INDIAN RIVER — Two boaters were rescued early Monday evening after their fishing vessel ran aground on the rocks of the north side of the jetty at the Indian River Inlet.
Multiple emergency services agencies responded on Monday night to a reported incident involving the 38-foot sportfishing boat “Magic,” which had come into the Indian River Inlet in the darkness and fog and collided with the rocky jetty on the north side of the inlet. There were two people on board, one of whom suffered injuries, and both were taken off the boat during a collaborative rescue effort by multiple agencies.
Coast Guard Station Indian River received the distress call and launched two crews, one aboard a 47-foot motor lifeboat and the other aboard a 24-foot special purpose craft-shallow water vessel. Multiple agencies arrived on the scene via sea, land and air including a Delaware State Police helicopter. Numerous vessels and other apparatus provided essential lighting via floodlights and spotlights for the rescue attempt.
In addition, roughly a dozen volunteer firefighters arrived on the scene to assist. With a variety of on-scene assets, it was determined the best approach for the rescue of the two boaters on board the disabled vessel was from the rock jetty.
“I proceeded on the jetty toward the vessel and the rocks were very slippery,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Nick Muskalla this week. “On the way out to the distressed vessel, I fell in the water between the rocks, but I managed to pull myself out and only suffered cuts to my hands and left leg from barnacles and rocks. I reached the end of the rock jetty where a firefighter named Rob and I began to devise a plan of action to embark on the vessel safely.”
Once on board the vessel, the Coast Guard officer and the volunteer firefighter split duties with one checking on the structural integrity of the “Magic” and the other tending to the boaters. “
“I immediately assessed the vessel’s structural condition,” said Muskalla. “It was rising off the rocks and then slamming down, causing a violent shuttering.”
There were numerous holes in the vessel’s hull and it was taking on water. Since the boat had grounded on the rocks, it was not in any immediate danger of sinking. Muskalla and the volunteer firefighter along with an unidentified third person were able to get on board to assist the boaters, one of whom suffered a broken nose and other injuries.
The rescue personnel on board the vessel were able to get the two boaters onto a waiting Lewes Fire Rescue Boat using a backboard and makeshift floating device. The “Magic” remained grounded on rocks through much of the night on Monday until it floated off at high tide. It remained disabled in the Inlet listing in the waves. By Tuesday morning, it had been towed onto the beach and was later trailered away.