A Coast Guard rescue swimmer broke through a sinking sailboat’s roof to pull a trapped sailor to safety Sunday morning off the Southern California coast.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike Antoon, the rescue swimmer, was lowered from an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter onto the stricken vessel after conditions proved too dangerous for a boat crew to approach. The sailor had called 911 around 4 a.m. Reporting that his ship had run aground near Coronado and was rapidly filling with water.
A crew from Coast Guard Station San Diego had managed to locate the stranded sailboat but could not reach it because of dangerously shallow waters and rough conditions. Footage showed powerful waves crashing into the vessel and flooding its cabin while a helicopter crew surveyed the scene from above.
With the man still trapped inside, the Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Ventura was dispatched to attempt the rescue. Antoon discovered the sailor struggling to breathe inside the partially flooded cabin as waves repeatedly crashed over the boat.
Antoon handed the sailor his snorkel to help him breathe before ripping open part of the cabin roof to pull him out. The helicopter crew then airlifted the man to Coast Guard Sector San Diego, where medical personnel were waiting to treat him around 7:25 a.m.
The rescue came down to split-second decisions in treacherous conditions. Antoon credited the successful outcome to coordination across multiple units and favorable circumstances.
“I’m incredibly fortunate enough to be able to do this job,” Antoon said. “This morning was a culmination of everyone working smoothly as a crew, including sector getting us there in time, and a bit of good fortune.”
The incident began in the predawn hours when the sailor’s vessel ran aground in waters made hazardous by shallow depths and heavy surf. The stranded boat took on water as wave action pounded its hull, leaving the man with diminishing options for escape.
Helicopter-based swimmer rescues are among the most technically demanding operations in the Coast Guard’s search-and-rescue repertoire, requiring precise coordination between pilots, flight mechanics and the rescue swimmer as they work within rotor wash and unpredictable sea states.
Antoon’s decision to share his snorkel bought critical time before he tore through the cabin roof to extract the sailor. The method of entry—forcing an opening rather than using an existing hatch—suggests the normal exits may have been blocked by flooding or debris.
The sailor received medical attention at Coast Guard Sector San Diego following the approximately three-and-a-half-hour ordeal from initial distress call to hospital handoff. His condition following treatment was not detailed in available reports.