A combined mission of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Navy rescued a Kansas City sailor when his sailboat started taking on water off the North Carolina coast.
Dennis Clements’ of Blue Springs, MO was sailing from Virginia to the Virgin Islands aboard the Gloria A Dios when a storm damaged his boat. Clements sealed up the hole, thinking he could make it back to land. But then, a second storm on Saturday capsized his boat and sent Clements into the ocean. The rough weather set off his Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon, or EPIRB. That signal notified the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard sent a rescue team from Elizabeth City, but because of the bad weather, they called on the USS Eisenhower for help.
Coast Guard crews dropped life rafts to help Clements until the Eisenhower’s rescue helicopter arrived and is back in Elizabeth City.
The Coast Guard said Dennis Clements was traveling from the Hampton Roads area to the U.S. Virgin Islands when he ran into bad weather on Saturday about 250 nautical miles east of Hatteras. His sailboat was damaged.
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