Archive image: A crew member assigned to Coast Guard Station Manistee is hoisted into an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter Jan. 30, 2024, as part of a SAR training exercise on Manistee Lake, Manistee, Michigan.
The crew conducted ice helicopter operations with Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City to enhance their rescue training techniques during the winter season.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christine Bills.
Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Omar Fabe, U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes District
KEWAUNEE, Wis. — The Coast Guard crews conducted the rescue of five boaters on Lake Michigan after receiving a report of their vessel losing its rudder and taking on water near Kewaunee, Wisconsin. Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan received initial notification at 9:31 p.m. from a Good Samaritan nearby the 55-foot vessel in distress with five people aboard. The sector issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast (UMIB) and launched an Air Station Traverse City MH-60T Jayhawk Medium-Range Recovery Helicopter aircrew and a Station Sturgeon Bay 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew.
Great Lakes District Command Center personnel collaborated with both crews, providing them updated positions of the vessel to guide them to the scene. The station RB-M crew rescued the five boaters from the water as the air station MH-60 Jayhawk MRR Helicopter aircrew provided aerial oversight and support.
The five individuals exhibited symptoms of hypothermia and seasickness, resulting in their transport to Kewaunee Municipal Marina. They were then transferred to local emergency medical services (EMS) for further evaluation.
“The swift, coordinated response to last night’s boating emergency was a result of countless hours of training to include training with station personnel and assets like Station Sturgeon Bay,” said Lt. j.g. Nicholas Betts, Air Station Traverse City Public Affairs Officer. “Thanks to the cooperative efforts of our crew, the station crew and the command center, we were able to save five lives last night.”
–USCG–
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