Bobcat
12-09-2014, 08:15 AM
Coast Guard rescues 4
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A 21-foot center console boat lost power and went adrift before capsizing Sunday night, leaving four people in the water who were eventually rescued by the Coast Guard.
Watchstanders in Key West received a report from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office that the boat was adrift about 6:30 p.m. near Sombrero Reef lighthouse just off Marathon, said Coast Guard Sector Key West spokesman Lt. Peter Bermont.
The sheriff's office notified the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said spokeswoman Becky Herrin.
Crews launched a search aircraft from Sector Miami, and a fast response boat from Station Marathon, and began searching for the boat, but were hampered by little moonlight, he added.
They didn't find the boat until about 9:30 p.m. after the sheriff's office relayed another message that the mariners were near Veterans Park -- public beach located at the end of the Seven Mile Bridge at Mile Marker 40, Bermont said.
Arriving Coast Guard crews found the boat capsized and all four people either in the water or sitting atop a portion of the hull still out of the water, Bermont said.
They were taken ashore to waiting paramedics, but no serious injuries were reported.
"It was a relatively nice day," Bermont said when asked about what caused the incident. "It sounds like the boat was disabled and then was overwhelmed by water."
The Coast Guard had 17 search and rescue cases last week alone. Those came as the Coast Guard was warning mariners to mind the whether as wind-related cases have spiked since November, which is typically the windiest month of the year in the Florida Keys.
Whether this incident was directly related to the weather was unclear, Bermont said.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A 21-foot center console boat lost power and went adrift before capsizing Sunday night, leaving four people in the water who were eventually rescued by the Coast Guard.
Watchstanders in Key West received a report from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office that the boat was adrift about 6:30 p.m. near Sombrero Reef lighthouse just off Marathon, said Coast Guard Sector Key West spokesman Lt. Peter Bermont.
The sheriff's office notified the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said spokeswoman Becky Herrin.
Crews launched a search aircraft from Sector Miami, and a fast response boat from Station Marathon, and began searching for the boat, but were hampered by little moonlight, he added.
They didn't find the boat until about 9:30 p.m. after the sheriff's office relayed another message that the mariners were near Veterans Park -- public beach located at the end of the Seven Mile Bridge at Mile Marker 40, Bermont said.
Arriving Coast Guard crews found the boat capsized and all four people either in the water or sitting atop a portion of the hull still out of the water, Bermont said.
They were taken ashore to waiting paramedics, but no serious injuries were reported.
"It was a relatively nice day," Bermont said when asked about what caused the incident. "It sounds like the boat was disabled and then was overwhelmed by water."
The Coast Guard had 17 search and rescue cases last week alone. Those came as the Coast Guard was warning mariners to mind the whether as wind-related cases have spiked since November, which is typically the windiest month of the year in the Florida Keys.
Whether this incident was directly related to the weather was unclear, Bermont said.
alinhardt@keysnews.com