NEW YORK – The Coast Guard and Middletown Police Department rescued a recreational boater in distress near Port Monmouth, New Jersey, Monday.
At approximately 5:00 p.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, received a report from the Middletown Police Department, that there was a capsized vessel near Port Monmouth.
Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook launched a rescue boatcrew and arrived on scene at approximately 5:13 p.m.
Once on scene with the capsized vessel, a Hobie Cat, the rescue boatcrew and a Middletown Police vessel rescued the operator, a 51 year-old male, and the rescue boatcrew rescued the operator’s son, a 13 year-old male.
The boatcrew and the Middletown Police vessel transported the boaters to Belford Harbor, New Jersey, where emergency medical services were waiting to transfer the boaters to Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, New Jersey.
“We arrived on scene and found the operator and his son both were wearing their lifejackets,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Clarke, a crewmember at Station Sandy Hook. “Instead of trying to swim for shore in an outgoing tide, both of the boaters remained with the vessel which made it quicker for us to locate them.”
Each year, Coast Guard crews in the Northeast conduct 2,500 search and rescue cases and save 350 lives. With more than 2,000 miles of shoreline to guard, First Coast Guard District crews remind boaters to wear their lifejackets and be prepared with all required safety gear. For more information, visit www.uscgboating.org.