TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. — Days before Hurricane Debby made landfall as a Category 1 storm in Florida’s Big Bend, the U.S. Coast Guard was dispatched to a catamaran that was sinking about 20 miles off Tybee Island, Georgia.
According to the Coast Guard, their station in Charleston, South Carolina, received a notification at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, August 2, from the operator of the "Glacier Bay," a 26-foot catamaran, stating the vessel was taking on water with four people aboard, including a pregnant woman.
As the boat was taking on water, the people on board were able to deploy a life-raft and activate their registered personal locator beacon.
The Coast Guard issued an urgent broadcast notifying all mariners in the area of the distress, directed the launch of a Coast Guard Station Tybee Island boat crew and diverted a Coast Guard Air Station Savannah helicopter crew to assist in the rescue.
The helicopter crew located the life raft and deployed a rescue swimmer to evaluate the situation. The rescue swimmer remained with the people aboard the life raft until the boat crew arrived on scene.
Tybee catamaran rescue
Once the boat crew from Tybee Island reached the area, all four people were pulled from the water and taken back to Station Tybee Island.
Fortunately, no one was injured. The boat continued to sink, and the owner probably thought it was the last they’d ever see of Glacier Bay.
But thanks to Debby, the owners will soon be having a reunion with their beloved catamaran.
On Tuesday, April Collins reached out to 11Alive’s Cody Alcorn and sent him a picture of a boat flipped upside down on Fripp Island, South Carolina. The area had just been hit hard by Debby, which brought heavy rain, high wind and a couple of tornados.
The Georgia registration number was visible on the boat, and after he posted it on his Facebook page, several people started pointing out that it could be tied to the rescue off Tybee Island from last week.
On Wednesday, Cody reached out to the Coast Guard, which confirmed that the boat that washed up on Fripp Island is, in fact, the same one that sank off Tybee Island.
Coast Guard officials said the City of Fripp Island was notified along with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the owners of the catamaran.
The Coast Guard said the plan is for the owner to retrieve the boat once Debby makes a second landfall later this week and moves out of South Carolina.
As for the rescue last week: “This case and its favorable outcome are a testament to being prepared on the water,” said Lt. Michael Allen, Sector Charleston search and rescue mission coordinator during the case.
He added, “When the mariners found themselves in distress, they contacted us using their VHF radio, utilized their life jackets, deployed a raft, and activated an emergency GPS locating beacon. They helped take the ‘search' out of search and rescue, allowing us to swiftly recover and reunite them with their friends and loved ones.”
