SABINE, Texas -- The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued an 80-year-old man who sent out a distress call onboard a 34-foot sailboat 10 days after departing from Houston.
A Coast Guard statement said Tuesday that the man was headed to Kemah, about 30 miles to the southeast. About 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Coast Guard got his distress call.
Coast Guard Lt. Aaron Mader says the man radioed "that he was unable to fend for himself." A helicopter and rescue plane were dispatched, and the man and his sailboat were found about 12:30 p.m. in the Gulf of Mexico about 150 miles southeast of Houston.
He was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital-Southeast in Houston.
A Coast Guard spokeswoman said the man’s identity was not available. A hospital spokeswoman says they can’t release any information without a name.
