The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and good Samaritans on Monday rescued two boaters who were stranded about 3,000 miles from Bermuda’s nearest coast after a lightning strike punctured their boat, officials said. did.
The 5th Coast Guard District Command Center in Virginia received an emergency radio beacon from the 19-foot sailing vessel Roll One around 6 p.m. Sunday, alerting sailors in the North Atlantic to stranded sailors, the USCG said. I warned you to do so.
The Coast Guard also deployed HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
The shipwrecked sailors were en route from Guadeloupe to France when they became stranded about 1,726 miles east of Bermuda. Officials say the distance is equivalent to crossing about half the continental United States.
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Sailors reported that their sailboat, the 19-foot Rowan, was struck by lightning and flooded. (U.S. Coast Guard/Julio Ionian)
“To put the distance from shore into perspective, the crew had to drive from Portsmouth, Virginia, to Odessa, Texas, near the Texas-New Mexico border,” Starr 1st Class Franklin said. said in a news release, Staff Sgt. .
The plane’s crew arrived at the disabled ship at 4:45 a.m. Monday and were able to make contact with the 20-year-old and 24-year-old men on board.
The 505-foot motor vessel Julio Ionian on Monday rescued two crew members, a 20-year-old man and a 24-year-old man, who were aboard the 19-foot sailboat. (U.S. Coast Guard/Julio Ionian)
Sailors reported that the ship was flooded after lightning struck and punched a hole in the ship.
The crew contacted the nearby Good Samaritan, the 505-foot motor vessel Julio Ionian, and guided the vessel toward the stranded boat’s location.
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The Frio Ionian’s crew arrived at the scene at 10 a.m. and safely removed both men from Roa One, with no reported injuries.
Officials thanked the good Samaritan vessel for its contribution to the successful rescue.
The Coast Guard thanked the good Samaritan vessel for making the rescue at sea possible. (Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images)
“This rescue took place at a considerable distance from land, and the successful rescue of the two sailors was only possible because of the Frio Ionian’s participation in the AMVER program,” Franklin said.
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AMVER stands for Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue, a Coast Guard program that allows vessels to voluntarily provide updated location information in response to search and rescue operations around the world.
