A crew from US Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor in Maine rescued three people from the water approximately 23 miles (37 kilometres) south of Boothbay Harbor at around 09:02 local time on Wednesday, March 11.
Station Boothbay Harbor crew located the 40-foot (12-metre) fishing vessel Vesta Renee at 09:01 and rescued three mariners from the water within one minute of arriving on scene. One mariner reported minor hypothermia, while the other two had no reported injuries.
At 07:03, Sector Northern New England received a mayday call, via VHF channel 16, from the crew of Vesta Renee. The mariners reported that the vessel was taking on water and that they intended to abandon ship.
At 07:13, Sector Northern New England launched a rescue boat from Station Boothbay Harbor as well as an HC-144 Ocean Sentry surveillance aircraft and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod.
The Coast Guard Northeast District requested that the mariners activate their emergency position indicating radio beacon to assist in finding their location. The mariners did not have a liferaft or personal flotation devices.
“Our crews are constantly training for situations like this so they can respond as quickly as possible when lives are at risk,” said US Coast Guard Lieutenant Jeanpierre Freeman. “Because of that preparation and the crew’s fast response, all three fishermen were recovered from the water within minutes of arriving on-scene.”