ROCKPORT — Joseph Correia has been a boater during his entire life. But the 72-year-old Rockport resident recently realized part of his world has gone by without fanfare or the praise that he believes should be offered. Corriea is alluding to the assistance offered by Rockport harbormasters Scott Story and Rosemary Lesch.
The two have been instrumental in saving the lives of scores of boaters off the Rockport coast, he said. In fact, Corriea is one of those people given an assist by the Rockport pair. Once, when piloting his 22-foot Downeast Beal, Corriea found himself stranded near Thacher Island.
“My boat wouldn’t start,” he said. “I tried to start it 40 times and for 40 times, it wouldn’t start. They spotted me and I saw the urgency and the immediacy in getting to me to help.
It was bad water.” Corriea, who moors his boat at Granite Pier, said the two harbormasters often find themselves in dangerous squalls that put them at risk. “I’ve seen them out there in the most horrible conditions,” he said.
“They are among the most unsung heroes we have in law enforcement. I’ve seen them going out on calls in conditions that have been very serious. They are always working.
” The job the pair does allows them to serve the community and “to make a difference with the people out there,” Story said. Their work boils down to helping people, Lesch said. “Rockport has a following and we love taking care of people,” she said.
“This is a boating community t.