WILMINGTON, N.C. — A Coast Guard boat crew came to the assistance of two men whose boat began taking on water after striking an object Wednesday morning, about 13 miles off Carolina Beach.
At 9:10 a.m., they contacted Station Wrightsville Beach watchstanders via VHF-FM marine radio channel 16, reporting that they had struck an object off the coast, were taking on water and their bilge pump failed.
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A boat crew from the station launched aboard a 45-foot Response Boat—Medium to assist the boaters. Once they arrived on scene, a boat crew member boarded the men’s boat with a dewatering pump to keep the boat from sinking.
"Anything can happen, anywhere, at any time when out on the water," said Fireman Nolan Jackson, a crew member on the Coast Guard boat. "Know your boat, know your safety gear and be prepared to contact the Coast Guard as soon as possible if anything were to happen."
The crews were able to keep up with flooding and make it to the Wrightsville Beach Wildlife boat ramp under the boat’s own power and it was trailered out of the water. A large gash was visible in the hull.
The boaters were wearing life jackets when the Coast Guard crew arrived and no injuries or pollution were reported.
