Carrier Eisenhower detours to assist Coast Guard with rescue

The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower left Norfolk early Saturday morning for a six-month deployment, but shortly after sunset, the Eisenhower was sent to assist with a Coast Guard rescue off the coast of Cape Hatteras.

At 5:07 p.m. Saturday, the Coast Guard received a satellite distress signal from the sailboat Gloria A Dios, a Coast Guard news release said. It took about 90 minutes, but a Coast Guard C-130 crew from Elizabeth City found the sailboat about 250 nautical miles east of Cape Hatteras. The sailboat had been taking on water since storms Wednesday, according to its operator Dennis Clements. He was the only one aboard at the time.

The motor vessel Ryujin was also heading in the direction of the sailboat to offer assistance, but rough seas disrupted that effort.

About 9:30 p.m., while the C-130 crew watched over the sailboat, a large wave demasted it, creating two holes in the port side cabin. The C-130 dropped a life raft to Clements.

"I was in the water for about an hour," Clements told the Coast Guard in a video posted on YouTube.

Clements said that when the boat rolled over, taking him into the sea, he thought he would be killed. After spending the hour in the water, he kicked off his boots and started swimming and praying. 

Then he found the raft. About an hour later, a diver told Clements he was there to rescue him.

"After all that, to see that guy there, man, it was an almost unbelievable experience to realize that I wasn't going to die," Clements said.

As the sailboat sank, the Eisenhower’s rescue helicopter crew picked him up from the water at about 10:30 p.m. While the Coast Guard C-130 flew overhead, the Eisenhower rescue helicopter flew more than 100 miles back to the carrier. A Coast Guard helicopter had flown to the Eisenhower to refuel, the Coast Guard news release said.

The Eisenhower’s senior medical officer checked Clements and then the Coast Guard helicopter crew flew him back to Elizabeth City. He arrived at the Coast Guard station at 3:45 a.m. Sunday.

The Eisenhower is headed to the Middle East, where they will assist with missions that will include counterpiracy efforts and supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.