Two men were rescued by local first responders after their bass boat was swamped in choppy conditions in the Currituck Sound on Labor Day morning.
The incident happened around 10:30 a.m. near Long Point at the south end of Wells Bay, according to N.C. Wildlife Commission Law Enforcement Sgt. John Beardsley.
Beardsley said the 17-foot skiff, operated by a father and his adult son, began taking water over the stern while the men were fishing.
The men were unable to start their vessel, and it sank in about 2 1/2 feet of water near the marsh west of Tim Buck II in Corolla.
Winds were blowing out of the northeast between 10 and 15 mph at the time of the incident, with a one-to-two foot chop on the sound between Aydlett and Corolla. Water temperatures were around 75 degrees.
Currituck County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Jeremy Evans and Mike Corbell responded in their skiff, Lower Currituck Volunteer Fire Department responded with Capt. Blake Mellott and Austin Pope on the fire department’s vessel and Lt. Trey Hart and Chief Brooks Hart on a private boat, along with three officers from N.C. Wildlife on their vessels.
The Currituck deputies arrived on scene first and took the two men into their patrol boat. They refused treatment from Currituck EMS after reaching shore.
“We would like to remind boaters to check the weather before going out on the water and wear your life jacket, especially in rough water,” Beardsley said.
The incident is under investigation by N.C. Wildlife Commission Law Enforcement.
