Posted on 05/07/2007 4:14:13 PM PDT by Rb ver. 2.0
Coast Guard rescues 9 from storm-tossed sailboats off coast
Coast Guard involved in five separate rescue operations off Atlantic coast
CAPE HATTERAS, N.C. (AP) — Coast Guard helicopters hoisted nine people, including one with broken ribs, from storm-tossed sailboats Monday as strong winds gusting to hurricane force whipped the Southeast coast.
Three people were rescued from a makeshift life raft in 34-foot seas around 10:30 a.m. about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, said Petty Officer Christopher Evanson, a Coast Guard spokesman.
The sailors, who had been aboard the sailboat “Lou Pantini,” were flown to the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point at Havelock for medical evaluation. All three suffered from hypothermia and one had broken ribs.
Three other sailors were rescued about 7:30 a.m. from the sailboat “Seaker,” which was within 50 miles of Cape Hatteras in the Diamond Shoals area, Evanson said. Those sailors received a medical evaluation at the Coast Guard air base at Elizabeth City.
A third rescue happened just after 1 p.m. about 120 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras in 35-foot seas, Evanson said. Three people were picked up from their sailboat and taken by helicopter to the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. None of the three were injured.
Evanson said the identities and destinations of those rescued weren’t immediately available.
The National Weather Service issued a wind warning for the coast, saying rough seas and high winds were expected through Wednesday because of a low pressure system drifting off the southeast U.S. coast.
Forecasters said a weather buoy 200 miles east of Cape Lookout reported gusts of more than 74 mph, the minimum level of hurricane winds, and that winds were gusting along the North Carolina coast in excess of 40 mph.
“It’s a very impressive storm,” said Brandon Vincent, a meteorologist in the weather service’s Raleigh office. Vincent said offshore, the storm “might as well be a hurricane.”
The high winds were created by low pressure pushing against a high pressure area over southern Virginia, Vincent said. The low pressure was centered about 275 miles southeast of Cape Lookout and affected the coast from North Carolina to Florida.
He said sailors caught in the rough waters may have been returning from outside the area and didn’t have time to get to port.
Coast Guard involved in five separate rescue operations off Atlantic coast
CAPE HATTERAS, N.C. (AP) — A helicopter hoisted three people from a storm-tossed sailboat early Monday and a rescue chopper was dispatched to pluck three more people off a life raft after they abandoned another sailing vessel, Coast Guard officials said.
A C-130 was sent to check out two more vessels that sent distress signals as a low pressure system whipped the ocean with howling winds that stirred waves as high as 34 feet.
Three people from the sailboat “Seaker” were rescued around 7:30 a.m. after the boat was located within 50 miles of the coast in the Diamond Shoals area in 16-foot seas, said Petty Officer Christopher Evanson, a Coast Guard spokesman. Its sailors were receiving a medical evaluation at the Coast Guard air base at Elizabeth City.
Three more people from the sailboat “Lou Pantini” were in 34-foot seas on a makeshift life raft about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, Evanson said. Winds were estimated at 40 knots.
“They are all alive,” Evanson said, adding that he didn’t know what type of raft they were on but that it “wasn’t your traditional life raft.”
A C-130 from the air station was flying overhead while a rescue chopper flew to the scene, he said.
Two more sailing vessels reported trouble about 120 miles off Cape Hatteras and a C-130 aircraft was dispatched to see if a helicopter was needed, Evanson said.
The National Weather Service issued a wind warning for the coast, saying rough seas and high winds were expected through Wednesday.
Semper Peratus.
FZNT22 KWBC 072110 OFFNT2 OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST NWS OCEAN PREDICTION CENTER WASHINGTON DC 445 PM EDT MON MAY 7 2007 W CENTRAL N ATLC CONTINENTAL SHELF AND SLOPE WATERS BEYOND 20 NM TO 250 NM OFFSHORE...INCLUDING S OF GEORGES BANK FROM 1000 FM TO 250 NM OFFSHORE ANZ086-080230- HATTERAS CANYON TO CAPE FEAR OUT TO 34N 71W TO 32N 73W 445 PM EDT MON MAY 7 2007 HURRICANE FORCE WIND WARNING ...N WALL OF GULF STREAM NEAR 33.3N 76.7W...33.7N 76.6W...35N 75.3W... TONIGHT N TO NE WINDS 40 TO 55 KT...EXCEPT TO 65 KT NEAR THE GULF STREAM EARLY. WINDS DIMINISHING TO E TO NE 25 TO 35 KT LATE...EXCEPT TO 35 TO 45 KT FROM THE GULF STREAM W. SEAS 15 TO 25 FT...EXCEPT 25 TO 38 FT FROM THE GULF STREAM E...BECOMING 18 TO 28 FT...HIGHEST NEAR THE GULF STREAM. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS.
Nice work, guys. Sounds pretty nasty.
It would be just another typical Gulf of Alaska Low on the Pacific. Unusual to see something like that in those Atlantic waters, other than hurricanes, later in the year.
45 knot, N/NE winds in the Gulf Stream gets real nasty for small boats.
Not unusual to see the seas 35 ft and bigger around Hatteras and coming from 3 different directions at the same time. Always a fun time.
Click on the arrow in the upper right of the swell map and you can zoom in on the east coast.
I meant the arrow icon in the upper Left of the map.
If I were 40 years younger, I would want to be a rescue swimmer. Cool job.
Small boats, hell... That’s no fun for anybody. :-)
Most of my time was on a 210 in the Gulf of
AK. The words “small craft advisory” still give me the heebee jeebies. :-)
Good link. I used to use that site all the time.
Buoy 41001 150NM E of Cape Hatteras 2050 EDT
Wind Direction (WDIR): ENE ( 70 deg true )
Wind Speed (WSPD): 33.0 kts
Wind Gust (GST): 40.8 kts
Wave Height (WVHT): 23.3 ft
Dominant Wave Period (DPD): 13 sec
Average Period (APD): 8.7 sec
Atmospheric Pressure (PRES): 29.93 in
Pressure Tendency (PTDY): +0.05 in ( Rising )
Air Temperature (ATMP): 66.4 °F
Water Temperature (WTMP): 66.4 °F
Dew Point (DEWP): 63.0 °F
Me, an 82’ from Long Island and a 270’ out of Ptown Va. The 82 rode better then the 270, especially around Hatteras.
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