CG Cutter Dependable’s Crew Rescues 5 in Fla.

MIAMI, FLA. — The crew of Cape May-based Coast Guard Cutter Dependable rescued five people 23 miles southwest of Cape Romano, Fla., Aug. 19, after their vessel began taking on water Saturday night.
Shortly before 4 p.m. Aug. 18, a commercial salvage company had been assisting two vessels that had reportedly run out of gas. Upon towing in one of the vessels, when the salvage company returned to tow the other vessel in they were unable to relocate the vessel and then notified the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard immediately launched an HU-25 Falcon jet from Air Station Miami and diverted the Cutter Dependable to begin searching.
The crew of the Falcon located a 25-foot vessel with one person aboard and dropped food, water and a VHF marine radio. Upon establishing communication with the individual through the use of that radio, the person informed the Coast Guard that his vessel began taking on water the last evening and four persons abandoned the vessel around midnight.
The Falcon dropped that person a raft and immediately informed search and rescue coordinators at Sector St. Petersburg, Fla.
The crew of the 210-foot Dependable launched its HH-65 helicopter to search the area for the missing four.
The helicopter crew searched until they located four people wearing life jackets in the water approximately one mile south of the boat just before 9 a.m.
The tired, but uninjured, boaters were picked up by the Dependable’s small boat and returned to the cutter.
“We got on scene and I was told to jump in,” said rescue swimmer Petty Officer Andrew Sheean. “I swam for the child first. I swam him back to the boat and went after the others. When I swam up to them it was very evident that they were really, really thankful we were there. They were yelling ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’ and the oldest one started to cry out of relief,” said the Indianapolis native.
“I’m glad we were able to make it there in time,” said Cmdr. Laura M. Dickey, Dependable’s commanding officer. “We arrived and rescued all five people just as the vessel capsized. Apparently, four of them had been in the water for about eight hours and are very lucky to be alive. I’m really proud of my crew’s performance. They did a wonderful job.”
A 33-foot rescue boat from Station Fort Myers, Fla., met with the cutter and returned the five boaters to the Caxambas Park Boat Ramp near Marco Island, Fla., where they had originally departed.
“It is never a wise decision to leave your vessel while in distress,” said Sean Connett, the command duty officer for the Coast Guard’s Seventh District Command Center.
“We are fortunate that the helicopter was able to locate the survivors in the water when their only survival equipment was floatation devices. These four survivors are very fortunate to be alive and should have never decided to leave their vessel or the fifth person behind,” he stated in a release.