A fishing vessel out of Point Judith and its three-man crew, stranded in 15-foot seas and 45-knot winds, were rescued by a Coast Guard cutter on Thanksgiving Day, 50 miles south of Shinnecock, N.Y., in the Atlantic Ocean.

Just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, the crew of the 76-foot Jesse James notified the Coast Guard on Long Island to report their boat disabled and adrift. Despite the heavy rain and the rough seas, the three fishermen wanted to stay with their boat and catch, said Coast Guard Chief Kurt Tremont, who oversaw the rescue operation.

As a cutter was rallied, the Coast Guard kept a helicopter on standby and was in contact with the fishing boat every 15 minutes, Tremont said. The cutter Dependable, based in Cape May, N.J., which was on patrol 35 miles east of Nantucket, Mass., conducting search and rescue, homeland security and maritime law enforcement operations, was diverted to assist the Jesse James.

While the conditions were “pretty bad,” said Tremont, the Jesse James was “never in any real distress.”

On board the fishing boat were owner and captain Joshua Spearman, 38, of South Kingstown; Bobby Comerford, 39, also of South Kingstown; and Carl Seppanen, 35, of Campton, N.H., said Spearman’s wife, Jesse. No one was injured.

The Jesse James left from Point Judith the middle of last week to fish for squid and expected to be back in its home port the day before Thanksgiving. But Spearman called his wife Tuesday and told her the crew was having engine problems on the Jesse James, named for Spearman’s wife and late brother. A fellow fishing boat tried to tow the Point Judith boat, but the weather worsened and made the effort too dangerous, Jesse Spearman said.

“The water was so bad and the Coast Guard had trouble getting to them,” Jesse Spearman said, “it was touch and go for a couple of days.”

It made for two sleepless nights at the fishermen’s homes. Jesse Spearman said the couple’s 3-year-old son “wanted to know why mommy’s eyes were bleeding all the time.”

The 210-foot Dependable traveled 200 miles, battling rough seas, 45-knot winds and heavy rain, and reached the fishing vessel around 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. The cutter waited for calmer seas before starting to tow in the Jesse James Friday morning. The Jesse James, under tow, reached the Manasquan Inlet, in New Jersey, south of Long Branch, yesterday morning.

The three fishermen were served Thanksgiving dinner onboard their boat Friday by the crew of the Dependable, said Alexis McAleer, who is Seppanen’s cousin.

McAleer thanked the Coast Guard, which she said stayed in contact with her family throughout the ordeal. “They were wonderful,” she said. “They were unbelievable. … All of those guys worked so hard to get them back in safely.”

Eleanor Seppanen said she heard yesterday from her son, who grew up in South Kingstown and has been fishing since he was 18. “He said everybody was doing well,” she said.

She said she learned something was wrong with her son’s latest fishing trip on Wednesday evening, when he called her from the disabled boat amid the storm. “He said they were all right, everyone was fine, and they were just waiting for the Coast Guard.”

Yesterday, Jesse Spearman said she expected her husband home last night, and they would celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Information from The Cape May County Herald was included in this report.