BOSTON – A Coast Guard vessel has arrived on scene today to rescue a lone sailor aboard a 29-foot vessel disabled roughly 270 miles east of Cape Cod, Mass. The 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma, homeported in Kittery, Maine, made visual and radio contact with Jean Raymon Collon, aboard the sailing vessel Grail Pilgrin, about 8:15 a.m., today after transiting more than 100 miles through 15-foot seas at a speed of about 6 knots.
The Tahoma crew is currently evaluating the situation to determine the safest way to remove Collon from the Grail Pilgrin and bring him to shore.
“The on scene conditions are quite rough right now,” said Cmdr. William Kelly, Tahoma’s commanding officer. “Safety is our main objective in rescuing this mariner.”
Collon departed Halifax, Canada in the Grail Pilgrin bound for Bermuda, but experienced an engine failure early Thursday morning. He contacted Joint Rescue Coordination Center Halifax and requested to be taken off the vessel. The JRCC notified the U.S. Coast Guard First District Command Center staff at 1:45 a.m., Thursday, who directed the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma to assist.
