Coast Guard Rescues 2 From Boat Aground in Oyster Creek

Crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light rescued six people in two separate incidents Friday – one in the ocean and one in Barnegat Bay.

In the first incident, a person aboard a 42-foot sailboat contacted Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay watchstanders at about 5:30 a.m. reporting the boat was disabled 25 miles offshore from Barnegat Light, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The crewmember told watchstanders there were four people aboard the sailboat, the engine was inoperable and they could not use the boat's rudder. 

The sailboat was homeported in Canada, officials from the station said.

A crew aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Station Barnegat Light responded and towed the sailboat and crew ashore, the statement said.

Three hours later, a person aboard a 21-foot center console boat called Coast Guard watchstanders to report the boat ran aground in Oyster Creek in Barnegat Bay.

The man said the other passenger aboard, a 47-year-old man, injured his head on the boat’s windshield and was in need of medical assistance.

A crew aboard a 24-foot Special Purpose Shallow Water Craft from Station Barnegat Light launched and medevaced the patient and the other crewmember.

The two men were taken to the Coast Guard station where the patient’s care was transferred to the Barnegat Light First Aid Squad.

A local towboat company salvaged the 21-foot boat, the station said.

The names of those rescued were not released.