Update: Capsized fishing boat with five rescued identified as a Freedom Boat Club vessel
A fishing boat with five people on board capsized about six miles off the coast of Pawleys Island, South Carolina on Thursday, according to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard rescued all five people on board the 22-foot Salty Dog, according to a press release and the boat’s owner.
The boat was among a fleet of about 60 owned by Freedom Boat Club of The Grand Strand – a boat membership club – and was docked in Murrells Inlet, and it was being used by a member, according to Freedom Boat Club of The Grand Strand vice president of operations Karen Berry.
“Coast Guard Sector Charleston Command Center watchstanders were alerted of the distress by the boat club at 10:16 a.m. and dispatched a 29-foot Response Boat–Small crew from Station Georgetown and an MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew from Air Facility Charleston,” the Coast Guard said.
The response boat got on the scene first and rescued the men, bringing them back to shore in Murrells Inlet, south of Myrtle Beach, according to the Coast Guard.
There were no apparent injuries. Berry was thankful for the Coast Guard and Murrells Inlet Dock Manager Dylan Kremer. She said the boater provided a float plan so Kremer knew where the group was going, and the boater called Kremer as soon as he realized he was taking on water and made sure everyone on board was wearing a life jacket.
“Our dockhand and our safety procedures we have in place I think really save the guy’s life,” Berry said. “Dylan Kremer did an awesome job.”
Berry said the boat became distressed when the boater attempted to pull up an anchor that was stuck on the bottom of the ocean by maneuvering the boat, and the anchor line wrapped around a propeller, causing the motor to stop and the boat to take on water in fairly rough seas.
The boat was still floating in the ocean as of early Thursday night and Berry expected it to be retrieved when seas subside, as early as Friday. “I’m sure it’s going to be a total loss,” Berry said.
This story was originally published May 9, 2019 at 3:12 PM.
