Two sailors trapped at sea after boat loses sail during Debby: Video captures their rescue
Two boaters were rescued after their vessel lost its sail off the coast of southwest Florida as Debby, then a tropical storm, approached the state's Big Bend region.
The two boaters were sailing from Key West to Tarpon Springs when their "34-foot sailing vessel lost its sail 73 miles off Boca Grande" and left them stranded, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release Sunday.
A friend of the boaters contacted Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg around 5 p.m. Saturday, reporting they missed their check-in.
Rescue crews with multiple agencies were deployed and the two boaters and their vessel were located around 11 a.m. the next morning. A spokesperson for Coast Guard Detachment Tampa Bay told USA TODAY Monday that after crews were alerted of the missing boaters Saturday, they continued to monitor the situation and a NOAA aircrew was able to establish radio communication with the boaters, who reported they were adrift, around 9 a.m. Sunday.
They were then airlifted via helicopter at approximately 1:30 p.m. and transported to Air Station Clearwater, where they landed back around 2 p.m., the spokesperson said.
Watch the rescue:
The rescue was conducted amid harsh weather conditions with strong winds of 50-knot and low visibility, according to a video shared by the U.S.C.G of the rescue.
No injuries were reported, and the Coast Guard strongly urged mariners to file a float plan before taking their boat out on the water.
“Some of the most important factors in any search and rescue case is accurate information and safety equipment," search and rescue mission coordinator at Coast Guard District Seven Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Hooper said in a statement. "We received an updated satellite position from the boaters’ friend, which led to them being successfully located. This rescue was a collaborative effort between District Seven and Sector St. Petersburg while Tropical Storm Debby crossed the region.”
Hurrican Debby hits Florida
Hurricane Debby roared ashore Monday along the Big Bend coast of Florida as a potent Category 1 storm, one that could bring catastrophic flooding to the Southeast as the sprawling system slows and unleashes drenching rain across several states.
Debby, the fourth named storm of what is expected to be a historic hurricane season, made landfall Monday at 7 a.m. near the coastal town of Steinhatchee with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Debby is projected to move slowly across northern Florida before unleashing "potentially historic heavy rainfall" up to 20 inches across southeast Georgia and parts of South Carolina.
The National Hurricane Center warned of a "major flood threat" in the Southeast. "There is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline," the center said.
Contributing: Susan Miller, John Bacon, Dinah Voyles Pulver, William L. Hatfield, Christopher Cann, USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2 stranded boaters rescued off Boca Grande, Florida amid Debby: Watch
