The Coast Guard rescued two sailors from a sailboat near Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston after the ship's captain went overboard to inspect the ship's rudder, which had become fouled. The captain of Under Siege, the distressed sailboat, was in the water without a safety line attempting to figure out the problem with his rudder when the boat drifted away. Having a man overboard greatly increased the severity of the situation. It is essential to tie yourself to the boat when doing any inspection in the water.
The sailor who remained on the deck of Under Siege communicated the predicament to watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston who dispatched a 25-foot Response Boat-Small and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium rescue crew. The captain, who had been in the water for more than 20 minutes was spotted by a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew sent from Coast Guard Air Station Houston. The Response Boat-Small crew was radioed to recover the captain.
The captain and the RBS crew rendezvoused with a tow boat that could assist the sailing vessel.
“The Coast Guard works hard every day to be America’s maritime first responder,” commented Lt. j.g. Thomas Matthews. “Thanks to the hard work and training of our command center watchstanders and helicopter and boat crews, we were able to successfully locate and assist the captain of the disabled sailing vessel.”
