Smith Point Sea Rescue vice president Jim Bullard reported crews recently responded to the following calls for assistance:
September 3: At 5 p.m., the owner of a 22-foot center console reported that his engine had failed and he was dead in the water in the Chesapeake Bay, two miles northeast of the Little Wicomico River jetties. Rescue 1 was dispatched from Reedville and using the longitude and latitude provided by the captain was able to drive straight to the vessel. The boat, with five onboard, was towed into Smith Point Marina for repairs. Time on call, 2 hours.
September 4: At 7:50 a.m., the captain of a 30-foot sailboat called the sheriff asking for assistance. The captain, from Henderson, Nev., had sailed into the Little Wicomico River and gone hard aground. Rescue 1 was unable to approach the sailboat which lay in just 3 feet of water. An off-duty member of Sea Rescue who was watching from his dock, launched his personal skiff and was able to carry the tow rope from Rescue 1 to the sailboat. Rescue 1, working in deeper water, was then able to pull the sailboat free and escorted it back out through the jetties. The captain then motored to Jennings Boatyard for repairs. Time on call, 3 hours.
September 23: At 2:05 p.m., the sheriff received a call from the captain of a 25-foot sailboat with engine failure in the Coan River near buoy Red 6. The Rescue 3 captain on duty lives near there so he took his personal boat and was able to tow the sailboat with two aboard to Lewisetta Marina for repairs. Time on call, 1 hour.
September 23: At 9 a.m., Rescue 3 was dispatched from Olverson’s Marina to assist a deadrise fishing boat with engine failure on Lodge Creek. The crew towed the deadrise to Lewisetta Marina for haul out and repair. Time on call, 2.5 hours.
October 1: At the request of the Northumberland Association for Progressive Stewardship, the crew of Rescue 1 served as the safety boat during a river clean-up program, staffed by local students, on the Little Wicomico River. Time on call, 5 hours.
October 1: At 6:40 p.m., the sheriff received a call from a boater broken down at the mouth of the Yeocomico River near the mark known as “The Birthday Cake.” Rescue 3 was dispatched from Olverson’s Marina but was called back when the boater called to say a good Samaritan had stopped and was towing his boat home. Time on call, 1 hour.
Smith Point Sea Rescue can be reached on channel 16 or by calling 911. Rescue 1 and Rescue 2 are based in Reedville and Rescue 3 is on Lodge Creek near Callao.
