Six duck hunters needed a Coast Guard rescue on Saturday after their boat got stuck during low tide.
The group called for help around 11 a.m. after getting stranded during a Barnstable Harbor trip. The US Coast Guard Air Station in Cape Cod posted the weekend helicopter rescue video.
According to the New York Post, the rough sea and other factors made several attempts fall short. The hunters called for help after realizing the next tide wouldn’t come in until later that day. The hunters couldn’t wait, with freezing temperatures looming.
CapeCod.com reported a Natural Resource officer rescued 4 of the victims by 1 p.m. The helicopter completed the rescue, picking up the final two hunters.
After the Jayhawk rescue, emergency personnel evaluated the hunters. According to the Weather Channel, on Jan. 15, the high temperature was 20 degrees, and the low was 11 degrees in Barnstable.
The Coast Guard Facebook page thanked everyone who helped in the rescue.
Social Media Loves Rescue Video, Story
On Facebook, a few Coast Guard fans took some time to comment on the video.
“Great video of Air Station Cape Cod doing what they do every day,” B Mark Swaine said. “Outstanding service and assistance to all persons!
Michael Ryan added, “Great Job, USCG Air Station Cape Cod. You saved my bacon three times in Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Sound with helo pick ups.”
Twitter commenters posted their comments on a New York Post report.
“They must be hard up for food hunting ducks in subzero weather,” Paul Kraczkowski Tweeted. “Perhaps they should have Grocery stores there.”
Carie Parker added, “I know this isn’t Funny & Thankful they’re Ok, but look @ that Boat.”
Hunters Need Extra Care In Winter Excursions
In December, the Trussville (Ala.) Times talked about the need for hunters to prepare and be aware of the weather conditions.
Coast Guard veteran Paul Barnard urged hunters and boaters to exercise caution and wear personal flotation devices (PFDs) this year because getting wet can quickly become a severe problem. The Coast Guard’s Operation Artemus Borios wants to keep hunters and boaters safe during the winter.
Barnard explained the name behind the project to the paper.
“Artemus was the Greek goddess of the hunt, and Borios is the god of the cold and winter winds,” Barnard said.
Barnard said reaching out to hunters and boaters was the main objective. He wanted to tell them about the dangers of winter activities as an “outreach and enforcement operation.”
There’s no ticketing in the operation because officials just wanted to “engage people at the dock before they launch” as a preventative measure.
Winter Hunting Fatal In South
In addition to warnings, the newspaper listed several instances where hunting turned fatal.
Most recently, this month, a duck hunter drowned in the Tennessee River when his boat capsized. Two others survived.
Two young Mississippi River duck hunters went missing despite extensive search efforts.
In 2009, two hunters went squirrel hunting by canoe in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. Authorities found their canoe half-submerged but without its occupants. Amazingly, officials found the body of one of the hunters in January of 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico.
