A Hectic Night for Lake Michigan Coast Guard

From Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, the busy Lake Michigan Coast Guard crews rescued or assisted six people and one dog in three separate emergencies.

At 7:15 p.m., Tuesday, a watchstander at Coast Guard Station Milwaukee was contacted via cell phone by a man who reported his boat was sinking in Lake Michigan three miles east of Milwaukee with two other people aboard. A rescue boatcrew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium launched from the station. When the RB-M crew arrived on scene, the boat had capsized and a good Samaritan had rescued two of the people. The RB-M crew rescued the third person and took the two others from the good Samaritan's boat and transported them all to shore. A commercial salvor recovered the boat and towed it to safety.

At 8:50 p.m., Tuesday, a search-and-rescue controller at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, in Milwaukee, received a call from county emergency responders reporting an 18-year-old man had reportedly fallen off a pier at Tiscornia Beach in St. Joseph, Mich., and was unable to get out of the water on his own. A rescue boatcrew aboard a 25-foot Response Boat-Small launched from Coast Guard Station St. Joseph, rescued the man and took him back to the station to awaiting emergency medical services.

At 6:20 a.m., Wednesday, a watchstander at Coast Guard Station Manistee, Mich., received notification of two people and their dog aboard a disabled 19-foot recreational boat that was taking on water in Lake Michigan. A rescue boatcrew aboard a Station Manistee RB-S launched and towed the people to safety.

“In many of the cases this week, recreational boaters came to the assistance of their fellow boaters,” said Lt. Brian Dykens, Sector Lake Michigan public affairs officer. “Often, there is another boater who is closer to an incident or accident who is able to respond and help much faster than we can. However, it is important for boaters to not take on more than they can handle while rendering assistance, because there is always the potential for a bad situation to turn worse.”

uscgnews.com