Sailor's Risky Helene Move Ends With a Rescue

A Coast Guard helicopter hoists man and his dog from a stranded sailboat off Florida
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 27, 2024 7:08 AM CDT
Amid Helene, Man and His Dog Saves From Sea
A photo from the rescue.   (Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater)

A man and his dog were 25 miles out to sea off the west coast of Florida on Thursday, with Hurricane Helene fast approaching, when their sailboat became disabled, with no one else around. Then the 36-foot sailboat began taking on water. In what became a happy ending, "Coast Guard crews responded to the boater's distress call and rushed to the man's location, approximately 25 miles offshore from Sanibel Island near Fort Myers," according to a statement. Footage shared by ABC News shows the man and his dog entering the water before being hoisted into a helicopter.

"A successful rescue attempt was made and the unidentified sailor and his dog were saved and brought back to land," the Coast Guard said. It did not comment on why the sailor had ventured out amid hurricane warnings and small craft advisories, though USA Today reports on several Floridians who planned to ride out the hurricane in boats. Helene later became the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Florida's Big Bend Region in more than 160 years. At least three people have died—one on a highway near Tampa and two in Georgia's Wheeler County, per ABC. (More Hurricane Helene stories.)

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