Engaging video captures the moment when a Coast Guard helicopter team came to the aid of two boaters from Florida who were stranded 73 miles offshore during Hurricane Debby.
The vessel, measuring 34 feet, lost its sail off Boca Grande’s coast on Sunday, as reported by the U.S. Coast Guard in a news release.
The rescue operation began around 5 p.m. the previous day after the boaters’ friends contacted the St. Petersburg Coast Guard station, reporting that the two men had not checked in as scheduled while they were sailing from Key West to Tarpon Springs.
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The two boaters are depicted wearing life jackets while gripping the railings as their boat is battered by waves reaching 15 to 20 feet. (United States Coast Guard)
Amid challenging weather with poor visibility, rough seas of 15- to 20-foot heights, and winds gusting to 50 knots, an Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft located the distressed boaters around 11 a.m. the following day.
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An Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the boaters and transported them to Air Station Clearwater. (United States Coast Guard)
The crew lifted the two men into the helicopter and conveyed them back to Air Station Clearwater.
“Key components in any search and rescue operation include precise information and safety gear,” said Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Hooper, a mission coordinator for search and rescue at Coast Guard District Seven.
One of the boaters is seen being lifted into the Coast Guard’s Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. (United States Coast Guard)
“We received an updated satellite location from the boaters’ friend, which helped us successfully identify their position,” the statement added. “This rescue was a joint effort involving District Seven and Sector St. Petersburg during the impact of Tropical Storm Debby.”
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Debby has since been reduced from a hurricane to a tropical storm, having initially struck Florida’s Big Bend region early Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, resulting in the deaths of at least five individuals in Florida and Georgia, according to Fox Weather.
