Overview
- Sector Northern Great Lakes watchstanders received a mayday on Channel 16 at 9:36 p.m. Monday from a 62-year-old aboard a 32-foot sailboat who reported keel damage but no water ingress.
- Coast Guard Station St. Ignace launched a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium at 10:22 p.m. and arrived near the vessel about 11:46 p.m., but the boatcrew could not reach the craft after the mariner was injured and the vessel drifted into shallower water.
- Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk that deployed a rescue swimmer and hoisted the injured man about 2 a.m., then flew him to the air station where local EMS took him to Munson Medical Center.
- The Coast Guard praised the aircrew and EMS for their coordination but has not released the extent of the man’s injuries or further details on the vessel’s condition, and the incident remains under agency review.
- Channel 16 is the international distress frequency and the response combined standard Great Lakes surface and aviation assets because shallow-water groundings often prevent small boats from reaching stranded vessels, making helicopter hoists the safer option.