A Connecticut-based sailboat sank 260 nautical miles off the shore of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The boat began taking on water and made a distress call to the United States Coast Guard and all five passengers who abandoned the boat to a life raft were saved, according to the guard.
All five of those on board were in stable and good condition after being rescued by the U.S Coast Guard crews, according to the guard.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the boat was a Magic Bus sailboat. The boat departed from Stonington and was heading to the Bahamas.
The life raft was located by HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew and the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, according to the guard. Video showed one of the five stranded passengers rescued onto the aircraft in what the crew called a “basket.”
Aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush provided fuel support for the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew because of the long distance from shore, according to the Coast Guard. The MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew transported the five people back to Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City.
Magic Bus crew posted on its Facebook page about the incident.
“Early Thursday morning, while on her way south for the winter, the Magic Bus became disabled almost 300 miles offshore in extreme conditions,” the post read.
“Thanks to the calm and quick thinking of our lifelong friend Buster Pike, the steady teamwork of the crew, and the heroic efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, incredibly, everyone made it home safe and sound.”
Photos from the Coast Guard and the Facebook post showed that five passengers and crew on board were men.
“We will be back, not to start over but to continue what the Bus began: helping more people experience the beauty, peace, and wild simplicity of life in the Exumas. The boat may be gone, but the magic she shared is very much alive,” the post concluded.