UPDATE: Two Islanders rescued from sinking boat
UPDATE: Andy Reeve and Dan McCafferty are the two Shelter Islanders rescued by the Coast Guard from a sinking yacht off Puerto Rico on Sunday.
The Reporter spoke with Mr. Reeve from his home on the Island Tuesday morning. A finger on his right hand was not severed, as reported in the magazine, Cruising Odyssey, which the Reporter had quoted.
“It’s just a bad cut,” said Mr. Reeve, who is a fire commissioner and an employee of North Ferry.
After the rescue he flew home and went to a hospital emergency room for treatment. He was released and is now home for the holidays. Asked about the event, Mr. Reeve said, “It was not a great day.”
Below is the original Reporter story.
Two Shelter Islanders were among four people rescued by a Coast Guard crew Sunday after the 80-foot yacht they were on began taking on water off the coast of Puerto Rico, forcing them to abandon the boat and board a raft.
A call for help came into the Coast Guard Station in San Juan at 5:22 a.m., Dec. 15, with a report that the stern of the yacht, named Clam Chowder, was already under water, had lost power and was listing to starboard.
The crew was aboard the yacht Clam Chowder, a Marlow 76, registered in the British Virgin Islands. Coast Guard personnel said the boat was en route from South Florida to the Turks and Caicos when it began to take on water. Efforts to keep the boat from flooding proved unsuccessful and the captain ordered the crew to abandon the boat.
The crew aboard the raft was lifted aboard a helicopter using several hoists while the Coast Guard cutter Robert Yered and a 680-foot container ship, the Calais Trader, remained nearby.
This is a developing story and the Reporter will update it when more facts become available.
