WEST OCEAN CITY — A 60-foot recreational sport fishing boat with five adults and a dog on board were towed into the commercial harbor in West Ocean City by the U.S. Coast Guard early Wednesday morning after a harrowing journey that began early Tuesday.
Around 6:45 a.m. on Tuesday, U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders at the Sector Hampton Roads command center received a call regarding a 60-foot recreational fishing vessel bound for Ocean City with five adults and a dog on board disabled and adrift about 70 miles off Cape Henry on the Virginia coast. The Coast Guard cutter Lawrence Lawson, based in Cape May, N.J., responded and arrived on the scene around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, or nearly five hours after the original call.
An engineer from the Coast Guard cutter Lawrence Lawson boarded the recreational sport fishing vessel and restarted the boat’s engines. However, while continuing its trip to Ocean City, the boat lost propulsion two more times. Around 2:30 p.m., now eight hours after the initial distress call, the Coast Guard cutter Lawrence Lawson returned to the scene and began towing the disabled boat toward Ocean City.
The cutter Lawrence Lawson towed the recreational fishing boat nearly all the way to Ocean City before turning the tow over to a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew out of Coast Guard Station Ocean City about 12 miles off the coast of the resort around 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday night. The Coast Guard’s 47-foot motor lifeboat towed the disabled vessel the rest of the way into the commercial harbor in West Ocean City, arriving at around 1:40 a.m. on Wednesday, or about 19 hours after the original distress call early Tuesday morning.
“It is crucial for all boaters to regularly inspect the equipment and propulsion systems about their vessels,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer Hezakiah Henson, a crewmember on the rescue boat. “We are happy that we were able to work together with the Lawrence Lawson crew to help these boaters in need.”
