Rescue and recovery tales from around the country and beyond. In this edition, a rescued skipper jumps back into cold waters to save a crew member, a medevac off Cape Cod and an international rescue.
Alaska
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and good samaritans assisted with the rescue of the captain and three crew members from a capsized boat in the Kupreanof Strait near Raspberry Island on July 24.
The crew of the purse seiner Calista Marie arrived on scene and rescued one crewman from the purse seiner Grayling, as the Grayling’s skiff driver rescued the skipper.
The Coast Guard air crew diverted from a training flight when they saw Christian Trosvig, the rescued skipper of the Grayling, jump back into 47-degree waters to rescue the fourth crew member.
The Coast Guard reported 17-mph winds and 5-foot seas in the area that day.
“That fisherman didn’t hesitate. It was incredible to see him jump into 47-degree water to save his crew,” said Lt. Kevin Riley, an Air Station Kodiak Jayhawk pilot. “It is a testament to how tough those fishermen are and how far they will go to help their fellow Alaskans.”
No serious injuries were reported. There was no reported cause of the capsizing.
Northeast
A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod crew medevaced an injured fisherman on July 22 from Muskeget Channel between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
At around 1:30 p.m. the 75-foot fishing vessel Perception notified the Coast Guard that a crew member had fallen, sustained injuries and was in need of medical attention.
An Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter was already in the air and diverted to assist.
The aircrew arrived on scene and hoisted the fisherman off Perception at around 2:15 p.m.
They then flew to Hyannis Airport and transferred the patient to awaiting Emergency Medical Services personnel at around 2:45 p.m.
The fisherman was then brought to Cape Cod Hospital for further care.
Gulf & South Atlantic
On July 25, the Coast Guard towed a disabled 150-foot fishing vessel with 16 people aboard to the Las Calderas, Dominican Republic.
A Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless rescue and assist small boat crew launches to assist the 150-foot Dominican Republic-flagged fishing vessel Grace Zanzibar. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
The Coast Guard 7th District Command Center received an emergency position indicating radio beacon on July 22 from the Dominican Republic-flagged fishing vessel Grace Zanzibar approximately 35 miles south of Haiti.
The Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless crew was instructed to conduct a search and issued an emergency group callout to other maritime vessels in the area. A Coast Guard Air Station HC-130 Hercules airplane crew arrived on scene around 3 p.m. Saturday and established communications with the vessel who stated they were taking on water and disabled. The airplane crew dropped a dewatering pump, food and water to the fishing vessel.
A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew was diverted around midnight Sunday to assist the Grace Zanzibar crew by dropping another dewatering pump following a report that the flooding was beyond a single pump's capacity.
Coast Guard crews were assisted in the search and response by three good samaritan vessels. The Dauntless crew arrived on scene at approximately 10:15 a.m. on Sunday and deployed a rescue and assistance crew to help the fishing vessel with flooding. The Dauntless' small boat crew was able to secure the source of the flooding and the cutter took the disabled fishing vessel in tow.
