Two rescued after sailboat runs aground

A Cormorant rescue helicopter was tasked but not needed as the two men were picked up from a liferaft by a local fishing vessel.

Published on May 10, 2012; Published on May 10, 2012
Greg Bennett The Coastguard

Topics :: Coast Guard , Rescue Coordination Centre , Shelburne Harbour , New Hampshire , Halifax

Two men on a sailing trip from New Hampshire to PEI had to be plucked from a life raft after their sailboat Paper Moon ran aground near the approaches to Shelburne Harbour Wednesday night.

Coast Guard officer Wendell Sperry said the sailboat ran aground on the Inner Fox Bar near McNutt’s Island around 8 p.m.

After issuing a Mayday call, the two sailors got into a life raft and fired flares to alert local vessels.

The Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax tasked a Coast Guard cutter, helicopter and an auxiliary vessel to the rescue but it was a local lobster fishing boat that reached the scene first and rescued the two men, bringing them to the Gunning Cove wharf. Both were in good condition.

Sperry said the sailors had planned to stop in Shelburne for repairs before continuing on their voyage to PEI. The Coast Guard officer said the sunken sailboat was not a threat to navigation in the area and could possibly be salvaged by its owner.

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