The Coast Guard and the St. John’s County Fire and Rescue saved two people on Saturday morning after their 80-foot yacht hit a submerged drain tank and sank three miles off St. Augustine Beach, Florida.
The Coast Guard says it heard a call at 11:37 on channel 16 from the operator of the yacht Atlantis saying it hit something and was taking on water. The Coast Guard sent a boat to assist and coordinated with the St. John’s County team and a nearby good Samaritan vessel. The Coast Guard told the operator to turn on the boat’s EPIRB to help with the rescue operations.
The St. John’s marine unit arrived first and took both people off the yacht, identified as a Sunseeker Predator, as it was starting to sink. It took one person to the Vilano Boat Ramp for transportation to the hospital; that person was reported to have minor injuries and was in stable condition.
The St John’s unit said the yacht had hit a dredge pipe. The owner of the Atlantis will arrange salvage. It was reported to be about a 20-year-old model, worth more than $1 million.
Read more at https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3787990/photo-release-coast-guard-partner-agency-rescue-2-from-yacht-taking-on-water-3/ and see the video below:
