BOSTON — A crew from U.S. Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor rescued three people from the water approximately 23 miles south of Boothbay Harbor Wednesday morning at 9:02 a.m.
Station Boothbay Harbor crew located the vessel at 9:01 a.m. and rescued three mariners from the water within one minute of arriving on scene. One mariner reported minor hypothermia, while the other two had no reported injuries.
At 7:03 a.m., Sector Northern New England received a mayday call, via VHF channel 16, from the crew of a sinking 40’ ridge liner vessel, Vesta Renee. The mariners reported that the vessel was taking on water and that they intended to abandon ship.
At 7:13 a.m., Sector Northern New England launched of a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Boothbay Harbor and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station Cape Cod.
The Coast Guard Northeast District requested that the mariners activate their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon to assist in finding their location. The mariners did not have a life raft or personal flotation devices.
“Our crews are constantly training for situations like this so they can respond as quickly as possible when lives are at risk,” said Lt. Jeanpierre Freeman. “Because of that preparation and the crew’s fast response, all three fishermen were recovered from the water within minutes of arriving on scene.”
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