NEW YORK – Coast Guard Station Shinnecock performed an emergency medical evacuation of an ailing fisherman off the 57-foot lobster boat Lady Clare, Monday.
At approximately 10 p.m. Sunday night, Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound command center personnel received notification from the Lady Clare that a crewman aboard was having difficulty breathing.
After conferring with the Coast Guard duty flight surgeon, it was deemed the best course of action would be to have the Lady Clare deviate from their original destination of Point Judith, Rhode Island, and rendezvous with Coast Guard Station Shinnecock. The duty flight surgeon stated the patient needed medical attention within a 4-6 hour window. The Lady Clare’s position at that time was 31 nautical miles south of Shinnecock Inlet.
At 1 a.m., while en route Shinnecock Inlet in 4-foot seas to meet Coast Guard crews, the Lady Clare reported the ailing crewmen had ceased breathing and did not have a pulse. Crewmembers were conducting CPR. The duty flight surgeon recommended the patient not be transferred to the Station Shinnecock response boat as this would cause a dangerous lapse in CPR.
The Station Shinnecock response boat met the Lady Clare six miles south of Shinnecock Inlet and placed a Coast Guard EMT and crewmember aboard to assist with CPR at approximately 2 a.m. The patient was transferred to awaiting EMS at the Oakland Mariana and transported to South Hampton hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
“A loss like this is especially hard for everyone involved,” said Station Shinnecock Commanding Officer Chief Warrant Officer Andrew White. “Our deepest condolences go out to the victim’s family and his fellow crewmembers aboard the Lady Clare.”
The patient’s name is currently being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
