Yacht sinks off Sands Point, 2 escape

A 62-foot motor yacht sank about a quarter mile off Sands Point Tuesday morning, but the two men on board made it ashore safely on their personal watercraft, the Coast Guard said.

The vessel was making a short trip, from Hempstead Harbor to Port Washington, when it sank about 7:23 a.m., said Paul Avenson, search and rescue coordinator at the Coast Guard station on Staten Island.

"For some unknown reason, it hit an underwater, submerged object, possibly a rock, but we're not sure," Avenson said. "The boat started taking water, and it eventually sank just off the Sands Point area."

The two men on board were not injured, he said: "When the boat started to go down, they got on their jet skis and they were fine."

The names of the two men were not released. They were trying to sail to Brewer Capri Marina, on the banks of Manhasset Bay in Port Washington, the Coast Guard said.

Avenson said Sea Tow, a marine help provider headquartered in Southold, has been trying to raise the boat.