CAPE MAY--In the pre-dawn ocean darkness 60 miles off the New Jersey coast, the captain of a Massachusetts fishing boat heard a brief, panicked radio transmission, lasting less than a second.

The voice, with a southern accent, sounded scared and appeared to say "Mayday!''

Antonio Alvernaz, captain of the Catherine Marie, and a crew member got on the radio to ask for a repeat transmission. But
nothing came back.

Alvernaz testified Monday by telephone at a Coast Guard hearing
investigating the March 24 sinking of the Lady Mary, a scallop boat
that went down off Cape May, killing six of the seven men aboard.

A key piece of evidence is likely to be the boat's rudder. It
was recovered along with several other items over the summer by
divers.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)