Man sailing to Martha's Vineyard rescued from Barnegat Inlet
First responders helped pull a man and his sailboat away from the rocks - with just seconds to spare on Wednesday evening.
A trip to Martha's Vineyard from Barnegat Inlet nearly ended in tragedy.
First responders helped pull a man and his sailboat away from the rocks - with just seconds to spare on Wednesday evening.
“About a mile from the inlet, Barnegat, the engine just quit on me. I try to start it, try to start, it won't start, oh —- not again,” said Capt. Jack De Langavant, a Canadian sailor who was rescued Wednesday evening.
“This guy was in great peril. Grave condition here,” said Capt. Walt Bohn, of Sea Tow Central New Jersey.
Strong winds out of the Northeast made conditions worse.
“Too rough to try and put the sails up,” said De Langavant.
“Northeast means never ever. You don't go,” said Bohn.
“Less than 5 yards away from the rocks, when they finally threw that rope to me and pulled me out. Things were flying across the cabin, broken glass on the ground. Everything was in a pile in the middle of the floor,” recounted De Langavant.
Captains Walt Bohn and Dan Siegel, of Sea Tow Central New Jersey, had to act fast when the call came on Wednesday evening just before 5:30 p.m. that Jack De Langavant’s engine quit.
“We had one shot to get him, and luckily my captain, Dan, put the boat exactly where it needed to be. Dan heaved a line on the first shot, and Jack was able to capture it,” said Bohn.
Bohn knew right away De Langavant was in a life-threatening situation.
“Because not having a life jacket on these conditions in the rocks current wave action it would have ate that boat up,” said Bohn.
Sea Tow brought the sailboat to safe harbor at Spencer's Marina in Waretown. Through it all, Jack remained in good spirits. The only casualty was his phone that went overboard while helping tie his boat to the dock.
“My wife has Life360 going so she can track me, and all the sudden I disappeared in Barnegat light. It's not my first rodeo. I've been through a couple of shipwrecks. I kind of take it in stride,” said De Langavant.
De Langavant says he bought his first boat 25 years ago. The Montreal native says he will be rethinking his retirement plans after the last incident but still plans on heading back up to New England.
