BRIGANTINE – Two duck hunters have the Coast Guard to thank for their recent rescue having been stranded on an island in the Little Egg Inlet in Brigantine.
Both men were hunting near the inlet when they became stranded. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay received a call from Sea Tow around that the two duck hunters had disembarked their vessel to hunt on an island but were unable to recover their boat upon return.
Sea Tow couldn’t reach the two hunters due to the shallow water surrounding the island and so Watchstanders launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Air Station Atlantic City.
A short time after reaching the scene, the hunters were located. The had only one bottle of water, no food and cell phones that were barely charged.
The air temperature was close to freezing and the sun was close to setting. The aircrew hoisted them and transported them to the air station.
“This case could have had a much different result. The water is an unpredictable place and a potentially fatal place for the unprepared, especially given the freezing water temperatures this time of year,” David Umberger, command duty officer at the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay Command Center said.
He added, “anyone thinking about heading out on the water should be prepared with a life jacket and some type of marine radio that can reach Channel 16 so that we can find them quickly in an emergency.”
