EDITORS NOTE: The image attached to this release is NOT from the involved case.
Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Alder, a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender, retrieve buoys in the Keweenaw Waterway near Houghton, Mich., Nov. 17, 2013.The cutter is participating in Operation Fall Retrieve, where buoys are removed for the winter.U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Thomas JohnsonCLEVELAND — U.S. Coast Guard crews conducted a MEDEVAC of a 74-year-old man from a 35-foot sailboat involved in the Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac Race early Sunday morning on northern Lake Huron.
The man's name is not being released by the Coast Guard and there is no video or imagery available for this case.
Just before 6:30 a.m., the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Alder, homeported in Duluth, Minnesota, and deployed to assist with the race, was contacted by the sailboat stating that a crew member had lost consciousness for approximately three minutes and had a history of heart issues.
Alder diverted to assist and it was determined by the on-call Coast Guard flight surgeon that a MEDEVAC was necessary.
Alder arrived on scene, approximately 32 miles off-shore from Tawas City, Michigan, and brought the man on board. The Alder was met by a boat crew from Coast Guard Station Tawas, Michigan, aboard a 25-foot response boat with local emergency medical services personnel aboard.
Once ashore, the man was transferred to EMS at Station Tawas in stable condition and is being taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Tawas City.