A mariner navigating through Hurricane Helene’s path was dramatically rescued when his boat began sinking off the coast of southwest Florida, as reported by the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Clearwater.
The distress call came in around 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, from a 64-year-old man whose 36-foot sailboat was disabled and taking on water about 25 miles off Sanibel Island. At the time, Helene’s winds were intensifying from a Category 2 to a Category 3 storm, prompting U.S. Coast Guard air units to undertake a “calculated risk” to complete the mission without further loss of life.
Social media videos show the boat still afloat when an MH-60 helicopter crew arrived at approximately 2:45 p.m. A guardsman was lowered by cable to the water, first rescuing a dog wearing a life preserver, followed by its owner. Both swam to a basket and were hoisted into the helicopter.
With winds near 120 mph, Hurricane Helene was extremely dangerous, according to the National Hurricane Center. “The seas were terrible and the winds were worse,” Chief Petty Officer Nicole J. Groll told McClatchy News. “If rescuers go down, nobody is getting rescued. This was a calculated risk we took to go out there, but we were confident we’d find him and bring him back.”
The mariner, who remains unidentified, was taken to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers for a medical examination and later arranged transportation home.
Helene made landfall in Taylor County in the Panhandle around 11:10 p.m. as a Category 4 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. Sanibel Island is approximately a 160-mile drive south of Tampa.