PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard medevaced a 44-year-old man aboard a yacht, Sunday, that was taking on water in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 14 miles east of Ocracoke Inlet, N.C.
A member aboard the Lady Windridge, a 149-foot yacht, contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina Command Center watchstanders at approximately 2:45 a.m. reporting their boat had seven people aboard, was taking on water and a crewmember sustained significant injuries to his hand while trying to stop the flooding.
Sector North Carolina watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and dispatched crews aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet, N.C., a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Fort Macon, N.C., and the Coast Guard Cutter Elm, a 225-foot buoy tender homeported in Atlantic Beach, N.C., to assist.
The Jayhawk crew arrived on scene, lowered two dewatering pumps, hoisted the injured crewmember and transported him to Coastal Carolina Regional Airport in New Bern, N.C., where they were met by an ambulance crew who took them to Carolina East Medical Center in New Bern.
"It wasn't just a medevac or a boat taking on water, it was both," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Hernon, the aviation survival technician aboard the Jayhawk from Air Station Elizabeth City. "Once on deck, I assessed the patient, who was conscious and stable, but in a lot of pain. Due to the rough sea state, I asked two crewmembers to bring the patient to the aft deck while I stabilized the basket, which sped up the hoist and minimized the risk to everyone."
The MLB crew from Station Hatteras Inlet arrived on scene and transferred two crewmembers and a P-6 dewatering pump to the Lady Windridge. Once the yacht was dewatered, the Hatteras Inlet crewmembers were transferred back to their boat and their MLB returned to the station.
The MLB crew from Station Fort Macon and the crew aboard the Elm escorted the Lady Windridge to Portside Marina in Morehead City, N.C.
