UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARY UNOFFICIAL NEWSLETTER
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Launch 5 Boat Crew Handles
Multiple SAR Cases On the Hudson
07 AUG 05
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Launch 5 Boat Crew Handles
Multiple SAR Cases On the Hudson
On Sunday, August 7, 2005 the crew of Launch 5, USCG Auxiliary flotilla 67,
Ossining, New York, handled four different emergency Search And Rescue (SAR)
cases. They included a vessel hard aground, a vessel on the rocks, and two disabled
Personal Watercraft (PWC).
The Launch 5 crew was performing some routine maintenance on their 53 foot, former
NYPD Harbor Unit patrol boat, when they heard a MAYDAY call on VHF Ch 16. Also
having heard the call for help, Coast Guard Sector New York ordered the crew of
Launch 5, an operational facility of Flotilla 67, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary,
to assist a 26 foot cabin cruiser, hard aground off of Croton, New York's Teller's Point,
with six persons aboard.
Standing by while SeaTow, a commercial towing company, assisted the cabin cruiser,
Launch 5 was hailed by a passing boater and informed that there was a boat on
the rocks in Haverstraw Bay, on the other side of Teller's Point.
Launch 5 responded and received further information that the craft was disabled,
and the master was an elderly, frail gentleman. During the search for the disabled
vessel, Launch 5 came across a jet ski with two people on board, and two in the
water, desperately trying to prevent the jet ski from hitting the rocks.
After assisting in freeing the jet ski, they towed the craft to the middle of the bay,
where they released the jet ski for a tow back to their marina.
While waiting for the transfer of the disabled jet ski to the other boat, Launch 5's
crew observed two other jet ski operators in the water signaling there was an
emergency.
USCG Auxiliary Facility Launch 5 responded to these SAR cases (each distressed
vessel is considered a SAR case) as well. Launch 5 retrieved the jet skiers (who
were wearing personal flotation devices) and their jet skis, moving them to deeper
water in Haverstraw Bay. They turned these two boaters over to the Rockland County
Sheriff's Marine Patrol who escorted them safely to shore.
The Launch 5 crew acted promptly and professionally, expertly utilizing their hard
earned Coast Guard skills and training to find and quickly rescue these mariners in
distress.
What makes these SAR cases similar is that they might have been prevented if the
boater's had taken a boating safety course. In America's Boating Course, (ABC) an
eight hour boating safety program, they would have learned the importance of wearing
a personal flotation device (PFD), of navigation, and knowing the waters where they
are boating. They would have also learned about how important a VHF radio is,
and why boating and drinking do not mix.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military
volunteer's who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for direct
military and direct law enforcement activities. These men and women can be found
on the nation's waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing
Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, safety patrols, Vessel Safety Checks, and Public
Education.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress
as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 31,000
members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.
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