Coast Guard comes to rescue of ailing boater

PORTSMOUTH, VA (WITN) Rescue crews from the Coast Guard partnered with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to aid an ailing man aboard a sailboat in the Chesapeake Bay early Saturday morning.

Watchstanders at the Command Center in Portsmouth received a call around 8 a.m. from a man who said he was ill, and struggling to navigate and anchor his boat near Nassawadox Creek.

Both water and air rescue crews were dispatched in response.

Upon their arrival, a rescue swimmer helped transfer the ailing man to a rescue boat, where he was then lifted into the helicopter and brought to a nearby hospital.

The identity and condition of the man is not known at this time.