BARNEGAT LIGHT – A recreational boat struck a jetty before sinking in the Barnegat Bay, sending two people into the surf.
The Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay received a distress call on Thursday afternoon over the VHF radio from one of the people on board the 24-foot vessel.
The boat-crew arrived on scene and attempted to dewater the vessel, but could not keep up with flooding.
The two were transferred to the Coast Guard boat and brought back to Station Barnegat Light.
A commercial salvage brought the flooded boat back to shore. Both of the people were wearing life jackets and didn’t suffer any injuries.
Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Capestany, the command duty officer at Sector Delaware Bay, said in a prepared news release “this was the perfect example of boaters being prepared for an emergency.”
Capestany applauded the use of the VHF radio and life jackets. He added “boaters headed out on the water this Labor Day weekend should be as prepared for an emergency as these boaters were.”
