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Drowned fishing skipper identified
By JOSH ZIMMER © St. Petersburg Times, published October 3, 2000 CRYSTAL RIVER -- Authorities Monday released the name of the commercial fishing captain who died this weekend while trapped under his capsized boat about 50 miles off Crystal River. Michael Merritt, 41, of Crystal River was on a fishing trip with his friend, Gregory Wayne Smith of Inglis, when a large wave overtook the 37-foot Sea Wolf about 4 a.m. Saturday. Smith, 36, managed to escape by swimming to the surface and finding the lifeboat, which had food and water. Merritt's body was recovered Sunday after Smith managed to dive back under the boat in calmer waters and activate its emergency beacon, alerting the U.S. Coast Guard to his location. An autopsy will provide the cause of death, but Merritt most likely drowned, said Lt. Dennis De La Paz with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's division of law enforcement. "It appears as though he was just unable to get out," De La Paz said. "He was . . . in the wheelhouse." The Coast Guard continued to praise Smith's quick thinking as a textbook example of emergency preparation and reaction after a weekend in which hard winds churned up the gulf waters, wreaking havoc on boats. Another boater died in a separate accident in the gulf last week. He was Julius Adams of Homosassa. Two other Citrus residents, Bruce Fischer and Thomas Richardson of Homosassa, remained missing Monday from the Adams boating accident on Thursday. In the Sea Wolf capsizing, Smith told rescuers the wave hit the vessel about 4 a.m. He felt his way out of the dark waters to the emergency life raft, which he attached to the capsized vessel, but was afraid to dive back into the 6- to 8-foot waves to see whether the emergency beacon had gone off. He waited until the waters calmed Sunday morning before swimming back to the boat. The Coast Guard picked up on the signal within an hour, and a rescue helicopter was on the scene by 10 a.m. Smith used signal flares to help rescuers locate him. "The biggest thing we had this weekend was change in weather," Craft said. "This time of year the winds will switch. That can affect water. You can go from 2-feet to 8-feet (waves) in a matter of time. If you're in a small boat, you can be swamped." Craft released a media advisory Monday saying boaters should always check weather reports and leave a float plan with family and friends. Boaters should leave with a life raft, flares, floatation devices and at least two types of communication equipment, including VHF radio. Family members or friends should report overdue boaters as soon as possible, the release says. Merritt, a native of Columbus, Ind., came to Citrus County 16 years ago. He was a sensitive, artistic child who loved nature, his oldest sister, Joann Strahl, said Monday. "He was a quiet person . . . loved to draw and paint," she said. "He loved the country, loved to fish. I think he went hunting with mom and dad part of the time. He was a good mechanic." As a teenager, Merritt hung out with singer John Mellencamp, Strahl said. He eventually turned to commercial fishing while taking care of his parents during the last years of their lives. In Crystal River, he lived with another sister, Mary Torres, and owned a couple of dogs. Strahl said she last saw him in December when she and her husband spent the month in the area. "He was fun-loving, seemed to be enjoying life at the time," she said. "He did love fishing and shrimping." He is survived by two brothers and another sister.
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