Southeast
Florida boaters survive Hurricane Debby after losing sail, Coast Guard flies in for rescue: video
Dramatic footage shows the moment a Coast Guard helicopter team rescued two Florida boaters lost 73 miles offshore during Hurricane Debby.
The 34-foot boat lost its sail off the coast of Boca Grande on Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard wrote in a press release.
The rescue mission was launched after 5 p.m. the day before, when the boaters’ friends called the St. Petersburg Coast Guard station to report that the two men had missed their scheduled check-in as they sailed from Key West to Tarpon Springs.
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The two boaters are seen wearing life jackets and clinging to railings as their vessel is tossed by 15- to 20-foot waves. (United States Coast Guard)
Despite weather conditions with low visibility, 15- to 20-foot seas and 50-knot winds, an Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane rescue crew finally spotted the stranded boaters about 11 a.m. the next day.
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An Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter rescue crew hoisted and transported the boaters to Air Station Clearwater. (United States Coast Guard)
The crew hoisted the pair into their helicopter and brought them to Air Station Clearwater.
“Some of the most important factors in any search and rescue case is accurate information and safety equipment,” said Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Hooper, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Coast Guard District Seven.
One of the boaters can be seen being hauled into the Coast Guard’s Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. (United States Coast Guard)
“We received an updated satellite position from the boaters’ friend, which led to them being successfully located,” the statement continued. “This rescue was a collaborative effort between District Seven and Sector St. Petersburg while Tropical Storm Debby crossed the region.”
Debby, which has since been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, initially made landfall along Florida’s Big Bend region early Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, killing at least five people in Florida and Georgia, according to Fox Weather.
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