News Release

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - A Coast Guard rescue crew from Station Cape Charles rescued two people off the sinking fishing vessel Mandyle, 10 miles east of Wachapreague Sunday evening.

Coast Guard watchstanders received a call from the crew of the Mandyle at 2:24 p.m. stating they were taking on water.

Due to hazardous sea conditions, multiple attempts to pull the mariners from the stricken vessel or to save the ship itself were thwarted. On-scene assistance included a good Samaritan crew aboard the fishing vessel Christopher Joy, a Coast Guard rescue helicopter crew from Air Station Elizabeth City, a Coast Guard rescue boat crew from Station Cape Charles, and the Coast Guard Cutter Seahorse, homeported in Portsmouth, Va.

The crew donned cold water immersion suits and boarded a survival raft before abandoning the Mandylee.  They were pulled out of the ocean by the Station Cape Charles rescue boat crew whereupon they were taken to shore and to waiting emergency medical service personnel from Shore Memorial Hospital in Nassawadox.

The Coast Guard Cutter Seahorse escorted the good Samaritan fishing vessel Christopher Joy to Lynnhaven Anchorage due to the hazardous weather conditions and the Christopher Joy's unfamiliarity with the area.

The Mandyle sunk in approximately 50 feet of water 13 nautical miles east of Fisherman's Island.