Nantucket Anglers To Be Honored With Egan Maritime's Lifesaving Award For 2024 Rescue Off Chatham

Two Nantucket anglers will be honored by the Egan Maritime Institute and Nantucket Cottage Hospital next month with the annual Lifesaving Award for their dramatic rescue of a man whose boat had capsized off Chatham in October 2024.

Joe Tormay and Nick Whitbeck had been bass fishing northeast of the island that month when something caught their eye in the distance.

“I started casting, and I said, ‘Nick, do you see that? It looks like a dead whale’,” Tormay told the Current last year. “I looked closer and said, ‘No, that’s a flipped boat, and there’s a guy waving to us on top’!”

At that point, it was around 4 p.m. They were a few miles east of Monomoy Island and about a quarter mile away from the capsized boat. The pair said they headed toward the vessel and called the Coast Guard to report what they had seen. As they approached the capsized boat, Tormay, a former member of the U.S. Coast Guard himself, saw a man in his 70s still waving to them.

“It was the worst-case scenario,” Tormay said. “He was by himself with no life jacket on. He was lucky he got on the top of the boat.”

It was just hours until sunset, and the water temperature was around 55 degrees. Whitbeck was able to get the man a life jacket while Tormay maneuvered his 23-foot center console to get him on board.

“Once we got close, it was a shock to realize what we thought was true,” Whitbeck said. “So scary to be that far offshore and no one immediately nearby this time of the year. We pulled up close to him and were able to communicate with him and get confirmation he was ok and not in immediate danger.”

On Sept. 11th, Tormay and Whitbeck will be recognized for their efforts with the 2025 Lifesaving Award presented by Egan Maritime and the hospital. The award is presented annually to a citizen who rescues — or endeavors to rescue — another person from drowning, shipwreck, or other water-related dangers. 

“As a community and as a committee, we are grateful for the hard work of all our professional lifesavers and heroic citizens,” said Jessica Guff, president of the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum Advisory Committee. “Each year, we hope for the day when we are unable to nominate anyone for the Lifesaving Award, as that would mean there were no accidents on the water. While that may be a lofty goal, we came very close this year, with no significant saves on our island’s beaches this summer.”

In addition to Guff, the Lifesavers Recognition Day Committee also includes the Executive Director of Egan Maritime Institute, the President of Nantucket Cottage Hospital, the Executive Director of the Nantucket Cottage Hospital Foundation, the Fire Chief, the Police Chief, the Nantucket Harbormaster, and the Master Chief of USCG Station Brant Point. Together, the committee will formally recognize the Town of Nantucket lifeguards, Harbormaster crew, members of USCG Station Brant Point, and all of Nantucket’s first responders for keeping the island safe.

The public is invited to attend the free Lifesavers Recognition Day event at the Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum on September 11, but registration is required. To register, please visit eganmaritime.org

This event is presented by Egan Maritime Institute and Nantucket Cottage Hospital.