The Coast Guard rescued two men on March 6th after their sailboat, the Andante
II, became disabled approximately 25 miles east of Cape Lookout, N.C., at 5:34 p.m.
Rescued were Jim Southward and Pat Schoenberger. Go here for a lengthy video of the rescue.
Southward and Schoenderger notified Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders that they lost engine power, steering and were taking on water.
Watchstanders deployed an aircrew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C.
When the Jayhawk arrived on scene, the two men jumped into the water and swam away from their sailboat, allowing the Coast Guard crew to hoist the men while avoiding the hazard of the 41-foot sailboat’s mast.
“Being able to talk directly to the two sailors on marine 16 removed a lot of their uncertainty and kept them engaged through the rescue process,”said Lt. Jenny Fields, the helicopter pilot who flew during the rescue. “We kept them updated of our position and our progress in devising a way to get them safely off their vessel and into the helo. The sailor’s radio discipline and effective communication with the Coast Guard throughout the day played a huge role in their rescue.”
The men were hoisted into the helicopter and taken to the air station. There are no reports of injuries.
Courtesy of www.uscgnews.com
I met a Couple in 9594 to 96 in the Carribean with Andante ,are these the same people.
And the boat is now where? I’m a little uneasy about leaving a boat to drift in an area with that much traffic. Was the boat scuttled?
It’s my understanding that these two guys were a delivery crew who should have known to monitor weather conditions and exercise prudent caution. It appears that they made no effort to set even a scrap of sail to counter the vessel’s roll and maintain any steerageway. In the USCG video there is no apparent damage to the vessel or its rig, leading me to conclude that the abandonment was unwarranted.
I, too, would like to know the ultimate fate of the vessel. I wouldn’t be surprised if it weathered the incident and was recovered, unless it foundered in surf.
I just read a posting by Southward saying that as of March 11th the boat has not been found and is presumed sunk.