PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The Coast Guard coordinated rescue efforts to help two people in a sailboat disabled by rough weather Saturday afternoon.
Officials say that the boat was about 345 miles east of Hatteras Inlet in North Carolina. At about 9:30 a.m., watchstanders were informed that a GPS alert had been received from a vessel in distress.
The alert also said the vessel was experiencing “severe weather” conditions and that “both the sails and engine were inoperable.”
Coast Guard’s Fifth District Command Center launched an aircrew aboard a C-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Elizabeth City and activated the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System to alert vessels in the area of the emergency and to request assistance.
The vessel KSL Santiago, a 958-foot bulk carrier, answered the call and diverted to the disabled sailing vessel. The crew recovered the two mariners and headed to Baltimore.
“This could have gone much differently given the weather conditions, the fact that the boat was disabled, and that it was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean,” said Kelvin Morgan, operational unit controller for the Fifth District command center. “The fact we have partners like the crew and captain of the KSL Santiago allows cases like this to have a happy ending.”
No injuries were reported.
(Courtesy: Coast Guard’s Fifth District Command Center)
