CLEVELAND – U.S. Coast Guard Station Marblehead medically evacuated a 27-year-old male experiencing a seizure while fishing on a 65-foot vessel on Locust Point Reef near the Davis Besse Power Plant, Saturday, at approximately 12:30 p.m.
“He was conscious but a little confused as to where he was,” said Patti Baca, Controller, Coast Guard Sector Detroit. “EMS [Emergency Medical Services] took him to Magruder Hospital in Port Clinton.”
A 25-foot small response boat (RB-S) crew brought aboard the man safely to waiting EMS at a range dock near the plant.
One of the crewmembers of the 65-foot Sassy Sal contacted the Coast Guard by VHF radio on channel 16 when of the passengers fishing began to have a seizure.
The Coast Guard encourages mariners to invest in a VHF-FM radio as their primary means of alerting distress on the water. Communication via VHF-FM radio provides superior alerting capabilities over cellular phones.
When a MAYDAY is sent out via VHF-FM radio it is a broadcast, not just one party is receiving the distress call; any nearby boaters can hear the distress call and offer immediate assistance.
[amazon-product]B00081PSJE[/amazon-product]VHF-FM radios are manufactured today with Digital Selective Calling (DSC). This feature provides the mariner with an emergency feature that will send a distress with the vessel’s information and Global Positioning System (GPS) location at the press of a button. It is important to note that the DSC radio must be properly registered with an MMSI number through Boat US and the radio must be properly interfaced with the GPS in order to send an accurate position to assist emergency responders to respond to the distress.
