Yacht fire survivors on terror before jumping into water: 'Like a fire-breathing dragon'

Diane and Arthur "Kitt" Watson are grateful to be alive after a fire on Saturday destroyed the 70-foot Marlow yacht they called home.

"I am 66, and you think you know every situation you can get into, but every day, there's a new one," Kitt said Monday. "A fire on the boat has always been my greatest fear. On my next boat, escape-ability will be forefront in my mind because, God forbid, if we had been in our cabins sleeping, we might never have gotten out. We lost our home, and that can be fixed. People can't."

Kitt, Diane, 57, and Jarrod Tubbs, 33, their friend and longtime mate aboard the "Elusive," spoke during an interview Monday. They discussed the loss of the yacht in the fire that started near Fort Stark off the coast of New Castle before it drifted and sank in Maine waters near the 2KR buoy. The incident captured the attention of Portsmouth and Kittery area boaters and residents with smoke visible for miles.

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The Watsons and Tubbs expressed immense gratitude for the people who came to rescue them after they leaped into the water to escape, along with their two goldendoodle dogs.

"It was terrifying but we're strong and we have to take what's thrown at us," Kitt said.

How the fire and escape unfolded

The Watsons and Tubbs and the two dogs, Nancy and Palma, were traveling north from Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts, on the way to Belfast, Maine, for boat work. They had spent the season in Florida and the Bahamas.

"Our final destination would have been Camden, Maine," Kitt said. "With the price of fuel, we'd stay a bit. She had a 1,800-gallon tank, at $7.50 a gallon."

Diane was the first to sense something was wrong. She said she smelled smoke from the area of the living quarters.

"We have no idea what happened, but we went for a fire extinguisher," Kitt said. "Jarrod tried to go down with it, and the black smoke was so intense ... then we got engulfed in flames. We could see a fireball coming up the companionway. It was like a fire-breathing dragon. Fiberglass burns so fast. It was frightening."

Tubbs said he couldn't get to the lifeboat because the fire spread too quickly. Kitt said they grabbed floaties or pool noodles before jumping in the water to escape. "We used those because everything else was in flames."

The rescue and the kindness of strangers

"Luckily, some boat came by, a lobster boat dropping buoys," Kitt said. "They came back and took Jarrod, Diane and the dogs. Another boat came back for me."

Tom Hadley, a part-time lobsterman who lives in Hollis and keeps a boat in Portsmouth, was among those who pulled them from the water before emergency crews arrived. The Watsons, Tubbs and the dogs were brought to Wentworth Marina, assisted by New Castle Fire Department responders and brought to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, where they were treated for mild hypothermia and released.

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"I am so grateful that so many people showed up to help us," he said. "We might not be here to talk about this."

Kitt said the family wants to thank everyone who helped, Hadley, the people at the Wentworth Marina, local fire departments, New Hampshire Marine Patrol, Coast Guard, Portsmouth Regional Hospital staff and anyone they missed. He said it was New England hospitality at its finest.

"I want to give a shout out to Kristy Higgins, who gave us clothes," Kitt said. "We were all hypothermic. We want to thank Max Rice at the marina, because he took our dogs."

"They were frightened and his family took good care of them," Diane said.

"Max took our dogs and followed us to the hospital to see if we were OK," Kitt said. "My niece came to get us, and we followed him back to his house. The dogs had food, treats and were playing with wonderful children. They asked us if we wanted to stay there that night. I mean this was someone we just met. The whole Wentworth team was so overwhelming, so great. ... It gave us all a breath of fresh air that there really is hope in the world. People on the water are good people."

The Coast Guard reported it is monitoring the sunken yacht. Kitt believes about 1,500 gallons remain in the tank.

"The Coast Guard said it seems secure," he said. "I will have a salvage company look at it. If they can permanently seal the tank where it is, they'll leave it there. If they can't, they will need to salvage it and bring it up. At that point, we'll go see if there is anything to salvage, but I don't believe so because of the fire. It was so hot."

Determined to return to life on the water

The Watsons and Tubbs are staying with family in Camden, Maine, until they can get back on the water, the lifestyle they love. They yacht was insured, and they are working through that process now.

Kitt said he had been sailing his entire life, and when he met Diane, he found a kindred soul who shared his love of adventure.

Kitt is on the Board of Trustees for the Maine Maritime Academy and a longtime business owner. He said he loves seeing young people embrace ocean life.

"The ocean is such a special place," he said. "I found out in this world no one wants my opinion, even though I want to share it. I can talk to sea gulls all day, and they don't talk back."

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Kitt, Diane and Tubbs all said they will return to the water, acknowledging thoughts of what can go wrong remain.

"I believe this was an act of God, because there is no rhyme or reason for what happened here," Kitt said. "This didn't come from the engine area, but it came out of our cabins, where we sleep. It might be water, electrical, we don't know and might never know. This will be on my mind the rest of my life. I will go through it 150,000 times.  ... I think it was circumstances beyond our control."

Diane agreed, saying it seems like a freak accident.

"We will replace it. We are boat people," Kitt said. "We are adventurers. Our dogs love it. This is how we choose to live our lives. We have been together many, many years and we both have the love of adventure. Every night we get in the dinghy, go for rides, explore. People wave, we wave back, there's a lot of fun things to see."

"I love the freedom, and the serenity," Diane said. "And no two days are the same. You never know where you'll be."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Yacht fire survivors share harrowing story on NH coast