Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Coast Guard Rescues 7 From Sinking Sailboat

Coast Guard helicopter crews plucked six men and a woman from 12-foot seas as their sailboat sank Monday off North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

The 125-foot Alexandria started taking on water around daybreak while on its way to Beaufort and was almost submerged when rescuers reached the boat 50 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras a few hours later.

Two of the passengers were taken to a hospital as a precaution.

“One was a little hypothermic, the other just wet and cold,” Petty Officer Harry Craft said.

All of those aboard the private boat were wearing life jackets. Two dogs apparently drowned.

The boat, sailing from Alexandria, Va., had engine problems Sunday, but they had been repaired, the Coast Guard said. It was unclear if the boat developed the same trouble Monday.