Coast Guard And Good Samaritan Rescue 2 Brothers Off Barnegat Light
By Todd Quinones
BARNEGAT LIGHT, N.J., (CBS) -- The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan rescued two brothers on Monday after their 31-foot boat capsized about eight miles east of Barnegat Light.
Two brothers were out fishing. They were about eight miles out to sea when they were hit with a sudden series of large waves.
Their boat started taking on water and hope quickly faded they could save themselves.
Seconds before their radio would be knocked out, they placed a frantic mayday call to the Coast Guard.
"Mayday mayday…."
Just after that call, the brothers' 31-foot boat capsized in the Atlantic Ocean.
Time was not on the brothers' side.
"Two members jumped into the water. They were unable to get any rescue equipment on themselves. The rescue equipment was floating in the water. They were able to grab on to a life ring," Coast Guard Petty Officer Andrew Groth said.
"The guys were in the water. They were getting tired. They were cold," Coast Guard Petty Officer Corey Renninger said.
Coast Guard Petty Officers Corey Renninger and Andrew Groth received the distress call just before 8 a.m. Monday morning at their Barnegat Light Station.
Two 47-foot Motor Life Boat crews from the Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Atlantic City deployed to help the sinking boat.
The fishermen, desperate for help yelled out their coordinates, letting rescuers know their position just before their boat flipped over.
"After that the radio went silent," Groth said.
That call, along with a distress beacon, the brothers most likely saved their lives.
As this Coast Guard video shows, rescuers were able to go the brothers' exact location.
A good Samaritan aboard a nearby boat, Jamaica II, confirmed to the Coast Guard two people were in the water holding onto life rings, and one brother was able to climb aboard.
"The other crew member was too weak to climb on board the boat, so we threw him a line and pulled him over to our boat and we were able to pull him on board our boat," Renninger said.
Once they were saved, the two brothers expressed their gratitude and asked if they could call their families to let them know they were ok.
