PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City MH-60T Jayhawk aircrew rescue three sailors from a sailing vessel beset by weather 154 nautical miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on Thursday, December 12, 2024.
At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Coast Guard Sector Charleston notified watchstanders at the Coast Guard 5th District Command Center (Mid-Atlantic) that the 59-foot sailing vessel TIME-AUT was caught in heavy weather and at risk of capsizing.
The sailors aboard the vessel initially stated that they were not in distress, however early Thursday morning the mariners aboard the TIME-AUT requested to abandon their vessel, prompting watchstanders to direct the launch of an HC-130 Hercules airplane aircrew and an MH-60T Jayhawk Medium-Range Recovery Helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, and the Coast Guard Cutter Richard Snyder crew.
The HC-130J Hercules and th MH-60 Jayhawk MRR Helicopter aircrew arrived on scene at 9:30 a.m. Inmediately, the MH-60T Jayhawk aircrew deployed the rescue swimmer and successfully hoisting all three mariners from their vessel at 10 a.m. No injuries were reported.
The sailors aboard the vessel initially stated that they were not in distress, however early Thursday morning the mariners aboard the sailing vessel requested to abandon their vessel, prompting watchstanders to direct the launch of an HC-130 Hercules airplane aircrew and an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, and the Coast Guard Cutter Richard Snyder crew.
U.S. Coast Guard Video. U.S. Coast Guard Sector Charleston.
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City.
U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area.
U.S. Coast Guard Mid-Atlantic.
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Department of Homeland Security.
The vessel was equipped with life jackets, life rafts, an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), and Starlink communications.
The weather on scene was reported at 17-23 mph winds with seas of 6-10 feet.
–USCG–
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