Man Rescued From Great South Bay After Being Thrown Off Boat by Wave

A 21-year-old man needed to be rescued from the Great South Bay after he was thrown overboard when his boat hit a wave Friday morning, Suffolk Police said.

During the rainstorm, Justin Underwood, of Bayport, was operating a 2011 19-foot NauticStar vessel on the bay off Blue Point when he briefly let go of the steering wheel to check his position on his cellphone at 7:10 a.m. The boat hit a wave and Underwood was thrown overboard, police said. The vessel then continued westbound out of sight.

The Suffolk County Police Department received a 911 call at 8:06 a.m. regarding an unmanned out of control boat in the water off Sayville. Marine X-Ray, Marine 35, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bayport and Blue Point Fire departments responded.

A short time later, Marine Bureau Sgt. John Vahey, who was aboard Marine Charlie, located the boat one mile offshore between Brown’s River and Homan’s Creek in Bayport. Vahey determined there was no one on board and he began a search pattern in the water for an occupant, police said.

Vahey located Underwood at 8:36 a.m. near the Buoy 35 in the North Channel, south of Blue Point, approximately one mile from where the boat was found. Vahey pulled Underwood from the water and transported him to shore at Homan’s Creek in Bayport, where he refused medical treatment.

Underwood, a swimming instructor, had been in the 80-degree water for approximately 90 minutes and was not injured.

At about 8:45 a.m., Marine Bureau officers Raymond Cairo, Dale Kelly and Raymond Harkins, who were onboard Marine X-Ray, approached the vessel and were able to foul the propeller with a line and life ring and slow the boat. Kelly jumped from the police boat onto the unmanned boat and brought it under control.