Coast Guard crews rescued a father and son from a 43-foot sailboat during a winter storm south of Nantucket on Sunday.
The sailboat, named Sedona, lost power and its sails were
damaged in the storm, the New York Daily News reported.
Reg McGlashan, 65, and Jason McGlashan, 38, of Port Macquarie in New South Wales, weren’t injured in the incident, the Daily News said.
Crew members in a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter battled low visibility and near hurricane-force winds to rescue the men,
according to a statement from the Coast Guard.
“Given the severity of this storm, this rescue was a major effort and we are all relieved it ended as it did,” said Lt. j.g. Tyler Dewechter, MH-60 pilot and public affairs officer at Air Station Cape Cod. “We are glad we were prepared for this storm and could render aid — and also continue to urge mariners to stay safe and heed the cautions and advisories of winter storm warnings.”
During the rescue, weather conditions escalated from 9-foot seas and 40-mph winds to 25-foot seas and 60-mph winds, the Coast Guard said.
“It’s a relief they’re OK, they’re very lucky to be alive,” Jason McGlashan’s sister-in-law
Rebecca McGlashan said, according to the Herald Sun.
The men, who bought the boat off eBay, had expected the trip from Rhode Island to Port Macquarie to take about eight weeks.
Jason McGlashan said he would try to salvage the boat, which he
paid $10,000 for in October, NBC News reported.
He said he regretted bringing rescuers out in the storm, but defended his decision to make the journey.
"If anyone sat down and worked things out they would understand why we left," McGlashan told NBC News. "If we had waited, it would have been winter in Australia, meaning unforeseen storms in the southern ocean and a lot further from land if that happened."
The Coast Guard posted a video of the rescue.
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