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Two men clinging to a cooler in the open ocean, four miles east of the mouth of the Delaware Bay, were rescued Thursday, Nov. 11, by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The two men, whose names had not been released by press time, called 911 about 10 a.m. and said their 18-foot pleasure craft was sinking. The call was transferred to Indian River Coast Guard Station, which immediately got a 41-foot rescue boat underway and contacted Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City.
Shortly after the 911 call was made, the cell phone went dead.
As Atlantic City got a rescue helicopter airborne, the station also requested help from Lewes Fire Department, Delaware Bay Pilots and a Delaware State Police helicopter.
A civilian tug pulling a barge nearby radioed the Coast Guard and reported seeing two men hanging on to a cooler.
The state police helicopter was the first to see the two men in the water and directed the Coast Guard helicopter to their position.
When the Coast Guard helicopter arrived on scene, rescue swimmer Petty Officer 3rd Class Lee Gorlin jumped from the helicopter to help the two men.
“We knew the Coast Guard boat was on its way, but we figured we could get them to medical attention faster than a boat could,” Gorlin said.
“I swam over to where the guys were, and asked if they were any injuries. They said they just wanted to get out of the water. Cold and scared - is what they said.”
Since the two men had been in 53-degree water for more than an hour, they were suffering from hypothermia. Lee convinced each one to let go of the cooler and he swam each man a short distance to where the rescue basket waited.
“I just had to tell the first guy to relax and let me do the work. I held him from behind to minimize the rotor wash as much as possible. I try to take the brunt of that with my head,” Gorlin said.
“Then I swam back to the other guy and hoisted him up as well.”
It took about five to seven minutes to get both men aboard after the Coast Guard spotted them, he estimated.
Gorlin, who is also an emergency medical technician, said their conditions appeared good once the men got into the helicopter. “One guy was visibly shaking which was good to see from a medical standpoint. When they stop shaking, that’s when you’re really in trouble.”
The other man was speaking, so “I knew he was doing okay,” Gorlin said.
With both men on board, the helicopter was close to its weight limit, so it landed in a field near Beebe Medical Center where an ambulance was waiting for them.
Because the two men’s names were not available, officials at Beebe Medical Center were not able to release their conditions.
“It felt great,” Gorlin said. “I come to work looking forward to rescuing people. I don’t wish any harm on anyone, but I come to work to rescue people. It’s very satisfying.”
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