Coast Guard rescues five from German sailboat in distress

ELIZABETH CITY N.C.

  A Coast Guard helicopter rescue crew pulled five people from a damaged sailboat on raging seas Tuesday after an early-morning distress call.

The crew of a Jayhawk Rescue helicopter based in Elizabeth City hoisted five people from the German-flagged sailboat Born about 170 miles off the coast, according to Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Christopher Evanson.

The sailboat had lost its mast and lines had fouled the propellers, Evanson said.

When the rescue helicopter arrived rough weather - Evanson reported 10 foot seas and 30 knot winds - made the Coast Guard crew decide to get everyone off the boat.

All five people were safely taken off, then flown to Air Station Elizabeth City and on to a local hospital. Evanson said injuries included a broken nose and a wrist injury, plus minor cuts and abrasions.

The 43-foot sailboat left Washington D.C. Sunday en route to the Azores islands, a Portuguese chain in Atlantic Ocean.

The distress call came in about 6:40 a.m. from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon on the boat. The device is designed to send out a call if a boat sinks below a certain level, or can be triggered manually. Evanson didn’t know which had happened in this case.

“This is why you want to have the EPIRB and life preservers on your boat,” Evanson said. “No one wants to get into this kind of situation, but having the right equipment greatly increases your chances of survival.”