GLOUCESTER, Mass. — A man who spent more than a decade fishing with the captain of a boat that sank off the coast of Gloucester last week said he is in disbelief that his mentor is gone.
Michael Veil told Boston 25 News that Captain Gus Sanfilippo took him under his wing after Veil moved from Michigan to Gloucester to become a commercial fisherman.
[ ‘Taught me everything I know’: Captain of missing Gloucester vessel identified ]
“Gussie was like a brother to me for so many years,” Veil said. “He looked out for me. He let me live on the Lily Jean. He helped me get on my feet. He taught me everything I know about offshore fishing. He was my hero.”
Sanfilippo’s body was identified in the wake of the disaster, with a young fisheries observer and five other crew members presumed dead.
As investigators searched for clues, family, friends and neighbors honored the seven lives lost in a church service Sunday.
Veil spent more than 10 years on and off on the original Lily Jean before leaving the industry at his girlfriend’s urging for a safer job.
“It’s just weird to look at this water and know he’s not going to be coming in and out of here anymore,” an emotional Veil said at the Fishermen’s Memorial on Western Ave., where fresh bouquets of flowers lay Sunday night.
Veil spent harsh winters on the water, learning just how brutal Mother Nature could be. While he had lost friends to fishing tragedies in the past, news of the Lily Jean disaster seemed unreal.
“One of the safest captains I’ve ever sailed with. So, this is blowing our mind that, of all these boats, it would’ve been Gus, because we just didn’t push it,” Veil said. “We would stop and beat the ice off or whatever we needed to do to make sure that boat was going to get us home. So, something [must have] happened fast.”
Veil said he hopes seafood consumers understand and appreciate the sacrifice fishermen make each day.
“This is a dangerous business. There’s no candy-coating it,” Veil said. “We’ve put a lot of people to rest in this business… Now, one of my best friends is gone.”
Officials on Sunday had not yet identified the remaining crew members lost at sea. The Coast Guard said more updates will be provided Monday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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