CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (WAVY) — Five people were taken back to shore by the Coast Guard just after midnight Wednesday after their pontoon boat’s engine failed near Chincoteague.
The Coast Guard says it sent a 27-foot shallow water special purpose craft to help the boaters, who were stuck in a tough area to navigate near Mosquito Creek in Chincoteague Bay.
“Our crew was able to get on scene with the pontoon, assess the operational picture and prevent the situation from deteriorating into something more severe,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Conor Bennett, the officer-in-charge at Coast Guard Station Chincoteague.
The boaters were returned to their campground nearby with no reported injuries.
No other details were shared in a press release, but Bennett added that boaters should take advantage of free boating safety courses, “which are valuable to boaters of all experience levels.”
“These courses cover a variety of topics like proper safety gear to have, boating traffic rules and how to handle maritime emergencies just to name a few. The courses are available through multiple organizations throughout the nation, such as the Coast Guard Auxiliary.”
