Sunday was a busy day for our heroes off the Gulf Coast of Florida, with multiple boaters running into trouble when a sudden and severe storm blew in.
The Coast Guard and the Lee County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit rescued 10 boaters stranded together on two boats several miles offshore when storms caused one of the boaters to lose its steering. NBC 2 also reports that one of the women rescued suffered a panic attack, and one of the men rescued was arrested on outstanding drug charges.
In the same area, a missing fisherman was found after a long search. His steering was also lost in the storm according to news reports.
Even the Naples Fire Department got involved, rescuing two fishermen whose engine wouldn't restart after their boat started taking on water in the storm (article).
Florida waters were rough on Sunday, but the Coast Guard was also busy in California helping boater who got his anchor line tangled around his prop on his sailboat off of Goleta Beach (article).
In the UK, a sailor was knocked unconscious by his boom and rescued by the RNLI, according to reports.
Australia news also reported a rescue Sunday when a family of four broke up their boat on the rocks in the Furneaux Group of islands.
All the boaters in the above incidents were reported safe and sound on dry land. Just another day for the USCG and other marine safety agencies around the world.
At least one of the rescues resulted from, or was at least expedited by, the fact that a loved one onshore had called authorities when her husband had not returned when expected. Filing a float plan is one of the most basic things a boater can do to better their chances of rescue in an emergency. See FirstBoat's safety page for a sample float plan and other boating safety tips.
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Unfortunately, not all of Sunday's rescues had completely happy endings: 1 dead, 3 saved after boat capsizes in Nueces Bay
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