Man Rescued from Liferaft 20 Miles from Atlantic Beach
Coast Guard crewmembers use a boat hook to pull in a empty life raft after rescuing a man who abandoned his sinking sailing vessel ( U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Alyssa Petty)
Coast Guard crew members from Station Fort Macon moor a 47-foot Motor Life Boat at the station's pier Nov. 5, 2013. The crew rescued a man who abandoned his sinking sailing vessel 20 miles south of Atlantic Beach, N.C. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Jeremy McConnell
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Alyssa Petty
Coast Guard crew members aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Station Fort Macon help a rescued man to the aft deck. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Alyssa Petty)
Coast Guard crew members moor a 47-foot Motor Life Boat at the station's pier. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Senior Chief Petty Officer Jeremy McConnell)
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a 51-year-old Jay White aboard a liferaft Tuesday after the man abandoned his 28-foot sailboat, Dove, 20 miles south of Atlantic Beach, N.C.
White contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina Command Center watchstanders at approximately 7:15 a.m. via a mayday call on a VHF-FM marine radio stating that his boat was taking on water.
Sector North Carolina watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and dispatched crews aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Fort Macon, N.C., a 45-foot Response Boat - Medium from Coast Guard Station Emerald Isle, N.C., and diverted the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Staten Island, a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Atlantic Beach, to assist.
The MLB crew from Fort Macon arrived on scene and found White aboard a life raft after he had abandoned his sailboat, the Dove.
The crew rescued White and recovered the life raft at approximately 8:15 a.m. before returning to Station Fort Macon.
"The rescue was successful," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin Hallenbeck, the coxswain of the MLB. "It was a great case to show that with everyone working in sync, the Coast Guard mission can be accomplished successfully."
The Navy ships USS Kearsarge and USS San Antonio also responded to the UMIB but stood down from rescue operations once the man was rescued.
There are no reports of injuries.
uscgnews.com
