Dartmouth Fire respond to capsized sailboat that had two aboard off the coast of Gooseberry Island

A heroic rescue took place Sunday afternoon in local waters.

Dartmouth Fire District 1 Marine 1 responded to a capsized sailboat with 2 persons in the water off the coast of Gooseberry Island.

While Marine 1 was enroute, District 2 provided shore support with eyes on the boat.

Upon arrival, one party was discovered hanging on to the capsized boat, however, the second party was adrift and unable to be located within the vicinity of the vessel.

Marine 1 immediately rescued the first victim from the boat and began a search of the area. Calculating wind speed, drift and tide, they were able to recover the second victim a short time later a quarter of a mile away.

Both parties were transported to Padanaram Harbor where they were given a medical evaluation and released.

The Dartmouth Fire Department stated that if it were not for the crew on board Marine 1 displaying skillful seamanship and determination fighting heavy seas and strong winds, this would have ended much worse.

They also thanked all agencies in the Buzzards Bay Task Force for their response along with Towboat US New Bedford.