Coast Guard Rescues Two Boaters Near Montauk Point

The Coast Guard rescued two people from a small folding boat that was drifting out to sea near Montauk Point on Saturday afternoon. 

The boat had a small trolling motor, but was not keeping up with the current and was taking on water, the Coast Guard said in a statement. 

One of the people aboard the 10-foot boat made a distress call to Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound on a handheld V.H.F. radio at about 3:30 p.m. The command center issued an urgent marine information broadcast, and a rescue crew from Coast Guard Station Montauk set out in a a 47-foot motor lifeboat. 

The captain of the Bluefin, a charter fishing vessel, spotted the folding boat after hearing the Coast Guard's radio call to be on the lookout for a boat taking on water.  Arriving, he handed the boaters a bucket to bail their boat and remained with them until the Coast Guard arrived at about 4:15 p.m. The two were taken aboard the lifeboat, and the crew pulled their boat aboard. 

In its statement, the Coast Guard said the successful rescue should serve as a reminder to all boaters to prepare for an emergency. "The rescued boaters were able to call for help and were ultimately rescued because of their call for help on the international hailing and distress channel, channel 16, using a portable, marine-band radio."