November 15, 2012
(AP) The Coast Guard has rescued four people from a sailboat that lost steering in the Atlantic Ocean about 170 miles off Virginia Beach.
The Coast Guard says four people aboard the 56-foot Island Breeze set off an emergency position indicating radio beacon at about 8:15 a.m. Wednesday. Watchstanders at the Portsmouth headquarters issued an urgent marine information broadcast and dispatched an HC-130 Hercules aircraft and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C.
Crewmembers aboard a 753-foot bulk carrier confirmed the vessel's location, and the Hercules aircrew arrived and made contact with the sailboat crew about 11 a.m. The Jayhawk crew soon arrived and hoisted the four to safety and took them to Elizabeth City.
