U.S. Coast Guard rescues six in two separate incidents near Barnegat Light
A Coast Guard vessel approaching the Barnegat Inlet today with a 42-foot disabled sailboat in tow. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light)
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued six people in two separate incidents involving disabled boats today.
A crew member aboard a 42-foot Canadian sailboat contacted the Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light around 5:30 a.m. after the vessel became disabled 25 miles offshore from Barnegat Light, according to a Coast Guard news release.
The engine was inoperable, with four people aboard, and they could not use the rudder, the crew member told the Coast Guard station. A 47-foot motor life boat responded and towed the sailboat, arriving in the Barnegat Inlet at 12:45 p.m., according to a posting on the U.S. Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light Facebook page.
The second incident occurred around 8:30 a.m., when a person aboard a 21-foot center console boat called the Coast Guard to report that the vessel had run aground in the Oyster Creek, which flows into the Barnegat Bay, the release said.
The other boat occupant, a 47-year-old man, suffered an injury after striking his head on the windshield, the caller said.
The Coast Guard launched a 24-foot shallow water craft and transported the man to the Coast Guard station dock in Barnegat Light, where an ambulance was waiting.
A local towboat company salvaged the 21-foot boat.
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