BOATING SAFETY A KEY FACTOR IN COAST GUARD RESCUE
USCG Eighth District Public Affairs
Release Date: 07 May 2003
RELEASE NO. 044-03
NEW ORLEANS - A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala., rescued three boaters from the water one mile south of Cape San Blas, Fla., just after midnight today.
The rescued boaters were; Fernando Daleccio, 50, and Vickie Daleccio, 48, of Fort Walton, Fla., and Gary Crayne, 46, of Mary Esther, Fla.
At about 9:30 p.m., the crew the sailing vessel Southern Breeze, a 30-foot sloop, reported they were taking on water and had to abandon ship before Coast Guard crews could arrive on scene.
All of the boaters were wearing life jackets and they hung on to the boat's emergency position indicating radio beacon after the vessel went down at about 10:45 p.m.
Due to one-mile visibility, the pilots had to use night-vision goggles to find the boaters.
Lt. Tom Meyer, one of the helicopter pilots, said, "the boaters' use of safety equipment was a huge factor in us finding them."
The Coast Guard crew transported the boaters in stable condition to Apalachicola Municipal Airport to meet a waiting ambulance.
A U.S. Air Force C-130 airplane crew from the 71st Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga., assisted in the search.
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