NEW YORK — A good Samaritan rescued a distressed boater in Raritan Bay, New Jersey, at approximately 2 p.m., Friday.
At approximately 12:41 p.m., Coast Guard Sector New York Command Center watchstanders received a report from a good Samaritan, of a 60-year-old male that was ejected from his recreational vessel.
The good Samaritan rescued the distressed boater and confirmed that he was the only person aboard the vessel.
Sector New York issued a Marine Safety Information Broadcast requesting vessels in the area to keep a look out for the unmanned vessel and redirected Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook to respond.
Once on scene, a Station Sandy Hook rescue boatcrew embarked a crewman aboard the unmanned vessel in order to gain control of it.
The man was transported to Atlantis Marina, in Great Kills, New Jersey, where emergency medical services met the good Samaritan at the pier.
Station Sandy Hook safely towed and moored the distressed boaters vessel in Great Kills and returned to their prior mission.
“The Good Samaritan did everything right,” Said Chief Petty Officer Steven Allard, an operations unit controller at Sector New York’s Command Center. “He rescued the distressed boater from the water and contacted us immediately after allowing us to secure the unmanned vessel and help prevent any future situations from occurring. The bottom line is when you’re on the water you should always wear your life jacket. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye and if no one was around to help the distressed boater, this could have been a very different case."
No injuries or pollution have been reported.