I was tautog fishing with my father, brother and a good friend on November 10, 2022 in Long Island Sound off the coast of Guilford, CT. We started pulling the anchor after obtaining our limit of fish.

Danger Approaches

The wind began to pick up and pushed my boat over the anchor line, causing it to foul in the lower unit. The boat swung around stern to sea and waves came over the transom notch, flooding the cockpit, and causing the boat to quickly capsize.

My brother was pinned under the boat inside an air pocket and my father was swept away by the current. I too was in the water attempting to help my father and saw my neon green ACR Aqua Link Personal Locator Beacon float out of the boat. We were all wearing inflatable PFD’s and I knew that the PLB was our only way to get immediate help.

I was able to grab the PLB and make my way back to the boat. Seeing my brother emerge from under the boat which was of great relief. I activated the beacon and had the Coast Guard calling my phone within minutes. The boat capsized around 1:00 PM.

The Guilford Fire Department also had a comment on the rescue:

The response time of the Guilford Fire Department was reportedly less than ten minutes. A Good Samaritan boater also showed up at the same time as the Guilford Fire Boat after hearing the Coast Guard’s broadcast with our location on channel 16. Our neighboring town’s fire boat (Madison) showed up along with the US Coast Guard New Haven Station.

After Rescue

After everything happened, a week later we paid a visit to the Guilford Fire Department to personally thank them for their effort in our rescue.