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The US Coast Guard (USCG) has rescued a man who was stranded on Cay Sal, an uninhabited island near the Bahamas, for three days.
The man, whose sailboat had broken during an expedition, was transferred to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force “in good health,” the USCG said in an official statement. The rescue operation took place on Friday, August 18.
As per New York Post, the man is a 64-year-old Bahamian national. His identity has not been revealed.
The statement added that the man was first spotted by Coast Guard Air Station Miami Auxiliary aircrew. The crew raised an alert that they spotted a “disabled sailboat firing flares” near Cay Sal, which is a 2,000-square-mile land nestled between Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas. For those who don’t know, a sailboat can carry up to five people. It uses wind power to propel. Some sailboats also come with a generator or a wind maker.
To help the man, the crew also dropped food and water supplies. Later, they established a communication channel by sending a radio. “The man notified the crew he’d been stranded for three days after his vessel became disabled during his voyage,” the statement added.
Dev Craig, a Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstander, whose team rescued the man from the island, said they are “proud to have saved this man’s life.”
Craig added that this incident also served as a “perfect example of why you must have the proper safety equipment on your vessel.”
“Without seeing the flare, the case may not have had a successful outcome,” he added.
Earlier this month, a 25-year-old was stranded at the sea after his fishing trip off the coast of St Augustine, Florida, took an unexpected turn, reported CNN. Charles Gregory was stuck in the middle of the sea for close to two days. Gregory found it difficult to stay alive after his boat got partially submerged. He was rescued by the US Coast Guard after his family filed a missing report.
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