PHILADELPHIA — The Coast Guard medevaced a fisherman Wednesday approximately 37 miles east of Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey.
Crew members from the 45-foot fishing boat Vengeance notified watch standers at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay on VHF marine radio channel 16 at 9:27 a.m., stating one of their crew members was experiencing seizure-like symptoms.
A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City arrived on scene at 10:10 a.m. and hoisted the 21-year-old man.
The helicopter landed at Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall Township, New Jersey, at 10:46 a.m., and the patient was transferred via ambulance to Jersey Shore Medical Center.
The fishing vessel Vengeance, which embarked on its scallop fishing trip with four people aboard, is homeported in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Crewmembers from the Vengeance pulled up the boat’s fishing rigging for the hoist operation.
The USNS William McLean was on standby ready to assist near the scene, and a boat crew from Coast Guard Station Manasquan Inlet was also launched.
“This case was an excellent example of the maritime community working together to save a life,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Maxwell Stuckey, an operations specialist at the Sector Delaware Bay command center.
“We were lucky enough to divert a helicopter conducting search and rescue training with another one of our small boat stations. A Naval Supply ship with a flight deck offered assistance as an alternative if fuel levels became an issue. Those factors made the Coast Guard’s response run smoothly.”