The Coast Guard says they rescued seven people from a sport fishing boat off of the coast of Cape May Sunday afternoon.
All seven people were hoisted and taken to Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, where local emergency medical services (EMS) were standing by to assist.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued seven boaters July 25, after the boaters were caught in rough seas about 69 miles off Cape May. The boaters were transported to Air Station Elizabeth City, in North Caroline, were they received aid from emergency medical services standing by.
According to a Coast Guard release, a small craft advisory for the area indicated 4-to-6-foot seas, with winds gusting up to 30 knots.
Watch standers at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay received the initial report from Coast Guard Sector Virginia at 1:19 p.m., stating that a 40-foot sportfishing boat, with seven people aboard, had been beset by weather, with seas reaching approximately 10 feet.
When conditions continued to deteriorate, the crew of the vessel activated their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). According to reports, Coast Guard crews aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk and an HC-130 Hercules aircraft, from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and a 47-foot motor lifeboat, from Station Indian River, were launched to assist.
In a statement, Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Petrenko said, "One of the scariest and most unpredictable places you can be is out on the water in a storm. Fortunately, they had life jackets, a registered EPIRB and a radio, which they used to call for help. If any one of those pieces had been missing, we might not have been as successful as we were."
