
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 19, 1994                   TAG: 9411210054
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NORFOLK                                 LENGTH: Short

SWIMMERS RESCUE 7 FROM OCEAN

A Coast Guard swimmer dived into 40-foot waves in the path of Hurricane Gordon before daybreak Friday to rescue three men off a boat whose sails and mast had been ripped apart by 50 mph winds.

The rescue was the second such effort by the Coast Guard in stormy Atlantic waters within 12 hours, and it nearly cost the life of the swimmer, Mike Thomas.

A Coast Guard helicopter hovered over the 49-foot Pilgrim for about 40 minutes while Thomas scrambled between the stricken sailboat and the churning ocean to help the men climb to safety.

``A wave hit him and threw him out of the basket,'' said Lt. Jack Newby, the helicopter pilot. But Thomas managed to get back into the tethered basket, and the helicopter returned to shore, where everyone was found to be in good shape.

The rescue started just after midnight when the men aboard the vessel reported mechanical problems about 100 miles east of Norfolk.

``They had lost power. They had lost their motor. The sails were shredded,'' Newby said. ``One mast had been ripped. The support bracket had literally ripped out of the boat, so they had water coming in that way.''

The same helicopter, with a different crew, rescued a family of four aboard a 64-foot sailboat Thursday.

A swimmer plunged into 20-foot seas in that rescue. The helicopter had to refuel on the way out and back aboard an aircraft carrier because the vessel in trouble was 410 miles off the coast.

Rescued were Ira Hubbard, 49; his wife, Flora Ruiz, 39; a 4-month-old son; and a 13-year-old daughter. They live in Colombia.

by CNB