On Saturday, June 1st, thirty-six miles west of the Boca Grande, Florida shoreline, a boat capsized, resulting in the rescue of seven people and one kid by a US Coast Guard (USCG) aircraft.
According to a press statement from the US Coast Guard Southeast, the owners stated that their 28-foot vessel was sinking in Boca Grande, near Fort Myers.
Upon the boats’ activation of an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, the aircrew of an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Clearwater zeroed in on a signal emanating from the boaters’ PLBs.
Search and rescue, military preparedness, law enforcement, and maritime environmental protection are some of the operations carried out by the United States Coast Guard’s MH-60T Jayhawk, a medium-range helicopter with twin engines and several roles.
Although it is possible to briefly achieve 180 mph, the typical cruising speed is 135–140 knots. It can carry a crew of 4 and 6 passengers, and the range is 300 miles offshore.
According to the crew, they saw the strobe lights of the beacon and discovered that all eight individuals were clinging to a cooler while wearing life jackets. Footage from the daring rescue shows the US Coast Guard helicopter hovering above the trapped boaters before plunging them out of the sea.
After retrieving every person from the sea, the pilots reportedly transported them to the emergency room at Venice Municipal Airport.
The boats had all the lifesaving gear they required, according to Santiago Gomez of the Coast Guard Public Affairs Detachment at Tampa Bay.
Equipping the Coast Guard staff with an EPIRB, life jackets, and a marine-grade radio, among other equipment, enhances their ability to find distressed sailors and increases the likelihood of a successful result in returning them home safely.
He emphasized that these safe sailing habits are important all year round, not just during the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which began on June 1st and will conclude on November 30th.
