By Bruno Matarazzo Jr.
SALEM — A jaunt to Baker's Island via canoe yesterday for four Beverly teenagers required the help of the harbormaster when one vessel capsized in the frigid ocean.
The four had just arrived at Baker's Island, which is six miles east of Winter Island, when a caretaker told them they couldn't stay and had to leave, according to Assistant Harbormaster Steve Levesque.
About 40 yards from shore, with the wind going against them and 2-foot seas, one of the two canoes capsized.
"I don't think they realized the dangers they were in," Levesque said.
The two teenagers, a man and a woman, managed to swim back to shore, where the island caretaker provided blankets and a warm place to stay. The caretaker also notified the Salem harbormaster.
The temperature of the water yesterday was 38 degrees.
The residential island, which is part of the city of Salem, is uninhabited during the winter except for two caretakers.
Levesque and Assistant Harbormaster Tom St. Pierre responded following the 5 p.m. call and picked up the four teens and brought them back to Beverly.
Levesque said the teens were in good spirits and didn't need medical attention.
Both canoes were left at the island and will be retrieved at a later date.
