Shrimp Boat
A popular veteran Carrabelle commercial fisherman drowned Monday morning when his 35-foot trawler capsized and trapped him in the cabin. Glen Buffkin, 65, died aboard his shrimp fishing boat “Thanks,” shortly after 9 a.m. Buffkin drowned when his boat inexplicably capsized in 25 feet of water in Carrabelle Bay. Known as “Papa Glen,” Buffkin was considered the oldest shrimper working in Carrabelle. According to officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Buffkin had just completed a run five miles offshore to deliver engine parts to his son, Glen Buffkin Jr., a fisherman whose boat had broken down. After delivering the parts, Buffkin began returning to Carrabelle, accompanied by a deckhand, Nathan Crum, 18. About two miles from Carrabelle, Buffkin made a turn in the boat, which began listing and taking on water and began to sink. Crum kicked out a window in the pilot cabin and swam away from the boat. Buffkin went down with the boat. Crum dove repeatedly in the dark, murky water trying to rescue Buffkin but was unsuccessful. Crum then climbed onto the hull of the sinking boat and waved his shirt. His distress signal was spotted by a Dog Island resident, who alerted a local boat rescue service and law enforcement officials. A diver with the nearby Florida State Marine Lab eventually pulled Buffkin’s body from the water. “Papa Glenn couldn’t swim,” said Amy Cahoon, co-owner of Towboat US rescue service. “It’s crazy being a shrimper. But he didn’t care.”