CAPE MAY – Charles Jones knows the crew of the Sea Tractor well.
The Coast Guard has been searching for the vessel since 8 p.m. Nov. 11.
Jones said Kenneth Rose Sr. worked for him for 32 years as a captain before buying his own boat. Jones owns the June Marie and Miss Amanda.
Jones described the 44-foot Sea Tractor as small. He said Rose would go day scalloping but he believes he was fluke fishing on this trip.
“He’s a very good captain and a great fisherman,” said Jones, noting Rose lives right down the road from his house in Broad Creek, near Newport, N.C.
He said Kenneth Rose Jr. “was just like his daddy,” and sometimes captains when his father stays home.
The third crewmember of the Sea Tractor, Larry Forest, also worked as captain on Jones’ boat. He worked with Kenneth Rose on Jones’ boats as well.
Rose said the fluke season was opening at 12:01 a.m. Thursday Nov. 12 which may have been the reason the Sea Tractor was at sea in a Nor’easter. He suggests the boat was jogging along on its way to the docks, taking its time because if the Sea Tractor arrived before the fluke season opened, the captain would be fined and the catch seized by National Marine Fisheries and the State of New Jersey.
Jones theorized the Sea Tractor went to sea 8 days ago in good weather and couldn’t come in until the season opened. He said it takes time to catch 50 boxes of fluke.
“If they were 15 to 20 miles offshore and it was 7:30 when the distress signal went out, so you can figure that it would probably have taken them that long to get to the dock by 12 o’clock,” he said.
Jones said the Sea Tractor worked from Cape May the majority of the time. He said the Sea Tractor was required to carry survival suits for its crew.
“It’s really a tough time for everybody in this area,” he said.
Charles Jones’ daughter, Andrea told the Herald she is 27-years-old and has known Kenneth Sr. and Kenneth Jr. her entire life. She said Kenneth Sr. was the first captain of the June Marie. The boat was named after his late wife.
She describes Kenneth Jr. as a jack-of-all-trades who could handle horses and also worked as a mechanic. He was very involved with his church, said Andrea.
She has photos of one of her birthday parties where Kenneth Jr. attended. He is seen with her horses in the picture.
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