Three Boaters Rescued Off Sandbar On Long Island

Three boaters were rescued off Long Island after their boat became stuck on a sandbar.

The boaters with their rescuers.
Photo Credit: *Suffolk County Police Department*

10/20/2021 10:30 a.m.

The three boaters were rescued around 9:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 19 in the Fire Island Inlet, off Democrat Point, in Babylon.

According to the Suffolk County Police, Andre Thchelischeff, the captain of a 36-foot Bennetaue sailboat, put out a distress alert on a VHF channel after the boat struck a sandbar and became disabled.

There had been a small craft advisory in effect at the time due to high seas.

Marine Kilo and Marine Juliet from the Suffolk County Police responded along with the officers from the Aviation Section. The US Coast Guard also assisted.

Due to the difficult conditions, including four to five-foot waves, it took Officers Joseph Lanzisera, Chris DeFeo, Ed McDowell, and Joe Meo from Marine Kilo four attempts to reach the vessel, at which point Thchelischeff, and his passengers Richard Cameron and James Isbester, were rescued.

Thchelischeff, age 60, Cameron, age 61, and Isbester, age 60, did not require medical attention. They were transported to the Coast Guard station.

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