The Coast Guard had praise for the actions of three men who required a rescue after their boat capsized in Lake Michigan outside Lake Forest, Ill.
Shortly before noon on June 5, a search-and-rescue controller at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan in Milwaukee received a call from the Lake Forest Police Department. Police were relaying a report that a boat had capsized and three people were in the water about 11 miles east of Lake Forest.
A crew from Coast Guard Station Wilmette Harbor aboard a 25-foot response boat was training in the area and was immediately dispatched.
Arriving at the scene within a few minutes, the Coast Guard crew rescued the men, who were on the hull of the overturned boat. They were brought to the Coast Guard station, where they declined emergency medical care and were released.
“The strong relationship between Station Wilmette Harbor and local 911 dispatchers really contributed to this rescue being a success, as the local 911 center was able to triangulate the men’s position using their initial cellphone call,” said Petty Officer 2ndClass Scott Fischer, the coxswain aboard the 25-foot response boat. “That allowed us to get on scene as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
“Despite the distance from shore and severity of the incident, the fact that all three men demonstrated good boating safety habits by wearing their life jackets and staying with the boat really made a difference and greatly increased their chances of survival,” Cmdr. Carolyn Moberley, Sector Lake Michigan’s search and rescue coordinator, said in a statement.
