Three people had to be rescued from their boat in the Chesapeake Bay on Tuesday evening as gale force winds blew through the region from a nor’easter.
The boaters were on a disabled 22-foot boat in the Bay near the mouths of the Patapsco River and Rock Creek Park. The Anne Arundel County Fire Department says a caller reported they were in the area of Fort Smallwood Park, but the best location they could give was “near a bridge and some factories”.
Anne Arundel County Fire and a fireboat from Baltimore City Fire both responded to the emergency, but the Coast Guard reached the stranded boaters first. All three were wearing life jackets, and the Coast Guard was able to rescue them with no injuries.
Gale warnings were in effect for most of the mid- and upper Chesapeake Bay from Tuesday into Wednesday morning, with gusts 40-50 miles per hour possible. Later Wednesday morning, small-craft advisories were predicted to remain in effect.
Wind warnings were also in effect at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, triggered by “sustained wind speeds of 30-39 mph for a continuous period of 10 mins or more; or when wind gusts persistently exceed 30 mph over a period of 15 mins.”
The Coast Guard reminds everyone to wear a life jacket as these boaters did, especially as the water temperature falls.
-Meg Walburn Viviano
