Danny Closson’s boat sank Saturday, taking his new motor, traps and 500 pounds of lobster with it.
Aug 23, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Window Panes Home and Garden.
BASS HARBOR—One of the many great things about the horrifying event that happened in Tremont, Saturday morning, was that Danny Closson’s boy wasn’t out there lobstering with him. He was alone.
But Closson wasn’t alone on his lobster boat, not really. He had the tight-knit Tremont fishing and waterfront community with him.
Saturday, Closson’s boat, Never Enough, sank off Gott’s Island while he was on it. In just moments he lost his boat, its new motor, his fishing traps, and 500 pounds of lobster he’d hauled that day.
He put out a mayday call, ended in the water, and luckily Patrick Hanley heard Closson’s mayday and rushed over, pulling Closson out and bringing him back to shore.
Closson has been busy all day, Sunday, trying to prepare as much of the vessel as possible, especially the new motor, to be salvaged and not yet available to speak directly but the story, verified by his wife, Ashley, is that Closson felt as thought something was wrong, checked a hatch, and could see water splashing around the belts of the engine.
Closson next checked a hatch more to the stern and could see far too much water in the bilge. From that point forward, he had just enough time to don his survival suit and make three mayday calls, only one of which he felt was actually broadcast, before the boat sank.
Closson spent 10-15 minutes in the water before being picked up by Hanley and Joseph Meek, the first two on the scene after hearing Closson’s distress call.
The next day, a foggy Sunday morning, locals sat in their trucks on the wharf talking about the near tragedy, one that could have added a name to the four Maine fisherman that have already been lost in the past year.
Nearby, as she sat floating at the dock Sunday morning, the Never Enough did not readily portray the fact that less than 24 hours prior she had sank to the ocean’s floor, leaving her captain to the ocean’s whim.
“What could have been an even greater tragedy ended with Danny narrowly making it back thanks to nearby friends who were able to find him in the water,” Joseph Meek wrote on a GoFundMe for the Closson family.
He called Closson “one of the kindest-hearted people in the fishing community.”
“Our community came together in a huge way to help,” Harbormaster Tyler Damon wrote on a social media post thanking Hanley and others—including Justin Seavey, Jamie Thurlow, Parker Murphy—and all the community members who brought Danny’s boat back in to the shore.
“This is what our working harbor community is all about—looking out for one another when it matters most,” Damon wrote.
Closson’s fishing supports his two boys, one who often goes out with him, and his wife.
Lobstering is his only source of income.
“For a lobsterman, this is more than equipment lost at sea. It is the loss of a livelihood, and it happened at the worst possible time of year,” Meek explained.
Any GoFundMe donations will help replace essential gear, the first steps of getting out on the water again, and help the family of four through this loss of income.
”In a community where nothing related to a fishing vessel comes cheap, the cost of recovering from a loss like this is overwhelming,” Meek said.
Ashley Closson said, that in just a day the “response of support has been a true show of community.”
The Closson family wanted to be sure that the community and particularly the following people received the appropriate recognition and appreciation for their support.
- “Tyler Damon, harbormaster, was part of the recovery effort and managed the spill while we wait for DEP (department of environmental protection) response.
- “Pat Hanley was first on scene off Gott’s Island to pull Dan from his life raft.
- “David Leland helped Patrick Hanley recover the boat from the ocean floor and pull it (sunk) back to safety.
- “Bonnie Cummings Lewis, our insurance agent, who reached out immediately after-hours to make sure we were secured in our next steps.
- “Spiff Carter who has offered a location to work on the boat and his knowledge on saving the engine.
- “Justin Seavey, Jamie Thurlow , Cameron Abbott, and Parker Murphy for the aid as well.”
As Tremont resident and community organizer Jayson Clough said, “this is what the community is all about. It’s about resilience. It’s about sticking up for one another. And it’s about love.”
In addition to the GoFundMe, any donations received at next Sunday’s Tremont community kickball game to support the Tremont Youth Community Assistance Program will be given to the Closson family. The kickball game is Sunday, August 30, from 1-3 p.m., at the ballfields behind the Tremont Consolidated School.
You do not have to make a reservation to come. You don’t even have to play. You can just show up and cheer people on because that’s also what community is all about.
It’s about resilience. It’s about sticking up for each other. And it’s about cheering each other on and lending a hand.
Closson’s boat sinking comes almost two months after another accident in Bass Harbor. At 10:30 p.m., July 3, a commercial lobster boat that was moored in the harbor caught fire.
According to the Tremont Volunteer Fire Department, “thermal imaging cameras recorded hull temperatures exceeding 1,200 degrees on the 36-foot H&H fiberglass vessel.”
That fire was extinguished by Tremont Volunteer Fire Department, local fisherman, and crews from the U.S. Coast Guard Station Southwest Harbor and the Maine Marine Patrol.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Clough’s Facebook video about the boat sinking
Clough’s Facebook video about community and the fundraising
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