PHOTO RELEASE: Coast Guard medevacs man, 33, from sailboat

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 04/24/2017 04:44 PM EDT

united states coast guard 

News Release  

April 24, 2017
U.S. Coast Guard 7th District PA Detachment Tampa Bay
Contact: Coast Guard PA Detachment Tampa Bay
 (305) 965-4672

PHOTO RELEASE: Coast Guard medevacs man, 33, from sailboat 

 

A Coast Guard 27-foot Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water boat crew and Levy County EMS personnel are shown with a 32-year-old man in need of medical attention aboard the SPC-SW near Yankeetown, Florida, Monday, April 24, 2017. The man was medevacked from a 33-foot sailboat and transferred to EMS on shore in stable condition. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Hull) A Coast Guard 27-foot Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water boat crew and Levy County EMS personnel aid a 32-year-old man to the End of County Road 40 Boat Ramp, Yankeetown, Florida, Monday, April 24, 2017. The man was medevacked from a 33-foot sailboat and transferred to EMS in stable condition. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Hull) A Coast Guard 27-foot Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water boat crew and Levy County EMS personnel aid a 32-year-old man at the End of County Road 40 Boat Ramp, Yankeetown, Florida, Monday, April 24, 2017. The man was medevacked from a 33-foot sailboat and transferred to EMS in stable condition. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Hull)

YANKEETOWN, Fla. — The Coast Guard and Levy County EMS medevacked a 33-year-old man Monday from a sailboat near Yankeetown after the Coast Guard received a report that the man and his friend were missing.

Medevacked was Edward Dunaway, 33, of Clearwater.

At 7:35 a.m. watch standers from Sector St. Petersburg received a report of two missing men aboard a 33-foot sailboat. Dunaway and Jimmy Gibeau were reported missing by Gibeau's wife. She stated the men were last seen Saturday at Clearwater Harbor Marina and were due to be in Spring Hill at 6 p.m. Sunday.

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter air crew from Air Station Clearwater launched and located the missing men aboard their sailboat entering Crystal River. When the men reached cell phone range, Gibeau reported to watch standers that Dunaway was suffering from seizures and in need of emergency medical assistance. A flight surgeon was notified and recommended Dunaway be medevacked.

A 27-foot Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water boat crew from Station Yankeetown launched with a Levy County EMS crew member aboard. Dunaway was transferred to the End of County Road 40 Boat Ramp where a Levy County EMS ambulance waited. 

"Filing a float plan with a friend or family member can be the difference between life and death when mariners find themselves in distress," said Petty Officer 1st Class Lawrence Costa, an operations specialist at Sector St. Petersburg. "Thankfully, these boaters gave a loved one the time of their return and their route, but the best float plans give details including emergency equipment."

The Coast Guard reminds mariners cell phones are not the best form of emergency communication on the water; instead, they ask boaters to utilize a VHF-FM marine band radio on channel 16 at the first sign of distress.

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-USCG-