The US Coast Guard rescued two boaters during Monday night’s storm, after their sailboat was blown east from Saturna Island to ran aground in the San Juan Islands.
The Coast Guard in Puget Sound responded to the mayday over the radio at around 7 pm. Weather at the scene was snowy conditions with 50-kilometre-per-hour winds, and three-metre seas.
During the rescue attempt, the 31-foot-sailboat grounded at the Sucia Island Marine State Park, and the mast collapsed. The Coast Guard dispatched rescue boats and a swimmer to rescue a 57-year-old man, and a woman who was found unconscious in the water by a helicopter crew.
They were both taken to hospital in Bellingham, but the woman was pronounced deceased by hospital staff.
A video of the rescue is available from the US Coast Guard.
