USCG File Photo
Rescued was Jim Brown, 66, of Oxnard, Calif.
At approximately 3 a.m., watchstanders at the Eighth Coast Guard District command center received a call from the tanker vessel, the V8 Stealth, reporting that one person aboard a sailing vessel, the Time Traveler, was experiencing difficulty effecting repairs to his disabled boat. The crew of the V8 Stealth attempted to recover Brown by deploying a net over the side, but was unable to do so due to high winds. The crew of the V8 Stealth then inserted a die marker to mark the location of Brown’s position to the Coast Guard and stayed on scene until the Coast Guard arrived.
An HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft and crew from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala., was launched and was able to establish good communications with Brown.
A Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65C Dolphin helicopter arrived on scene at approximately 8:30 a.m., and hoisted Brown, who was wearing a life jacket, from the water.
The crew of the rescue helicopter transported him to Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma.
“We spotted him waving his arms wearing a large, orange life jacket,” said Lt. Michael Vickers, Air Station New Orleans co-pilot. “He was shivering, and he said he almost lost hope in the 20-knot seas with 10-foot swells.”
The Coast Guard has issued a Broadcast Notice to Mariners to be aware of a sailing vessel adrift in the Gulf of Mexico.
Brown departed Saturday from Naples, Fla., en route to Galveston, Texas.
The Coast Guard recommends that boaters always wear a life jacket while on board or in the water. Life jackets increase both visibility to first responders and the chances of survival during times of distress.
