The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two Canadians from their damaged sailboat amid rough seas about 80 nautical miles off Neah Bay, Washington, on Tuesday.
The coast guard’s Seattle office received a distress call at 3:40 p.m. that the sailing vessel had ripped sails, a broken prop and a dead generator. A helicopter was dispatched from the coast guard’s Astoria Station.
A rescuer was lowered into the high waves by helicopter near the boat, and a basket followed.
The coast guard diver then coaxed each of the two men to jump into the water one at a time. Each man was put into the basket and hoisted into the helicopter.
Video of the dramatic rescue was posted on the U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Northwest social media feed.
Coast guard spokeswoman Annika Hirschler said Wednesday the men were airlifted to Port Angeles and were in stable condition “and very cold.”
She did not know if the men were hospitalized there, and her briefing did not indicate where the men are from, though it did say they are Canadian citizens.
