QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - A man who treaded water for about two hours in Boston Harbor was rescued after tumbling out of a skiff while trying to board a larger boat Thursday morning, officials said.
Quincy police, Boston police and members of the U.S. Coast Guard responding to an area near UMass Boston and the Savin Hill Yacht Club around 7 a.m. found an unmanned skiff that was doing circles in the water.
A towboat operator also responded to the scene after hearing a distress call come over the radio. He was able to shut off the boat’s motor before officials arrived.
“I saw that there was one sandal, a life jacket onboard and a backpack,” the tow operator said.
Items inside the backpack led authorities to the yacht club, where they say the man in distress had a larger vessel out on a mooring.
The man was later found around 9 a.m. in the water about a quarter of a mile away from the skiff, according to police.
“He was happy to see us,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Charles Damp said. “He was waiving, just trying to get our attention as soon as he saw our vessel.”
Soaking wet and without a life jacket, the man clung to his larger boat as he awaited rescue teams.
“He took the smaller boat out from shore to get to his boat out on the mooring. When he was transferring, that’s when he fell in,” the tow operator said.
Authorities recommend that all boaters attach a kill switch that can shut off a vessel’s engine in case of emergency.
The boater was not injured.
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