Helicopter hoists are always tricky, but rescuing two people and two dogs—in the dark—by helicopter was a special challenge for the Coast Guard in the Bay last week. Watch in real time as they rescue the boat’s occupants one by one:
The Coast Guard got a call on Thursday evening after dark reporting that a 31-foot sailboat had run aground south of Fleeton Point, in 4 feet of water. The boat was beginning to suffer structural damage.
Smith Point Sea Rescue, an all-volunteer squad out of nearby Reedville, Virginia, had first tried to reach the Hunter sailboat with its shallow water towline boat. The rescue crew says the sailboat was hard aground and a nor’easter was brewing. With wind and seas beyond their safe limits, they called for the Coast Guard to conduct an airlift.
The Coast Guard deployed an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Atlantic City along with a 29-foot Response Boat-Small from Coast Guard Station St. Inigoes. Several local agencies worked alongside the Coast Guard.
When crews got to the scene, they were able to make contact with the boaters.
“When we got word that a vessel was aground and breaking apart, we knew we had to act fast,” said Lt. Cmdr. Erin Palmer, search and rescue mission coordinator at Sector Maryland – National Capital Region.
The helicopter crew carefully hoisted the boaters, one by one, and the two dogs they had aboard, and brought all of them to safety.
“Our crews train constantly for these types of incidents and last night that training paid off,” said Palmer.
The boaters were checked out by emergency services crews at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. No major injuries were reported.
Smith Point Sea Rescue returned the next morning to check on the sailboat, and by then it had blown across the river and was dashed on the rocks near the entrance to Cranes Creek. The hull had been breached and the sailboat was full of water and sand.
Another day later, the volunteer group pulled the sailboat off the rip-rap shoreline, with 1,200 feet of towline and with dewatering pumps at the ready. The sailboat was taken to Jenning Boatyard for immediate haulout.
In a Facebook post, Smith Point Sea Rescue calls the incident “a tough lesson for all boaters. Weather has to be respected and help needs to be sought at the first indication of problems not after darkness has fallen and the weather has turned.”
