Station Cape Charles Coast Guard Unit Aids in Search

The Coast Guard unit from our own Station Cape Charles  aided the cutter Shearwater in the search for the captain of a fishing vessel who may have gone overboard early Sunday. The 31 foot vessel was anchored south of Fisherman’s Island and east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Watchstanders at Sector Hampton Roads in Portsmouth received a report Sunday from two crew members aboard a 31-foot fishing vessel stating the captain of the vessel was believed to have fallen overboard while they were sleeping between 11:30 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a Coast Guard news release.

The Coast Guard suspended its search or Richard Nee, who is believed to have entered the water near the entrance to Chesapeake Bay around midnight Saturday.

The search for Nee included Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crews from Station Cape Charles and Station Little Creek, the crews of Coast Guard Cutters Shearwater and Heron, both out of Portsmouth, as well as two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews and a C-130 Hercules aircraft crew from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Coast Guard crews searched for a total of approximately 55 hours and covered more than 700 miles.

Water temperature was 66 degrees and visibility about 10 miles.