By Andy Boyle, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, September 2, 2010
CLEARWATER — The Coast Guard rescued a man and woman from a disabled sailboat about 200 miles west of St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The Coast Guard in Mobile, Ala., received a call from a man at 11 a.m. who said three friends had called him to say their sailboat had lost rudder capabilities. The man also said an injured person was aboard.
Fatma Romero, 64, was on the 65-foot MacGregor sailboat Sea Ya II and had a head injury, the Coast Guard said. A helicopter crew from Clearwater hoisted her and an unidentified man to safety.
Romero and the man were met by emergency medical services at the Clearwater station.