The Coast Guard and athe "Winona" saved three people from a sailing vessel approximately 920 miles east of Cape Cod, Mass., on Jan 26, 2013 at 7:57 a.m.
Winona saved crew of Polish yacht off Cape Cod The Coast Guard and athe "Winona" saved three people from a sailing vessel approximately 920 miles east of Cape Cod, Mass., on Jan 26, 2013 at 7:57 a.m. The "Winona" crew rescued two people aboard the dismasted sailing vessel "Sytiburon-36" and one from the water, safely and with no reported injuries. Watchstanders from the 1st Coast Guard District command center were notified at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Jan 25 from the GEOS command center that an SOS transmission was received from the Sytiburon-36. A GEOS representative spoke with the emergency contact on the beacon's registration, the spouse of the master of the "Sytiburon-36" from Poland, but stated there was a language barrier. By 6:00 p.m., the 1st Coast Guard District command center had found a Polish translator and arranged a conference call with the contact to gather information that would help identify the vessel and assess the safety equipment available to the men aboard. The command center then contacted the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center in Norfolk, Va., and requested air support from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. An airborne Coast Guard C-130J from Elizabeth City was sent to the position provided by Sytiburon-36’s working GEOS radio beacon. A watchstander from the 1st Coast Guard District in charge of the search and rescue identified several vessels in the area utilizing the AMVER system. Several vessels responded to the assistance request and the "Winona" was identified as the closest vessel in the vicinity of the Sytiburon-36 through the aircraft's long-range identification and tracking (LRIT) system. The crew of the "Winona" responded to the request for assistance and with the help of the C-130J crew and constant communication with the 1st Coast Guard District command center, they were able to locate and recover the three people in aggressive seas using side ladders, liferings and rescue lines. Weather at the time of the incident was reported as 28-34 mph winds and 15 to 20-foot seas. All three crewmembers were in stable medical condition and will remain aboard the "Winona" en route from New Orelans to Finnsnes