BOSTON — Rescue crews from Coast Guard Station Burlington, Vt., recovered one man from the water at 11:42 p.m. Saturday after his 22-foot sailboat capsized near Shelburne Bay on Lake Champlain, Vt.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Northern New England received a report at approximately 11:10 p.m. that the vessel capsized, ejecting its three passengers into the water.
A Good Samaritan was nearby and recoverd two passengers, but was unable to pull the third person out of the water.
Station Burlington immediately launched a 25-foot response boat small to recover the man and all three people were safely transported back to the nearest port.
“The fact that the man was wearing a lifejacket was key in this case,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Tiffany Hayes, an operations unit controller at Sector Northern New England. “He was in the water for approximately 40 minutes and that lifejacket helped saved his life.”
The boat remains adrift and poses no pollution threat. It is scheduled to be recovered by a local salvage company when weather permits.
