director Garry Buckminster. 

The consequences of attempts to do so were witnessed on Sunday, Oct. 8 when high winds led to several distress calls from vessels along the coast.

Buckminster emphasized the importance of paying attention to the advisories his department and other emergency services send out.

He said two distress calls came from Wareham and an additional two came from Dartmouth.

The Buzzards Bay Task Force was activated and emergency response vessels from the Town of Marion were dispatched to assist as well as a crew from TowBoatU.S. Cape Cod, according to a statement shared on the Department of Natural Resources’ Facebook page.

In addition, Buckminster’s department received help from the Wareham and Onset fire departments as well as Wareham Police Communications.

The first Wareham incident Buckminster’s team responded to was of a 27-foot O’Day sailing sloot, which faced sail and mechanical issues with an anchor that would not hold, according to the Facebook post. 

The forceful conditions of the bay pushed the boat onto Little Harbor Beach. The sailboat, stuck on its side in the sand, had its four-foot keel and rudder deeply embedded in the ground, according to David Gastfriend, a health technology entrepreneur from Little Harbor, who came across the beached boat later in the day.

Everyone onboard was safe and no one was injured.

After confirming this with first responders, Gastfriend along with Bob Mogilnicki, the former Chair of the Art Department at Tabor Academy, and Francis Power, a professional yacht skipper living in Marion, noticed the continued damage the boat was taking from the wind. 

The trio worked together to uncoil and untie twisted lines. 

“The force of the wind loudly banging and jamming the jib against the rigging, with the hull locked in the sand, was threatening the security of the entire mast,” Gastfriend said.

After nearly an hour, the team successfully secured the jib and tied down the headsail, protecting the vessel as much as possible until it could be towed.

Buckminster said later on, his team worked with the towing company to strategically remove the vessel from the beach without causing damage to it, surrounding boats or the wetlands. 

The second call from Wareham came at approximately 5 p.m. for an overturned 12-foot sunfish sailboat, which was struggling in the conditions off of Stony Point Dike. One person was reported to be in the water.

With help from the Wareham Police Communications, the Buzzards Bay Task Force was able to locate the victim through 911.

The victim was in the water for approximately 45 minutes when Wareham Fire Boat M-4 pulled them out. 

The victim was brought to shore and checked out by Emergency Medical Services, but the boat could not be retrieved due to the conditions. First responders allowed it to drift back to shore.

Buckminster said, “It's not favorable to go on a very small boat when you have those kinds of conditions and open water.”

He added such actions not only have people putting themselves in danger, but putting first responders in danger as well. 

He said, “It can be a pretty hairy time out there and I feel comfortable, but I will never disrespect Mother Nature.”