Frying Pan Shoals, N.C. – The Coast Guard rescued two people Sunday aboard a disabled sailboat 37 miles southeast of Cape Fear, N.C.
The Coast Guard received a mayday call at 6:01 a.m. from a crew member aboard the Audrey and received an electronic positioning indication radio beacon signal.
Coast Guard rescue helicopter crews from Air Station Elizabeth City and Air Facility Charleston, S.C., arrived on scene and established communication with the crew of the Audrey, who reported they had lost power and had torn sails.
A boat crew from Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach arrived on scene and towed the Audrey and crew up the Cape Fear River and transferred the tow to a boat crew from Coast Guard Station Oak Island, who is towing them to a local marina.
The Coast Guard urges boaters to be equipped with a 406 MHz EPIRB whenever they are on the water. The EPIRB provides information such as location, owner of the vessel and contact information which can assist rescuers if the vessel is in distress.
The triangulated position of the mayday call provided a search area that was approximately 40 miles different than the actual position, according to Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Hynson, a watchstander at the Fifth Coast Guard District command center.
“If it weren’t for the EPIRB, we would have been looking in a totally different area for them,” said Hynson.
Also, boaters should try to provide as much information about their boat, situation, and position as they can while making a mayday call, in order to reduce search areas and response times.
