WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Coast Guard assisted five people early Sunday after their boat had run aground on a sand bar Saturday near Beaufort.
Watchstandes at the North Carolina Command Center in Wilmington received call from Carteret County dispatchers late Saturday evening that an 18-foot skiff with five people aboard were in distress southeast of Harkers Island, just north of Morgan’s Island.
A 24-foot Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water crew launched from Station Fort Macon.
The crew found the two adults, two teenagers and one child standing on a sandbar next to their vessel that had run aground and become swamped.
The Coast Guard anchored the grounded boat and took the people to their home on Harkers Island.
“Even experienced boaters can run into trouble in these waters where shoals can shift quickly,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Bret Funderburk, boat crewman on the case.
The owner is working on a plan to salvage the grounded boat.
“Boaters unfamiliar with an area should use extreme caution,” added Funderburk.
