Three people were rescued from Middle Island by the Detroit Coast Guard early Wednesday after their sailboat ran aground.
The mariners were participating in a sailboat race from Cleveland, Ohio, to Put-In-Bay, Ohio, when they were stranded on Middle Island, a small, uninhabited Canadian island just south of Pelee Island.
"They had run aground, they were ashore, safe on shore, but stranded," said the aircraft commander, Lieutenant Quinn Hathcock.
A response boat from Station Mablehead was originally deployed just after midnight, but they were unable to rescue the sailors because of the stormy conditions.
A MH-65 Dolphin helicopter was then deployed from Selfridge Air National Guard Base around 5 a.m. to hoist the people off the island.
"It was a very challenging place to try and put our rescue swimmer down to evaluate them, but eventually we were able to get Josh [Price] down. We put Josh in the water, just off shore, and he was able to get through the surging waves and over the rocks to get to them," said Hathcock.
Rescue swimmer Josh Price helped the three individuals into the rescue basket one at a time to get them safely to the helicopter.
"Their demeanor was pretty calm, cool, and collect. They were really the perfect people to help rescue," said Price. "We were hoisting pretty high tonight in the basket. When you're riding in the basket, especially when it's higher like that, we're using a trail line to mitigate the swing. It doesn't always look like the most fun ride, but they all got in the basket absolutely no problem."
Co-pilot Sawyer Stanton and flight mechanic Alex Treadwell, who operated the rescue basket, were also on board to help complete the rescue.
"This was as challenging as any of the most challenging cases I've ever seen out there," said Hathcock. "Largely because of the weather, the wind, the sea surge, the darkness, the high trees, and the tiny hoisting area."
There were no physical injuries reported.
The two Brazilians and one American were flown to Port Clinton, Ohio, just after 6 a.m.
