US Sailing will award a Hanson Rescue Medal to sailors Mary Kovats, Jacob Karlin and Dave Stix of Chicago, for the bravery they displayed during their May 7 rescue of three distressed sailors from the cold, stormy waters of Lake Michigan.
Peter Kovats was returning to the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club in Montrose Harbor from a birthday celebration sail on the lake with his friends Daniel Tenuta and Will Jablonski in Peter’s Rhodes 19 sloop, Peter Pan. They were hit by a storm with winds over 40 knots, hail, and steep waves with a water temperature below 50 degrees. The boat swamped and could not be righted despite several attempts.
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