|
|
 |
 |
by MICHAEL BRICK
Firefighters rescued four people yesterday who were clinging to the hull of their capsized 21-foot sailboat in New York Harbor, fire officials said.
The four were sailing in calm midafternoon breezes in the Buttermilk Channel, the tidal strait between Brooklyn and Governors Island, when a sudden gust turned the vessel over.
“There was no wind behind the island,” said one of the passengers, Irene Kim, 30, a lawyer from Jersey City, “and then, poof.”
Another passenger, Kristen Kramer, 30, a teacher from Jersey City, had just gone to get some food from the cockpit. She said she had to swim out from under the boat.
A firefighter stationed on Governors Island reported the capsized boat, and marine units responded, said Battalion Chief Roger Sakowich of the First Battalion. Ms. Kim; Mrs. Kramer; her husband, Seth, 33; and their friend Jacob Asbury, 31 — all of them wearing life jackets — were in the water about 10 minutes before being rescued by firefighters from Marine 1. The Fire Department has three 25-foot Boston whalers at the ready for rescues in warm weather, Chief Sakowich said.
The four were transferred to Engine Company 4 on South Street in Manhattan. They declined medical attention, but the women accepted warm blankets and a change of clothes at the firehouse. The water temperature was in the low 50’s, Chief Sakowich said.
The sailboat was towed to Governors Island, where firefighters were trying to right it last evening.
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
