Coast Guard: Disabled boat way out in Atlantic Ocean towed back

A boat with four men that broke down in the Atlantic Ocean about 80 miles off the South Shore of Long Island was towed to safety Friday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

A man aboard the 35-foot pleasure craft used a satellite phone with a failing battery to text his wife about 10:45 a.m. Thursday, and she notified the Coast Guard, a spokesman for the agency, Lt. Matthew Richards, said.

He said the boat apparently had developed a problem with its fuel supply about two hours earlier and the engine would not start.

The boat, fishing in the vicinity of Hudson Canyon, was so far out that the Coast Guard launched a fixed wing aircraft, which located it and dropped a communications package, Richards said.

“They then used that to talk to the cutter, Bonito, and it took the vessel into tow,” he said.

The cutter and the disabled boat arrived at Oakland’s Marina in Shinnecock Bay about 10 a.m., Richards said.

No injuries or medical problems were reported, he said.

The identities of the men were not immediately known.

With Patricia Kitchen