Good advice for boaters. Staying inshore when the winds are 25 kts plus and you're in a small boat is also good advice. Newswire article:
(Boston) A Coast Guard crew based at Station Brant Point on Nantucket rescued three men in distress about 4 miles from Martha's Vineyard yesterday afternoon.
The Coast Guard Command Center in Boston received a cellular telephone call at 4:30 p.m. from one of three men aboard the 19-foot boat Bulletproof, a recreational boat that had been swamped and was taking on water.
Communications with the caller were lost shortly after that, but through a series of repeat telephone calls from the men, Coast Guard crews in Boston were able to determine that the distress call was coming from between Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
A Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod was dispatched to the scene to assist. A 41-foot Coast Guard utility boat crew arrived on scene, dewatered the vessel and towed it to Edgartown.
None of the three men were hurt or required medical assistance, a Coast Guard spokesman said.
"A cellular phone is a good communications tool for contacting the Coast Guard when you are in distress," Lt. Gary L. Jones, a First Coast Guard District public affairs officer, said. "We would like to point out, though, that the best method for contacting the Coast Guard is with a VHF-FM radio on Channel 16."