The father of the man whose boat sank off the shore of Biddeford Pool this weekend said his son and his friends were extremely lucky.

Lance Noyes Sr. of Limerick said his son, Lance Noyes Jr., usually liked to fish much farther out to sea.

“Lance had a habit of going out 40, 45 miles,” said the father, reached by phone Monday. The 25-foot powerboat sank about 2½ miles offshore.

Lance Noyes Jr. declined to talk about the accident.

The Biddeford Police Department received a distress call around 3:45 p.m. Sunday from the boat’s operator, who reported he had lost power and the boat was taking on water.

The Coast Guard sent a 29-foot rescue boat from its station in South Portland as well as a fixed-wing aircraft from its base in Cape Cod to the area where the distress call originated. Biddeford police got a sighting of the sinking craft from Timber Point in Biddeford while Marine Five, a Saco Fire Department rescue boat, launched a crew.

“The boat was completely underwater and everyone had jumped ship by the time we arrived,” said Kevin Duross, chief deputy of the Biddeford Fire Department. If it hadn’t been for the airplane pilot, who spotted the victims in the ocean, the rescue effort could have been delayed, he said.

Noyes Sr. said he didn’t find out about the incident until Monday morning, when his daughter called to tell him. His son lost his wallet and cellphone when the boat sank and couldn’t call, he said.

“I’m just grateful they’re alive,” he said.

All seven people aboard the boat – three adults and four children, according to the Biddeford Fire Department – were rescued from the water after about 30 minutes. The ocean temperature was 63 degrees.

According to the Biddeford Fire Department, all seven were taken to Southern Maine Health Care hospital in Biddeford as a precaution and checked for hypothermia. There were no serious injuries reported; all seven were wearing life jackets.

Noyes Sr. said his son was treated for hypothermia and released.

Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:

mbyrne@pressherald.com