Watch: Man, woman and dog rescued from boat 90 miles from Florida
The Coast Guard got an automated distress call but couldn't communicate with the disabled boat because saltwater damaged the electronics.
The Coast Guard rescues 2 people and their dog 90 miles off the Tampa Bay area.
The Coast Guard rescued two people and their dog from a boat taking on water, 90 miles off the Florida Coast. The saltwater destroyed some of the electronics.
The Coast Guard pulled two people and their dog to safety Sunday by helicopter, all caught in a dramatic video.
A couple's sailboat was 90 miles off Hernando Beach, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico when a wave knocked out a porthole. Water poured in and sloshed inside the boat, short-circuiting several electronics systems.
The Coast Guard in St. Petersburg received an automated distress call or "digital selective calling alert" from the boat at about 11 a.m.
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The man and dog first getting off the chopper.
(US Coast Guard District 7 / FOX Weather)
"A DSC alert allows mariners to instantly send an automatically formatted distress alert to the Coast Guard or other rescue authority anywhere in the world," said Lt. J.G. Connor Sullivan, command duty officer, Sector St. Petersburg, in a statement. "Due to the reported water ruining the system, this alert gave us their last known position and allowed us to investigate because the owners registered it to their equipment."
Due to the water damage, crews couldn't reply that they received the SOS and were heading out on the search and rescue mission. The couple put on life jackets, along with one for the dog, and waited in their disabled boat, not knowing if help was on the way.
In what must have felt like an eternity, the helicopter flew nearly 100 miles at about 143 mph. The crew eventually spotted the drifting sailboat.
The helpless boat from the Coast Guard helicopter.
(US Coast Guard District 7 / FOX Weather)
The chopper lowered a basket to the boat twice, once for the man and another time for the woman. You can see the confused dog trying to walk towards the helicopter's open door. The owner grabbed hold of the dog in the life jacket so the Coast Guard could retrieve the others.
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The dog's owner crawled out of the rescue basket then pulled the dog tight to keep it safe and out of the way.
(US Coast Guard District 7 / FOX Weather)
Medics declared the three "in good health" when the chopper finally landed at Air Station Clearwater.
The couple is arranging for the sailboat to be salvaged, according to the Coast Guard.