A 38-year-old Massachusetts man who in February wrapped up a two-year cruise of the Caribbean with his wife died when the towboat he was operating sank near shore.
The Coast Guard ended its search Wednesday for John Redler off Pocasset, Mass.
Divers from the Wareham Fire Department located the man dead inside the cabin of the 29-foot TowBoatUS tow boat Triple J around 8:30 a.m.
“Ending a search like this is a hard outcome to accept,” Lt. Brian Hall, the command duty officer at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, said in a press release. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Redler was an avid boatman and a loving father.
“He was very enthusiastic, knowledgeable and full of life,” his mother-in-law, Kate Collins-Thompson, told the Cape Cod Times. “He was kind and a great dad and a great husband.”
In February, Redler and his wife, Juli Collins-Thompson, settled down near the Cape after two years of sailing around the Caribbean on their 47-foot cutter, Lucky Escape, Collins-Thompson said.
According to the blog they maintained, the couple chronicled their adventures together: The two set sail after Juli, a former banker, was laid off, and John, a real estate broker, had enough of the rat race.
On their travels, they saw all sorts of lush destinations, ranging from the Bahamas to St. Croix. They shared their experiences with fellow boaters and passed on advice to other enthusiasts.
Click here for the full news report.
Click here for a Coast Guard press release with satellite map of the search area.
