Off-duty Coast Guardsman Saves Six from the Sea

Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound Command Center was notified at approximately 5:20 p.m., via VHF Channel 16, that a 38-foot pleasure craft was tipped over with the motor still running and six mariners in the water just south of the Greenport Ferry North Terminal. Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick O’Halloran, 27, a boatswain’s mate at Station Chatham, was nearby on a private vessel and was the first on scene just 4 minutes later, to assist the mariners out of the water.

“I’ve been in the Coast Guard for three years and it was unreal watching this happen in front of me,” said O’Halloran, a Shelter Island, N.Y., native. “I realized I needed to make sure they were safe and that the boat was away. Once I saw they were okay, I made my approach and pulled them out of the water.”

Orient Point SEATOW was able to stop the vessel’s engine and Southold Constable towed the vessel into Greenport Commercial Dock. Local EMS awaited on shore to check the mariners but there were no medical concerns.

All individuals were reported to be wearing lifejackets upon entering the water.