Coast Guard rescues man from rocks on Fishers Island
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was used to rescue a Connecticut man whose boat hit rocks at high tide off Fishers Island on Saturday morning.
A 50-foot tug called Semper Fi hit the rocks off Race Point.
Boat owner Douglas Walker, 67, of East Lyme, Conn., made a Mayday radio call about 7:30 a.m. A Coast Guard rescue boat from New London, Conn., and a commercial boat from Mystic responded to Walker's distress call but they weren't able to help because of rocks, said Peter Winters, a Coast Guard spokesman.
A helicopter was called in from Cape Cod, and the crew used a hoist to free Walker from his stranded boat. The rocks had ripped a hole in the boat's hull and the boat took on 1,000 gallons of water, Winters said.
Walker, who was wearing a life jacket, wasn't injured. He was transporting the tug, which he planned to use as a recreational craft, from Baltimore to Connecticut.
The rescue took about two hours, and the Coast Guard was working on removing the boat from the rocks Saturday afternoon.
Out East Show: Visit The Shamrock evergreen maze, Sannino Vineyard, Seven Ponds Orchard and the Warrior Ranch Foundation NewsdayTV's Doug Geed is heading 'Out East' to showcase the ultimate local spots you need to explore.
Out East Show: Visit The Shamrock evergreen maze, Sannino Vineyard, Seven Ponds Orchard and the Warrior Ranch Foundation NewsdayTV's Doug Geed is heading 'Out East' to showcase the ultimate local spots you need to explore.
