Coast Guard saves 5 from sailboat off NC coast

ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. — The Coast Guard has saved five sailors as their boat sank in the dark Atlantic Ocean.

The Virginian-Pilot reported Monday that the Coast Guard was called after the sailboat Lazy Jack started taking on water about 30 miles south of Cape Lookout on Saturday night.

Ensign Caleb Peacock says a helicopter based in Elizabeth City and a rescue boat from Fort Macon raced to the 48-foot boat, which is based in Charleston, S.C.

The Coast Guard says rescuers found only a foot or two of the boat still above the surface. The helicopter hoisted one person to safety, but the other passengers chose to wait in their life raft for more than an hour until the rescue boat arrived.

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