THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 12, 1996 TAG: 9603120360
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS AND MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Two battered sailors and a dog named Rupert abandoned their sailboat in 20-foot seas 60 miles east of Cape Hatteras Monday and were plucked from the Atlantic by a Coast Guard helicopter crew.
John Paran and his yellow-beige pet and Hugh Popenoe, all from Oriental, were taken to Elizabeth City after the rescue, and were reported in good condition.
They left their 41-foot sloop, Loon, about 3:45 p.m. Monday, Coast Guard officials said. The vessel had tossed in stormy weather off the treacherous cape for the better part of a day.
The sailors and the dog, all in life vests, were assisted into a basket by rescue swimmer Jim Peterson and hoisted safely aboard the helicopter in about 15 minutes, co-pilot Karen Brown said.
The boat left Morehead City over the weekend. After encountering problems, the sailors turned back but the boat engine failed and its mainsail blew out in a northeaster moving up the coast from the Bahamas, rescuers said.
Coast Guard officials had been in radio contact with Loon, which eventually anchored, since about 1 a.m. Monday, officials said.
Later in the morning, an Elizabeth City-based C-130 flew over the vessel to mark its location for the Morehead City-based Coast Guard Cutter Staten Island.
The weather was too rough for the 110-foot Staten Island to connect tow cables to the sailboat or to launch an inflatable rescue boat. About 2:30 p.m., the crew of the Loon decided to abandon ship.
``Finally they had enough,'' said Lt. Randy Perkins, who piloted the HH-60 helicopter during the rescue. ``They were getting pretty beat up, and they were tired. Also, the weather was getting worse offshore.''
A National Weather Service storm warning was in force along the North Carolina coast as the HH-60 crew, which also included flight mechanic Kevin Hilby, rescued the men and the dog.
Because of the sailboat's mast, officials said, the sailors jumped overboard so the helicopter could hover above them.
A ``hoist-cam'' on the helicopter captured the rescue on videotape, showing Rupert's nose poking into the aircraft and his tail pointing out the back of the basket.
In about 12 combined years of search and rescue flying, Perkins and Brown said they had never rescued a dog before.
``The guy had the dog strapped to him, so it was just a matter of a bigger load in the basket,'' Perkins said.
Pavan and Popenoe stepped off the helicopter looking weathered but healthy. Both declined to be interviewed, Coast Guard officials said.
KEYWORDS: RESCUE AT SEA U.S. COAST GUARD by CNB