Coast Guard rescues 4 boaters from 12-foot waves off Fire Island, report says

A U.S. Coast Guard swimmer rescued four boaters Saturday evening after their sportfishing yacht was overwhelmed by 12-foot waves off Fire Island, according to a report.

A distress call came in about 5:45 p.m. from the 42-foot vessel struggling a few miles southwest of Moriches Inlet. The boat had set out from the Connetquot River near Oakdale with two men and two women aboard, Newsday reported.

Responders launched a motor lifeboat from Shinnecock Station in Hampton Bays and scrambled an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Cape Cod — some 150 nautical miles away.

The rescue boat was unable to cut through the waves, so the chopper reached the four boaters first, the outlet reported.

At 8:30 p.m., a rescue swimmer was then deployed from the chopper. The swimmer helped hoist all four boaters — the men are aged 55 and 30 and the women are 45 and 40 — to safety aboard the helicopter by 9:42 p.m., ccording to Newsday.

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The group was flown to Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, where EMS cleared them.

The yacht was left adrift, with a radio broadcast warning other vessels in the area.

_{Top: Photo by Phyllis Lilienthal}