Coast Guard chopper deployed in dramatic rescue of 4 boaters pulled from Atlantic off Fire Island

U.S. Coast Guard rescuers deployed a rescue swimmer from a helicopter to save four boaters stranded in 12-foot ocean waves off Fire Island Saturday evening.

At about 5:45 p.m., Coast Guard officials got a call from someone on board a 42-foot sportfishing yacht struggling to pilot dangerous waves and winds a few miles southwest of the Moriches Inlet. The boat set out earlier from the Connetquot River near Oakdale with two men, ages 55 and 30, and two women, ages 45 and 40, officials said.

Coast Guard rescuers deployed a 47-foot motor lifeboat from the Shinnecock Station in Hampton Bays and a helicopter from an air station in Cape Cod, nearly 150 nautical miles away, officials said.

Faced with towering waves, the rescue boat struggled getting to the scene and the helicopter arrived first, according to Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Jonathan Roth.

Nearly three hours later, at 8:30 p.m., the MH60 Jayhawk helicopter from Cape Cod deployed a rescue swimmer down to the boat to hoist its four passengers to safety. They were all on board the helicopter by 9:42 p.m., Roth said.

Rescuers transported the four boaters to Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, where EMS determined they had no medical issues. The boaters were not identified.

The sportfishing yacht was left adrift, as Coast Guard officials issued a radio broadcast notifying others at sea that a vessel was floating in the area.

Saturday’s close-call serves as a reminder for boaters to check current weather conditions and future forecasts, Roth said.

The National Weather Service on Saturday issued a "small craft advisory," warning people about dangerous conditions for small boats, such as the blue-and-white striped yacht rescued that evening.

"If conditions are expected to exceed the vessel’s capabilities or the mariner’s abilities, the safest plan may be to stay at the dock," Roth said.

Having reliable forms of communication and required safety equipment, such as life jackets, were instrumental in saving the mariners on Saturday, Roth added. Those precautions are "a must-have on any voyage, any time of year and in all weather conditions."