(Left to right) Allen Edwards, Mark Williams, and Tony Bessent shortly after their rescue/U.S. Coast Guard photo by Air Station Savannah, Ga.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three men off a sinking fishing vessel about 60 miles off the coast of Georgetown early Saturday morning.
About 11:30pm Friday, the Coast Guard received a maritime distress signal sent by the boaters through their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon or EPIRB.
The 48-foot fishing vessel CJR had been hit by a large wave that flooded the engine room and disabled most of the electronic equipment.
The Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Ga., based Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter air crew operating out of Charleston launched and located the disabled fishing vessel approximately 60-miles east of Georgetown at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday. In addition to the EPIRB signal, the boaters lit off emergency signal flares to the help rescue crew find them.
All three boaters, Allen Edwards, 45, Mark Williams, 45, and Tony Bessent, 48, were safely hoisted at about 3:20 a.m. and taken ashore to Georgetown. Their hometowns were not immediately available.
