Morehead City Man Rescued by US Coast Guard After Two Days A Drift At Sea
Robert Brakes of Morehead City was sailing off the coast of North Carolina when his sailboat sank. With little time he was unable to get a distress call out or get any fresh water or food before getting into a life raft. Robert Brakes reported his boat sunk on the 4th of June the Coast Guard received the first report of trouble on the 6th of June.
The Coast Guard began an air search of the area late Friday morning after the crew of the cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas reported seeing a capsized sailboat. Watch standers at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received the call and contacted the Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center Portsmouth, which launched a Coast Guard C-130J aircrew from Elizabeth City to investigate.
When they arrived, the aircrew spotted a debris field and a covered life raft. After several low flybys of the raft, the aircrew reported seeing a person onboard, the Coast Guard said.
“It was a C-130 that located the life raft and once the life raft was found with Mr. Brakes onboard, a helicopter was sent to rescue him,” McGrew said.
Brakes was hoisted from the raft by a MH-G0 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew from Elizabeth City and flown to Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City, where he was treated for mild hypothermia and dehydration, the Coast Guard said.
Brakes told the Coast Guard his vessel sank so quickly he was unable to gather food, water or his ship’s Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beach (EPIRB). The sailboat reportedly sank sometime during the night of June 4.
ENC Today
Although many of us will never need the rescue services of the US Coast Guard it is a blessing to know they stand ready to answer the call. I’ll admit that I’m a huge fan of the Deadliest Catch series and here is a story out the area that show is filmed that demonstrates the rescue capabilities of the US Coast Guard.
Popular Mechanics in the current issue has the story of the sinking of Alaska Ranger fishing boat with 47 people on board. I stumbled across this while researching the rescue here in North Carolina. They used the same type of helicopter in both rescues, Jayhawk, here is Popular Mechanics breakdown on the anatomy of this rescue chopper.
Here is a brief video about the rescue.
I can assure ya I’ll pick up this issue of Popular Mechanics. Hats off to the men and women of the US Coast Guard they do lots of things to keep us safe every day and hopefully I’ll never need to get plucked out of the ocean but I know they stand ready.
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[...] or get any fresh water or food before getting into a life raft. Robert Brakes reported his boat shttp://skinnymoose.com/moosedroppings/2008/06/08/morehead-city-man-rescued-by-us-coast-guard-after-t…Fish project teaches valuable lessons about life New Age ExaminerEATON TWP - While growing up in [...]
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