Coast Guard Rescues Man Off Fort Wetherill

NEWPORT, RI — The call came into Castle Hill around 12:30 this morning. Here is how the Coast Guard described the rescue.

"The Coast Guard and Jamestown Police Department rescued a 60-year-old man Sunday off Fort Wetherill, Rhode Island after he fell off his sailboat.

At approximately 12:20 a.m., Coast Guard Station Castle Hill received a call from Jamestown Police reporting a man in the water who had been clinging to his boat for about two hours. A police officer was on the scene in his kayak, but could not get the man to safety. During the rescue attempt, the police officer fell from his kayak, and it was lost under the sailboat.

A 45-foot response boat crew launched from the station and arrived on scene. It was dark and visibility was poor, so the crew deployed one mk 127 flare to illuminate the area. The boat crew assisted the man who was clinging to the hull of his sailboat and brought him aboard, as well as the police officer.
The crew brought the man back to the Jamestown boat ramp were local Emergency Medical Services was waiting.

The man was treated for hypothermia and brought to Newport Hospital."

Stock Photo Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard