ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The Coast Guard assisted 3 people aboard a 68-foot fishing boat 90 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, N.J., Saturday.
The Coast Guard received a call at 7:06 a.m. from a crew member aboard the Blue Diamond reporting they were taking on water and were unable to control it.
The Coast Guard Cutter Sailfish, home ported in Highlands, N.J., arrived on scene and launched a rescue boat crew. The resuce boat crew brought dewatering pumps aboard and assisted the crew of the Blue Diamond by pumping out water. The rescue boat crew patched an approximately 3-inch hole in the bottom of the boat.
The Coast Guard Cutter Seneca, home ported in Boston, Mass., arrived on scene to provide supplies and fuel to the crew of the Sailfish.
The Sailfish and its crew remained on scene until Tow Boat U.S. arrived and took the Blue Diamond and its crew into tow.
The Blue Diamond and its crew were towed to Somers Point, N.J.
No injuries were reported.
“The crew members of the Blue Diamond were very polite and had some damage control training,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Timothy Florez-Adams, a crew member aboard the Seneca. “The Sailfish had a great plan and their work patching the hole brought the flooding down to which the dewatering pumps could keep up with it.”
