Archive image: A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Air Station Port Angeles flies close to the water while conducting SAR training exercises off the coast of Washington, Jan. 26, 2018.
Aircrews will routinely conduct training to help ensure their readiness for when they are called upon to respond to a maritime emergency.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer David Mosley.
SEATTLE – A Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles MH-65E Dolphin aircrew rescue two sailors from a disabled and grounded 31-foot sailboat near the San Juan Islands, Washington. Monday night, February 3, 2025.
Coast Guard crews rescued a 56-year-old man and recovered a woman who later succumbed to her injuries.
Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound watchstanders received a mayday call via VHF radio from the captain of the sailboat around 7 p.m. stating his sailboat was disabled and drifting toward land. Snowy conditions and 25 to 30 mph winds with 4 to 6-foot seas were reported as the on-scene weather.
The Coast Guard Command Center launched a rescue boatcrew from Station Bellingham aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) and an aircrew aboard a MH-65E Dolphin Short-Range Recovery Helicopter from Air Station Port Angeles to locate the distressed vessel.
As Coast Guard crews were attempting the rescue, the sailboat ran aground. After the mast of the vessel collapsed, the MH-65E Dolphin SRR Helicopter aircrew was able to lower the rescue swimmer to reach the individuals.
After the rescue swimmer retrieved the man and he was hoisted to the RB-M (rescue boat), the MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew located the woman in the water and guided the boatcrew to her location. The woman was recovered unconscious by the Coast Guard boatcrew and brought aboard where a crew member immediately began CPR.
The woman was hoisted to the MH-65E rescue helicopter and flown to St. Joesph Medical Center in Bellingham. She was later declared deceased by hospital personnel.
The man was taken by the boatcrew to Station Bellingham where he was transferred to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) who then took him to St. Joesph Medical Center.
A Coast Guard member injured during the rescue was transported to the hospital for evaluation and released later than night.
–USCG–
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