BARNSTABLE, MASS. (WHDH) - First responders saved a man who fell overboard off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard near Chappaquiddick during a torrential downpour.
“All you’re looking for is somebody’s head bobbing in the waves with pouring rain, dense fog, we could only see about two, maybe three hundred feet. His chances of being spotted, quite honestly, were not good,” said Lieutenant John Doherty of the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s a scary situation being in the water by yourself and you see [that] you’re being pulled away from your boat.”
Doherty and a Mashpee Police officer scanned the rough water for any sign of the missing sailor as the storm made the conditions treacherous.
“The weather was extremely poor, torrential rain, waves were crashing over his dingy and his dingy began to swamp, to fill with water,” said Doherty.
Doherty and the officer calculated on board where he should be based on the current and drift, which led them directly to the sailor.
“When you first see him, it’s probably the best feeling in the world,” said Doherty. “The conditions were terrible.”
Video from Doherty’s boat captured the moment the sailor, who had drifted 1.6 miles from where he was last seen, raised his oar as he came into view and eventually climbed aboard. He was wearing a life jacket at the time.
“He’s doing great,” said Doherty. “He’s thankful that we came along to give him a ride.”
Doherty credit the successful save to the training police complete with the Coast Guard and other local departments.
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