STURGEON BAY (NBC 26) — The United States Coast Guard says it rescued a man after his sailboat capsized and ran aground near Green Island in Lake Michigan Saturday.
The Coast Guard says watchstanders received a mayday call at 6:08 p.m. from a man aboard a 28-foot sailboat reporting high winds. The boat’s battery died about 11 miles northwest of the Sturgeon Bay Canal. The man says the boat then capsized, but he was able to right it before it ran aground on a sandbar.
Watchstanders directed Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay to respond with a 45-foot response boat. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City also sent an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. Both crews arrived on scene around 8 p.m.
Shallow water prevented the boat crew from reaching the man, so the helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer to assist him. He was then transported by helicopter to Menominee Regional Airport for emergency medical services related to hypothermia.
“This rescue reflects the coordination and professionalism of our Coast Guard crews and watchstanders,” said Gregory Grubbs, Command Duty Officer of the Coast Guard Great Lakes District Command Center. “As conditions on the Great Lakes become increasingly unpredictable this time of year, we remind boaters to check weather forecasts before getting underway, ensure their vessels and safety equipment are in working order, and always have a reliable means of communicating in an emergency.”
The Coast Guard adds that no pollution was reported from the incident.
