This browser does not support the Video element.
Lost boaters who departed from Cape May rescued by tanker off coast of Delaware
Two lost boaters who set sail from Cape May to Florida were rescued hundreds of miles off the coast of Delaware following a dayslong water search for the vessel. The exhausted sailors and their dog were spotted by a tanker ship and brought aboard to be reunited with their families in New York.
CAPE MAY, N.J. - Two lost boaters who set sail from Cape May to Florida were found safely by a tanker ship off the coast of Delaware on Tuesday, officials say.
The United States Coast Guard said the 30-foot Catalina sailboat named 'Atrevida II' set sail from Cape May en route to Marathon, Florida with two aboard.
The boat, according to authorities, was last seen on Dec. 3 when it departed from Oregon Inlet in North Carolina on its way to Jupiter, Florida.
Watchstanders were notified that the Atrevida II was overdue for arrival on Dec. 11, triggering a dayslong 21,164 square mile water search for the vessel, authorities said.
Over a week later, the coast guard said the lost boaters were spotted by a tanker ship ‘Silver Muna’ more than 200 miles off the coast of Delaware.
Officials say the boat was found without fuel and power, leaving its radios and navigation equipments inoperable.
The two men and their dog were taken aboard the tanker just after 4 p.m. Tuesday and evaluated by the ship's medical staff.
They will travel to the ship's next scheduled destination of New York City where they will be turned over to the coast guard who will reunite them with family and friends.
___
Editor's note: Preliminary information from a family spokesperson said the lost boaters were found off the coast of New York. The coast guard later clarified the boaters were found off the coast of Delaware.