Six rescued after boat loses power on the Great South Bay, officials say

Six people were rescued Sunday when a police patrol vessel towed a 25-foot boat after it lost power and drifted in strong winds and waves on the Great South Bay, Suffolk County police said.

Frank Pezzuto, 50, of Oakdale, was piloting the Chris-Craft boat into Sayville about midnight with five employees from his pizza parlor aboard when it lost power, police said.

Pezzuto set an anchor, but it couldn't hold in winds gusting at more than 40 mph with 3- to 4-foot waves, police said, and the boat began to drift toward shore.

After Pezzuto used his cellphone to call for help about 1:15 a.m., officers from the Suffolk County police Marine Bureau arrived aboard a 40-foot patrol vessel, officials said.

The boat was towed with the passengers aboard to Vanderbilt's Wharf Marina on the Connetquot River in Oakdale, police said. One passenger complained of seasickness but refused medical attention.