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Coast Guard Prevents Sinking and Assists Three Boaters

Virginia Beach Boaters Brought Safely To Shore by USCG

By Boating Staff

Updated: August 18, 2017

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Coast Guard Station Little Creek crews assisted three people after their boat began taking on water off Virginia Beach, Virginia, Thursday.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads in Portsmouth received a radio call at about 6:20 p.m. that a 27-foot Bayliner boat with three people aboard was taking on water in the vicinity of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium and 29-foot Response Boat-Small crews from Station Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Virginia, tow a vessel in the Chesapeake Bay off Virginia Beach, Aug. 17, 2017. The 27-foot Bayliner boat began taking on water near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel around 6:20 p.m., and the two boat crews launched to assist the three adults aboard U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Geoffrey Wells/Released

Coast Guard Fireman Anthony Salas, boat crew member at Station Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Virginia, operates a dewatering pump aboard a vessel taking on water near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Aug. 17, 2017. Two boat crews from Station Little Creek responded to assist the three people aboard the vessel and towed the boat to Cove Marina in Virginia Beach U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Geoffrey Wells/Released

Sector Hampton Roads watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast. Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium and 29-foot Response Boat-Small crews from Station Little Creek in Virginia Beach launched to assist.

Once on scene, Station Little Creek crew members boarded the vessel with a dewatering pump to manage the flooding.

The RB-M crew took the boat in tow, then passed the tow to the RB-S crew, who towed the boat to Cove Marina in Virginia Beach.

“Mishaps can worsen very suddenly underway, which is why people should call for help as soon as something goes wrong,” said Seaman Walter Jesuncosky, coxswain for the case. “Having communications equipment like radios on board is a good way to ensure you can call for assistance when you need it.”

Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Delange, machinery technician at Station Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Virginia, operates a dewatering pump aboard a vessel near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Aug. 17, 2017. 45-foot Response Boat-Medium and 29-foot Response Boat-Small crews from Station Little Creek responded to assist the three people aboard the vessel after it began taking on water U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Geoffrey Wells/Released

From left to right: Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Delange, Petty Officer 2nd Class Geoffrey Wells, Seaman Walter Jesuncosky, Petty Officer 3rd Class Manny Groll and Fireman Anthony Salas pause to take a photo at Cove Marina in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Aug. 17, 2017. The Coast Guard crew members from Station Little Creek in Virginia Beach assisted three boaters whose boat began taking on water near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel by dewatering the vessel and towing it ashore U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Geoffrey Wells/Released