Sailors off Florida and paddlers off Hawaii found help when they most needed it in the form of the Coast Guard and good Samaritans.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew, with assistance from the cruise ship Carnival Breeze, rescued two men 15 miles east of Elliot Key, Fla., on Sunday.
The Coast Guard received a report that the 28-foot sailboat Gretchen Joy had two people aboard, one suffering heart problems and the other sick because of inclement weather.
In a well-coordinated effort, the Carnival Breeze assisted the Coast Guard in hoisting the stricken sailors to safety while a TowBoatU.S. boat took the abandoned vessel in tow.
“This medevac exemplifies the great working relationship the Coast Guard has with both the commercial assistance providers and the cruise ship industry,”
Capt. Chris Scraba, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Miami, said in a statement.
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Out West, a group of kayakers was rescued by the Coast Guard when weather took a turn for the worst approximately three miles off the coast of Wailea, Maui, on Saturday.
Coast Guard Station Maui was notified by a vessel operator in the area that four kayakers, one adult and three children, were being blown toward the open sea by approximately 25 mph winds. Sea conditions worsened to swells of three to four feet.
A 45-foot rescue-boat crew from Coast Guard Station Maui was conducting training in the area and diverted to the scene. All four kayakers and their kayaks were picked up and taken to shore at 2 p.m. The kayakers were wearing life jackets and uninjured.
