When two mariners were stranded Saturday on their 52-foot, Canadian flagged sailing vessel five miles from Westport, Washington, the crew of a U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter flew over to help.
A crew member dropped from the chopper, swam to the boat, then helped put them onto a basket that was lifted into the aircraft. The guardsman swam in 12-foot high seas, under winds of 25 miles per hour in 49-degree water and 50-degree air temperature.
It was just the latest in a long string of rescues throughout 2015.
For the thrill junkie, the job may appear fun. For the rest of us, the U.S. Coast Guard's rescue operations can impress you every time you watch what it takes to rescue a stranded mariner, hiker or anyone else, including pets, who are lost in remote areas of the sea, coastal cliffs and inland areas of the Pacific Northwest.
According to estimates, U.S. Coast Guard men and women responded to more than 2,500 incidents in 2015 that resulted in more than "200 lives saved, over 3,800 lives assisted and over $5,365,000 in property saved."
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