USCG Responds to Grounded Ferry near Ocracoke Inlet, NC
The Coast Guard responded to a ferry that ran aground Saturday approximately one mile south of Ocracoke, North Carolina. The captain of the Silver Lake, a 220-foot passenger and vehicle ferry, contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders via mobile phone at approximately 5 p.m., reporting they drifted into shallow water and became stuck. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders dispatched a crew aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet to assist. The Station Hatteras Inlet crew removed 14 passengers from the ferry and took them to the Ocracoke South Ferry Terminal. The crew of the Silver Lake plans to attempt to re-float the ferry Sunday with the assistance of the crew aboard the tugboat Royal Engineer.
Coast Guard Medevacs Diver 18 Miles Off Hatteras Inlet
The U.S.Coast Guard medevaced a 52-year-old man from a dive boat approximately 18 miles southeast of Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, Sunday. The captain of the dive boat Under Pressure contacted Coast Guard North Carolina Command Center watchstanders via VHF-FM at approximately 3 p.m. and reported a diver was suffering from from signs of decompression sickness. Sector watchstanders launched a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet to assist. The Coast Guard crew arrived on scene at approximately 4:30 p.m., transferred the man aboard their boat and took him to the station, where the diver was met by an awaiting Coast Guard aircrew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and taken to Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk.
Coast Guard, Navy Busy off U.S. Atlantic Coast
The Coast Guard, with the assistance of the Navy, saved four lives and responded to a total of five sailboats in distress off the Atlantic Coast Thursday and Friday. Coast Guard assets and personnel involved in Thursday and Friday's search, rescue and vessel assists were crews aboard two HC-130 Hercules airplanes and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Block Island, a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Atlantic Beach, N.C., a 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet, N.C., and the command center personnel of the 5th Coast Guard District and Sector North Carolina.
Coast Guard, Good Samaritan Rescue Three From Capsized Boat
The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan rescued three people Sunday after the 15-foot boat the three boaters were on capsized in Pamlico Sound near Avon, N.C. The boat's operator contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders at approximately 4:48 p.m., stating he and a passenger were clinging to the overturned boat and one person was floating in the water. Sector North Carolina watchstanders dispatched a crew aboard a 25-foot Response Boat - Small from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet and an MH-60 Jayhawk crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., to assist. The RB-S crew arrived on scene at 6:09 p.m. and rescued one man in the water who was holding onto a buoyant boat seat while a good Samaritan aboard a recreational boat rescued the two remaining boaters.
