Shipwrecked Man's 'Yelling' Helps Search Team Locate Him After 5 Hours Adrift

Given the windy conditions and swell "the situation was very serious," officials said

A man in North Carolina became stranded after his sailboat washed ashore, but he was rescued swiftly thanks to his screams for help.

On Monday, May 6, the man set sail in a small sailboat in Nags Head, North Carolina and, according to local fire station Nags Head Fire Rescue, his boat washed ashore shortly after.

“With strong west/southwest winds, two to three feet of swell, and cold water, the situation was very serious,” the fire station wrote on Facebook, adding that they were called to help search for the “overdue boater” at 6:42 p.m. local time.

A nearby military base, the U.S. Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet, was also alerted about the empty boat and stranded man.

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In a Facebook post, the Coast Guard said it “received a report of an overdue person on an inflatable catamaran sailboat last seen soundside of Nags Head.”

Shortly after, members of the search team were aboard a rescue boat and conducting a grid search when they “heard someone yelling from the water,” officials said.

Thanks to the man's cries for help, the team — a “joint effort from Station, helicopter crews from Elizabeth City and local first responders,” per the Coast Guard — was able to locate and rescue the man quickly.

After approximately five hours adrift, he was found alive and responsive, and the search team was “able to safely bring him aboard our vessel in less than an hour from being called to the scene,” per Nags Head Fire Rescue.

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Additionally, his rescuers were able to “quickly assess his condition and provide medical care,” the fire station noted.

After he was returned to shore, the man was transferred into the care of local emergency medical staff, who transported him to a nearby hospital, officials said. He has since made a full recovery.

As for his boat, the Coast Guard said it "recovered what remained of the vessel."

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Neither the Coast Guard nor fire station shared details about how the man ended up in the water.

But, in hopes that nobody else ends up in a similarly serious situation, the Coast Guard ended their post with a message to boaters.

“This case serves as a reminder to the public,” the post read. “Life jackets SAVE LIVES, and to plan your voyages according to the weather.”

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